JAKARTA — Nov. 7, 2017: Indonesian vice-president Jusuf Kalla wants Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to apologise for his remarks about the Bugis people who he connected to pirates.
According to the Antara national news agency, Jusuf said the statement by the former Malaysian prime minister was not only insulting to the Bugis 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 here today.
While speaking at a rally organised by opposition parties in Petaling Jaya on October 14, Mahathir tried to connect the ancestry of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as possibly from Bugis pirates.
Yesterday, Malaysian ambassador to Indonesia Datuk Zahrain Mohamed Hashim said that as part of his responsibility to preserve harmony between the countries, he took the initiative to send a letter to Mahathir on Oct. 23, urging him to take the necessary steps to clear the air between Malaysia and Indonesia.
However, he said that in a reply dated November 1, Mahathir not only did not apologise but continued to slander Najib. — Bernama
