JAKARTA - An Indonesian group protesting Kuala Lumpur's decision to whip illegal immigrants toppled the main gate of the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta on Monday.

And in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysians were advised to avoid travelling to Indonesia because of anger there over Malaysia's treatment of illegal immigrants.

"Don't travel (to Indonesia) unless it is necessary," Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

In Jakarta, about 40 demonstrators chanted slogans and set fire to a Malaysian flag in addition to pushing down the gate. Police stopped them from entering the grounds and a small delegation later handed over a protest letter to an embassy official.

The letter called for an end to Malaysia's "inhuman" caning and fining of illegal workers. It demanded the Indonesian government sever diplomatic relations if Malaysia continues to punish Indonesian workers who are trying to return home.

It threatened to open a "Crush Malaysia" front similar to the one which founding president Sukarno employed during his military confrontation with Malaysia in the mid-1960s.

The protesters came from a group calling itself Laskar Merah Putih (the Red and White Militia), after the colours of Indonesia's national flag.

Indonesia's national assembly chairman Amien Rais has criticised Malaysia for what he called the "inhumane" and "insulting" punishment of caning, sparking a rebuke from Kuala Lumpur.

Tough penalties

Foreign minister Hamid adviced Malaysians not to travel to Indonesia following reports of widespread anti-Malaysian sentiment among Indonesians over Malaysia's tough new penalties for illegal immigrants, which include a minimum jail sentence of six months and up to six strokes of the cane.

The implementation of the new laws followed the July 31 expiry of an amnesty period which saw the mass exodus of more than 300,000 illegal migrants, most of them Indonesians.

Courts have since then sentenced dozens of those who failed to leave to whipping and jail.

Indonesia's national assembly chairman Amien Rais has criticised Malaysia for what he called the "inhumane" and "insulting" punishment.

And Bernama reported last Friday that 19 Malaysians were detained by Indonesian police for six hours for not carrying their passports while in a hotel lobby in Medan in Indonesia.

The group was only released after being asked to pay the equivalent of about RM80 each "as a sincere contribution to Indonesian police", Bernama said. AFP