SHAH ALAM, 13 Dec: The Selangor Government is disappointed by an article published by Utusan Malaysia recently which insulted the former President of the Republic of Indonesia, BJ Habibie.
The article which was written by the former Information Minister, Tan Sri Zainuddin Mydin (Zam) was rude and showed immaturity as well as disrespect towards a leader who has contributed significantly to his country and to the region in the political world and in the field of aeronautical engineering.
The Selangor Government is urging Utusan Malaysia and Zainuddin to apologise to Habibie as well as the people of Indonesia before the issue becomes worse.
“Such statements are detrimental towards the strong bilateral ties between Malaysia and Indonesia as well as the people of both countries.We would like to stress that Zainuddin’s writings do not represent the stance of the people of Malaysia,” said Chief Minister, tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
He said that Malaysia and Indonesia have many of the same characteristics including history, culture and religion which should be shared and appreciated by the people of both countries.
“This is one of the reasons why Selangor invited him to share his experiences and insights in endeavoring state reformation efforts and to improve the process of democratisation,” added the Chief Minister.
Habibie was in Selangor on a two-day visit as an official guest of the State Government last week and delivered a speech to staff and students of the fully state government-owned university, the University of Selangor.