Just a few days ago I received an email from a young lady from one of a social networking site. It was from an Indonesian lady. In her email she asked me whether I am a Malaysian. If this answer is Yes, then she will delete me as a friend from her profile. She wrote further that she has no choice but to take this measure because of what Malaysia has done to Indonesia. She was going to delete all friends who are Malaysian and so she wanted a confirmation from me about my citizenship via email.
Did I respond to her email? Yes I did. I told her that this was the dumbest thing to do, Such an act is totally irrational and I was disappointed with her act of deleting all her Malaysian friends. I reminded her that spat between Indonesia and Malaysia has been going on for so many years. It is up to the government of both countries to work out their differences and to promote friendly ties. Personally do I care whether she delete me from her profile? Not at all. Because if I were to add up all the friends that I have from the major social networking sites - such as myspace, facebook, etc, I would have close to 3,000 friends; and this is list of friends is growing every month.
I read in the papers that Indonesian youths and groups have done many stupid things because of this spat which in this instance arises from the origin of a balinese pendet dance, which appears in an advertisement on the promotion of Malaysia. Youths in Indonesia burn Malaysian flag, throw eggs and bottles at the Malaysian embassy, stop traffic and people - demanding to see IDs of people on the streets to determine their nationality. These are all illegal activities which I hope that the Jakarta's police will act strongly to put a stop to such stupid acts. The police in Jakarta should not allow these groups to roam in the streets threatening innocent people.
How long will this recent spat between Indonesia and Malaysia last? I believe if there can be constructive dialogue and meetings between the two countries, this spat will fade into background very quickly. For me, it is important to treat everyone with respect - irregardless of his nationality, race, status or color. That is the essence of friendship.
For read my other blogs, photos and videos on Indonesia - go to my site at - Indonesiapics.com
And for photos, blogs and videos on Singapore and Malaysia, you can visit our site at - ImageSingapore.com
