Beijing probably postponed a Malaysian minister's visit because of anger in China at the apparent abuse of an ethnic Chinese woman in a Malaysian jail, an opposition politician said.

The opposition DAP also called for the deputy police chief to resign over the incident.

The Sunday Star newspaper quoted Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid as saying that his Chinese counterpart had requested the postponement as he had some "issues to settle."

The minister was not available for comment.

Azmi was scheduled to visit China for one week from next Wednesday after being ordered by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to make the urgent trip following the allegations of abuses involving Chinese nationals.

The Sunday Star said the visit had been put off until Dec 20.

Deputy IGP 'defies' PM

DAP lawmaker Teresa Kok ( photo ), who had said the video clip tarnished the image of predominantly Muslim Malaysia, said that the postponement of Azmi's trip by Chinese authorities was likely due to the row.

"The Chinese government is very concerned about the incident. I guess they want to see more action by Malaysia before Azmi embarks on the trip," she told

She said many Malaysians were also outraged by the incident and were demanding the police officers responsible be punished.

The DAP also called for the resignation of deputy police chief Musa Hassan after he said police were seeking the person who filmed the incident rather than the policewoman involved, who he said was carrying out a routine check.

"Musa's statement is a bombshell as it is an open police defiance less than 24 hours after the pledge by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that there should not be any cover-up," opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said in a statement.

"Musa should resign as deputy inspector general of police for his insubordination in openly defying the pledge by the prime minister in the police videotape scandal," he added.

Lim said the DAP would push for a debate on the incident in parliament today.

Zaid: Probe Musa's remarks

Zaid Ibrahim, a member of Abdullah's ruling United Malays National Organistion, said the prime minister, who is also in charge of the police, must investigate Musa's remarks.

"If it amounts to defiance, the prime minister should act against him," he said.

Stills from the video clip, in which a naked woman prisoner, apparently of Chinese ethnicity, is forced to perform squats while a policewoman looked on, was on the front page of major newspapers.

Musa had earlier said that a swift investigation would be carried out and it could be completed by Monday.

The video clip surfaced after four Chinese nationals were detained in a local police station early this month for allegedly holding false travel documents.

They had complained that they were made to strip and perform squats during their detention but all have denied being the naked woman in the video.

In July, a major resort in Genting Highlands was forced to apologise to hundreds of Chinese tourists after rude behaviour by its staff.

More than 300 China tourists staged a six-hour sit-in in protest over pig drawings that staff had sketched on their room key dockets.

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