TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Over the years, relations between Indonesia and its neighbor to the south is well-known to veer between love and hate or up and down, depending on what’s politically trending in Canberra and Jakarta. But a newly signed bilateral agreement once again reinforces the conviction that the two nations – politically and culturally diverse though they may be – must work together on concrete issues.
So, kudos to the Indonesian Center for the Reporting and Financial Analysis (PPATK) and the Australian Transaction Reports (Austrac) for signing an MoU on exchanging intelligence on money laundering, specifically related to terrorism. “Terrorism knows no national boundaries and it needs massive resources to combat it,” said Coordinating Minister for Politics, Law and Security, Wiranto at the signing of the MoU.
The more bilateral institutions working together for the common good, the less chances for exhaustive and useless political bickering.
YULI ISMARTONO
