Trump’s Immigration Order Troubles Muslim-Majority Indonesia, Malaysia
President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.
Washington, 02 Jumadil Awwal 143/30 Janauary 2017 (MINA) – A U.S. immigration decree targeting seven Muslim-majority countries is reverberating across the globe, particularly in the world’s most populous Muslim nations.
Indonesia—home to the world’s largest followers of Islam at 220 million—is not among the seven singled out on Trump’s order, but Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi told Reuters over the weekend that her government held “deep regrets about the policy.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from Jakarta’s embassy in Washington told AFP that the move would negatively affect the global fight against radicalism, adding that it was wrong to link terrorism with one religion.
Passport holders of Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen are now forbidden from entering the world’s largest economy for the next 90 days, with Syrian refugees indefinitely banned, according to an order that Trump signed into effect on Friday.
Politicians in Malaysia, where 60 percent of the 28 million-strong population is Muslim, also voiced concern about the move. On Sunday, Ong Kian Ming, an MP from the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP), called Trump’s policy “inhumane” and urged Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak to condemn the action, local news reported.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo or Malaysia’s Najib have not yet addressed Friday’s news. Both head of states offered their congratulatory messages to Trump upon his November election victory but like other governments, fears about increased U.S. protectionism and ‘America First’ policies has clouded their respective relationship with Washington.
For now, Trump’s immigration order isn’t expected to directly hit political or economic ties with either Jakarta or Kuala Lumpur but it could bring longer-term social costs. “While Trump’s policies may not affect bilateral relations, it will certainly sway public perception, against the U.S,” Arul Hadi Abdullah, Malaysia analyst at BowerGroupAsia, told CNBC in anticipation of the ban on Friday.
Many expect Trump’s policies, perceived as unjust and discriminatory, could result in a decline of American soft power in Muslim-majority regions, which former U.S. leader Barack Obama attempted to carefully rebuild in the aftermath of the Bush regime.
In a statement on Sunday, Trump insisted that Friday’s directive was a counterterror measure, not one aimed at religion.
During his election campaign, Trump floated the idea of a ban on all Muslims entering the U.S. but political analysts told CNBC that it was unlikely such a blanket ban would be implemented as it would be counter-productive economically.
Depends on how Jokowi and Najib react
Ultimately, the consequences of Friday’s order for Indonesia and Malaysia depends on how Najib and Widodo react, Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid, political science professor at Universiti Sains Malaysia, explained in an e-mail.
If Indonesian President Joko Widodo or Malaysia’s Najib interpret the immigration order as a broader act against Muslims, instead of one aimed at U.S. national security, then all kinds of repercussions could happen, including a marked decline in travel to the U.S. and a diminished view of America as a great power, he noted.
In Malaysia, ethno-religious identities are more important than in Indonesia, where citizens tend to identify more with their nation instead, Hamid explained.
So in that sense, Washington “stands to lose more in their bilateral relations with Kuala Lumpur, whose leaders are fond of whipping up religious sentiments for political mileage,” he continued.
Indonesia has been experiencing an ideological struggle between secular and religious politics in recent months as conservative Muslims protest against a local Christian politician. (T/RS05/RS01)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
