The alleged humiliating ordeal suffered by two Americans arrested during an immigration raid will not affect the Visit Malaysia Year 2007 campaign, said Tourism Minister Tengku Adnan Mansor.

"One or two cases from the 17.5 million tourists who visited Malaysia last year is a negligible figure," he added when contacted this evening.

Adnan was asked to comment on a report that the two Americans, an US Navy lawyer and an ex-Navy servicemen, underwent an harrowing experience after being detained last November.

The BBC yesterday quoted Wayne Wright and Yahweh Passim Nam as saying that they were treated inhumanely by the enforcement personnel.

The duo were arrested in Chinatown after they had failed to produce their passports as the documents were kept in their respective hotels.

The men said the personnel who confronted them had not produced any identity cards and the tourists were afraid that they could be robbers.

Adnan said the immigration department thought the duo were from an African country, whose nationals "always cause problems."

He stressed that the government does not discriminate against black tourists but they must abide by the rules and regulations.

No report yet

As for the case involving the Americans, he described it as a 'misjudgement' on the part of the authorities.

Adnan also said to date there has been no report filed by the US embassy regarding the Nov 16 incident.

"We will see (regarding any further action) if a report is filed," he added.

The minister said the immigration department has the right to take those with no valid documents to a detention centre.

The BBC report had suggested that such cases could affect Malaysia's tourism industry. It also claimed that it was not an isolated incident.

"Several Africans approached on the streets of Kuala Lumpur by the BBC over the issue reported facing discrimination in Malaysia, whether it be people refusing to sit next to them on public transport, taxis refusing to stop for them through to harassment by police and immigration officers," it read.

Meanwhile, Immigration enforcement chief Ishak Mohamad refused to comment on the incident as he had not read the report.