Susilo complains to Najib over Zam's remarks

Former Malaysian information minister Zainuddin Maidin’s controversial claim that former Indonesian president BJ Habibie was a traitor to his nation continued to make waves this week as President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono raised concern over the statement during a meeting with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Susilo (right in photo) addressed the statement during his visit to Kuala Lumpur on Dec 18 and 19, telling Najib that he regretted that a Malaysian official could be quoted saying such things about a former Indonesian president in the local press. 

"I hope, and I expressed this to Najib, that we can prevent matters like this from continuing to happen," Susilo said at a press conference at Halim Perdanakusumah airport in East Jakarta. 

The Malaysian prime minister reportedly told Susilo that Zainuddin’s statement was his own opinion and was made after the former minister met with Habibie. 

Najib told the Indonesian president that it was election season in Malaysia and many issues had become sensitive. 

Susilo told the press conference that he could not see any reason to insult a former Indonesian head of state. 

"For me, whether there will be an election or not, everyone should mutually protect each other and should not discredit heads of state or former heads of state of other countries," he said. 

Zainuddin (right) had called Habibie a traitor to the nation who bowed to Western pressure to issue a referendum that allowed East Timor to secede from the nation, according to quotes published in theUtusan Malaysia newspaper on Dec 10. 

Zainuddin also labelled Habibie and former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who invited the former president to speak in Selangor, "dogs of imperialism".

- The Jakarta Globe