Underlying the enmity between Malaysia and Indonesia are negative sentiments that date back to the 1960s. At that time, former President Sukarno belligerently played on nationalist sentiment with his “Konfrontasi” campaign leveled at Malaysia, which was emerging from British colonialism and becoming a regional power in its own right.
The resentment lingers, particularly in light of Malaysia’s relative economic success.
‘Familiarity breeds contempt.’ The two countries are, at least at first glance, too much alike and therefore competition becomes the logical outcome.
Recently Indonesian protestors burned Malaysian flags and threw rotten eggs at the country’s embassy for allegedly pilfering their traditional dance, conveniently ignoring Discovery Channel’s apology for its faux pas.
Cry of war by hate-mongerers is a warning sign that democracy that appears to be in these parts of the world is not healthy enough.
