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Jakarta. While a Malaysian minister said patience was running thin for Indonesia following an offensive protest at its embassy in Jakarta, lawmakers here on Wednesday demanded the government seek an official apology from Malaysia for the border incident that had sparked the protest.

The demand was made by members of House Commission I dealing with foreign affairs, in a hearing with Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa to discuss the arrests by Malaysia of three Indonesian maritime officers earlier this month.

“The meeting resulted in an effort to strengthen the diplomatic note [from the foreign ministry] with the aim of having the Malaysian government officially expressing its apology,” said Mahfudz Siddiq, the chairman of the commission.

“Let’s see if they will respond to the note or not.”

Marty had told the lawmakers that the Foreign Ministry was currently gathering evidence that would be included into a new diplomatic note of protest to Malaysia over the arrest of the three officers which Jakarta said took place in Indonesian waters.

He said that since Aug. 18 the government had sent the first diplomatic note of protest to the Malaysian government over the incident in Tanjung Berikat but the development since required further notes of protest.

“Since August 18 there have been developments. We will send a protest note to seek an appropriate response, an expression of regret or apology,” Marty said.

Marty said that even without evidence of physical abuse or mistreatment by the Malaysian authorities, the Indonesian officers had clearly been treated badly.

“Even without evidence of physical abuse or any mistreatment, the fact that they were handcuffed and had to wear prison clothing, that warrants a protest,” the foreign minister said.

The three maritime officers have said they had not been physically abused but had been mistreated, including by having to take off their official uniforms and being handcuffed.

Arguing that the government “needs more space in dealing with the issue,” Marty managed to convince the commission to cancel its intention to push for a demand by the legislature for official apology from Malaysia.

He also said that withdrawing the Indonesian ambassador to Malaysia, as some individual lawmakers had suggested, may be detrimental to bilateral ties in a larger context.

“We need to put into consideration the greater national interest. If we withdraw the ambassador, it would reduce the weight of our diplomatic ties,” he said.

The absence of an ambassador in Kuala Lumpur could disturb other issues that needed to be dealt with between the two governments, including migrant workers, trafficking, illegal logging and border disputes, the foreign minister explained.

Mahfudz said that the commission would wait for Malaysia’s response before taking any further action.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman was quoted by news portal Star Online as saying that Malaysia had run out of patience and sent a protest letter to Indonesia over the arrest of seven Malaysian fishermen in disputed waters and the protest at its embassy in Jakarta on Tuesday that involved the throwing and smearing of human feces.

Mahfudz said it is hard to prevent such reactions, arguing that it was the result of an accumulation of anger and that unless Malaysia changed its attitude, protests may only escalate.

“It’s not just because of the recent incidents. It’s about foreign workers, cultural claims, illegal logging and other long-running issues,” he said.

Meanwhile, the government vowed to assure the security of the Malaysian mission here and its diplomats.

“As the host, we have to guarantee protection to foreign diplomats and their representative objects here,” Teuku Faizasyah, spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, said at the President’s Office on Wednesday.

“We will coordinate with the police and other security officers to ensure the safety of Malaysian diplomats in Jakarta and other regions in Indonesia, as well as the security of their buildings.”