President Jokowi Meets PM Ismail Sabri, Discussing Cooperation In Handling People Smuggling

JAKARTA - President Joko Widodo said Indonesia and Malaysia had agreed to start discussions on cooperation in handling people smuggling as a result of a meeting with Prime Minister Dato' Sri Ismail Sabri Yaakob who visited the Merdeka Palace, Jakarta, Friday, April 1.

The President also stated that the cooperation would cover the affairs of law enforcement between the two countries in handling people smuggling cases.

"We are still seeing rampant cases of people smuggling. Therefore, we agreed to start discussing cooperation in handling people smuggling, including law enforcement," the President said at a press conference with PM Ismail Sabri after the meeting, listened to via the Presidential Secretariat's official YouTube channel, reported by Antara.

In particular, this meeting has also resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the placement and protection of Indonesian migrant workers in Malaysia.

President Jokowi and PM Ismail Sabri witnessed the signing of the MoU by the Indonesian Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah and the Malaysian Minister of Human Resources Saravanan Murugan.

Regarding the case of people smuggling, the two countries also see the importance of discussing the Rohingya issue which has caused a wave of refugees, both in Malaysia and Indonesia.

According to PM Ismail Sabri, both Malaysia and Indonesia agree that the Rohingya issue must be thoroughly resolved by the Myanmar government although they do not deny that this is an important issue in Malaysia.

"The Rohingya issue is a big issue in Malaysia because there are 200,000 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia," said the Malaysian PM.

PM Ismail Sabri and his entourage arrived in Indonesia on Friday at around 06.03 WIB. Scheduled to be in Jakarta for 2 days before heading back to Kuala Lumpur.

In addition to the Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah, also accompanying the President in receiving the Malaysian PM's visit were Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly, Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, and Indonesian Ambassador to Malaysia Hermono.

Meanwhile, during his visit, the Malaysian PM was accompanied by an entourage, including Minister of Communication and Multimedia Annuar Musa, Minister of Development of Disadvantaged Regions Mahdzir Khalid, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kamarudin Jaffar, and member of the Malaysian parliament Dato' Tajuddin Abdul Rahman.