REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- President Joko Widodo's visit to Malaysia will improve the bilateral relation between the two countries, according Siti Muti'ah Setiawati, a lecturer of international relations at Gadjah Mada University (UGM).
"President Joko Widodo and his ministers must practice positive diplomacy, especially on the issue of Indonesian migrant workers (TKI)," she said here on Friday.
According to her, strategic diplomacy is needed to defend Indonesian migrant workers' right to good treatment abroad. She cited that a few days ago, an ad insulting the Indonesian people had appeared in Malaysia.
"While the government should seek clarification on the issue, it should not get angry," she added.
A good bilateral relationship is one where gestures are reciprocated, Siti pointed out.
"The right system for handling the issue of migrant workers has still not been found, and the agencies keep passing responsibilities to each other," she stated.
"The government must find a way to resolve the coordination problem among the three agencies," Siti added.
On Thursday, President Joko Widodo departed from Halim Perdanakusuma Airport for Kuala Lumpur to commence his friendship visit to Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, and the Philippines.
Joko Widodo is accompanied by, among others, Coordinating Minister for Economics Sofyan Djalil, Manpower and Transmigration Minister Hanif Dhakiri, Trade Minister Rahmat Gobel, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi, and BNP2TKI Chief Nusron Wahid.
The President revealed that bilateral issues such as maritime border cooperation, improving trade and investment, managing fishermen, sending migrant workers to Malaysia, and educating the children of Indonesian migrant workers in Sabah and Sarawak were discussed during the meeting with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
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