The Hindu : Malaysia expresses regret over ill-treatment of Indians

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 15, 2003

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Malaysia expresses regret over ill-treatment of Indians

KUALA LUMPUR MARCH 14. Malaysia today expressed regret over the detention and ill-treatment of over 200 Indian IT professionals here and said the allegations against police were "serious" that could impair bilateral relations.

The acting Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, has asked the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Norian, to personally investigate Sunday's incident and report to him by next week, according to official Bernama news agency.

Mr. Abdullah expressed regret over the incident and said the allegations against police were "serious" and could impair "the excellent bilateral relations we have with India", the agency quoted him as saying.

"From the reports that I've read, there are certain facets to the incident which trouble me. I've directed Tan Sri Norian to personally handle the investigations and report to me directly by next week at the latest," he added.

Police on Sunday raided an apartment building in Brickfields here and rounded up the Indian nationals, mainly IT specialists, suspecting them to be illegal immigrants.

Those detained alleged that they were treated roughly and some claimed that their passports had been defaced.

Asked about the allegations of tampering of passports, he said: "Yes, I'm aware of that. That will be one of the things Tan Sri Norian will be looking into". The Indian High Commissioner, Veena Sikri, had also lodged a diplomatic protest against the ill-treatment of the Indian nationals.

Mr. Abdullah assured the Indian Government that he would personally get to the bottom of the incident.

Asked about claims that the police action was targeted specifically against Indian nationals, he said: "That is not true. The authorities have been constantly taking such action against illegal immigrants of all nationalities".

The Malaysia Foreign Minister, Syed Hamid Albar, who met Ms. Sikri today, said he hoped that the incident would not jeopardise ties between the two countries.

PTI

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