Najib: Malaysia And Indonesia To Continue Negotiations On Manpower Issues

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 18 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia and Indonesia would continue negotiating towards agreeing on setting a reasonable agency fee for recruiting workers from the republic.

He said the Lombok Agreement signed during the eighth Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation in Lombok, Indonesia last year had been adhered to, but there were still problems over the agency fee which was regarded as high.

"President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has agreed that we work at setting a reasonable fee to enable the Lombok Agreement to be fully implemented," he said at a joint news conference with Susilo at his office, here, Tuesday.

Najib also said that cooperation in education, culture, tourism and people-to-people relations needed to be intensified so that it would grow more comprehensively and mirror the seriousness of the political leadership of both countries in forging closer relations for mutual benefit.

Susilo and his 18-member delegation from Indonesia had arrived in Malaysia earlier today for the 9th Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation for two days with Najib.

Najib and Susilo will sign a memorandum of understanding on cooperation in the area of social welfare and community development after the annual consultation.

Meanwhile, Susilo said Indonesia and Malaysia would continue to work at finding solutions to the manpower issues.

"We have made much progress and we thank Malaysia for providing the educational facilities for the children of Indonesian workers, especially in Sabah and Sarawak," he said.

On border issues, Susilo said Indonesia and Malaysia would continue with discussions towards finding solutions that would be good and appropriate for both countries.

"Actually, we have made much progress and have resolved a lot of issues. As neighbours, we have been interacting almost daily.

"We should resolve issues in the best and wisest way so as not to affect our relations and jeopardise what we have built all this while through cooperation.

"We have the same spirit and commitment. On one hand, we want to enhance cooperation in various fields and on the other, we want to tackle issues that could disrupt what we have built thus far and with the hope of resolving them amicably," he said.

-- BERNAMA

(Source: Bernama.com)