M'sia embroiled in migrant rows with Philippines, Indonesia

comments     M Jegathesan     Published     Updated

The government was embroiled Wednesday in efforts to defuse diplomatic rows with neighbouring Indonesia and the Philippines over its whipping and deportation of illegal immigrants, with officials denying that harsh conditions had led to children dying.

A foreign ministry official said Indonesian ambassador Hadi A Wayarabi had been summoned to hear Kuala Lumpur's concern over the security of its citizens after protestors toppled the main gate of the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta and burnt the national flag.

The foreign ministry requested protection for its citizens, he said, and quoted the ambassador as saying that Indonesia respected the repatriation of illegal immigrants and would not interfere with the internal affairs of Malaysia.

The protestors were enraged by 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 - a punishment described as "insulting and inhumane".

The courts have imposed caning sentences on groups of illegal immigrants almost daily since the July 31 expiry of an amnesty which saw the exodus of more than 300,000 people, most of them Indonesians.

Demonstrators also took to the streets in Manila Wednesday, when a small group scuffled with security guards and Malaysian embassy personnel, chanting "Filipino deportees have human rights too" and trying to force their way into the embassy before being driven away by riot police.

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