Jusuf Kalla wants Dr Mahathir to apologise

JAKARTA: Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla wants Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to apologise over his statement about the Bugis people which he connected to pirates.
According to the ANTARA news agency, Jusuf Kalla said the statement by the former Malaysian prime minister was not only insulting to the Bugis community in Malaysia, but also to those in Indonesia.
"Firstly, as a Bugis person, I am protesting and shocked. Dr Mahathir should apologise. Because the Bugis are not just in South Sulawesi, but throughout Indonesia, even in Malaysia," he said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
In his speech at a rally organised by opposition parties in Petaling Jaya on Oct 14, Dr Mahathir allegedly tried to connect the ancestry of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak as possibly from Bugis pirates.
Yesterday, Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia Datuk Zahrain Mohamed Hashim said as part of his responsibility to preserve harmony between the two countries, he had taken the initiative to send a letter to Dr Mahathir on Oct 23 urging him to take the necessary steps to clear the air between Malaysia and Indonesia.
However, he said, in a letter dated Nov 1, Dr Mahathir did not only not apologise but also continued to slander Najib.
Dr Mahathir's remarks upset the Bugis people in Indonesia, resulting in the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta increasing security at the embassy premises.
On Oct 20, it received a memorandum from the Indonesian Makassar Bugis Youth Association stating its anger at Dr Mahathir's statement. — Bernama