Polhukam Ministry: Singapore Must Respect Indonesian Rules
7 February 2014 11:28 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Coordinating Political, Legal, and Security (Polhukam) Ministry urged the Singaporean government to respect the Indonesian Navy’s decision to name its new patrol vessel KRI Usman Harun, despite objections from Singapore.
"We have our own rules to honor a person as a hero to be immortalized as a vessel name. It cannot be intervened by other countries," the Polhukam Ministry’s Deputy of Coordinating Communication, Information and Apparatuses, Junior Marshall Agus R. Barnas, told Tempo yesterday.
Agus reminded that previously, former Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew visited and scattered flowers on Usman's and Harun's graves.
"There should be no more problems [regarding Usman and Harun]. Why [Singapore] brought up the issue as it [the ship’s naming] is our right?" said Agus.
"The point is that the ministry supports the Navy to carry on the policy in the KRI Usman-Harun naming," he added.
Earlier, Channel News Asia reported Singaporean Foreign Affairs Minister K. Shanmugam had spoken to Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa regarding the country's concern over the ship's naming.
INDRA WIJAYA