A group of eminent persons on Indonesia-Malaysia relations are scheduled to hold an inaugural meeting here next week, seeking to address delicate issues that could cause tensions at the level of Indonesian and Malaysian public opinion.
The Eminent Persons Group (EPG) comprises 14 figures -- seven from each country -- who were picked by their respective governments to provide inputs on how to deal with non-diplomatic issues in Malaysian-Indonesian relations that could have adverse impacts.
Former vice president Try Sutrisno, who heads the Indonesian members, said Friday that the Aug. 29-30 meeting would focus on how the peoples of the two countries perceive each other, the generation gap, how their respective media portray images of the two countries and how both could improve the promotion of their shared cultural heritage.
Asked if he would raise the issue of reported Malaysian unilateral claims over some Indonesian cultural items, Try shortly said: "Hopefully, we will raise that."
Apart from occasional disputes on migrant workers and border issues, relations between Indonesia and Malaysia have been marred by reports of Malaysians claiming, for instance, Indonesian traditional songs and food as their own.
The group expects to conclude the meeting with a number of "people-to-people contact programs", such as dialogues between historians, university students and youth organizations as well as media practitioners.
The EPG was inaugurated on July 7 by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Kuala Lumpur. --JP/Tony Hotland
