Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Vice President Jusuf Kalla is scheduled to open a dialog on Indonesian-Malaysian History in Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands province, on Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

The dialog will be organized by the Indonesian Historians Community (MSI) and the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) in cooperation with the Malaysian Historians Community (MSM).

EPG spokesman Musni Umar through a short text message on Monday said the dialog would be organized to find a common solution to the problems related to Malysian claims on Indonesian cultural heritage items.

"The objective of the dialog which is to be opened by Vice President Jusuf Kalla is to give the peoples of the two countries a historical understanding and awareness of their common origin," Musni Umar said.

According to him, disharmony in the relations between Indonesia and Malaysia in the past decade was triggered by Malaysian claims on a various Indonesian cultural heritage items such as songs, dances, arts, food products, and batik products.

Musni Umar said tensions between the Indonesian and Malaysian peoples were due to the lack of understanding about the two countries` histories.

Through the dialog on the two countries` histories, he said, cultural experts and historians of the two countries would explain the process of Indonesian and Malaysian cultural and historical development.

"Such a dialog is expected to be one of the solutions to reduce the tensions among the peoples of the two countries," Musni Umar said.

He added that President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak fully supported the dialog.

According to him, the organizing committees from the two countries had reported the program to their respective head of state and received positive responses.

"The heads of state from Indonesia and Malaysia have expressed hope that the results of the dialog can be publicized to give better understanding to the peoples, especially the younger generations of the two countries," he said, adding that the dialog would be participated in by around 100 historians and cultural observers from the two countries.(*)

Editor: Aditia Maruli

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