JAKARTA - About 70 people gathered outside the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta today to protest Malaysia's treatment of migrant workers.

It was the second demonstration at the embassy this week in support of Indonesian labourers, thousands of whom began fleeing Malaysia in late July ahead of tough new laws that promised caning and jail terms for illegals.

'Save Indonesian workers', said a large banner carried by the demonstrators, who sat down outside the embassy.

They called themselves the Brigade for Fatherland Defence and Archipelago Student Forum.

"We don't need to blame or compete with Malaysians in Indonesia, but we must oppose the Malaysian government policy," said a statement issued by the demonstrators.

They called the policy "uncivilized".

Amien Rais, speaker of Indonesia's constitutional assembly, earlier criticized caning as inhumane.

On Monday about 40 protesters burned a Malaysian flag and pushed down the embassy gate.

Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar in turn urged his countrymen to avoid visiting Indonesia because of anger there at Malaysia's treatment of illegals.

More than 300,000 illegal immigrants, most of them Indonesian, left Malaysia for home because of the tough new laws.

According to government figures, more than 30,000 are estimated to be in the border town of Nunukan, across from Malaysia's Sabah state.

Twenty-four returnees have died there since late July and thousands of others are threatened with illness while they try to get official documentation before returning to Malaysia, officials said. AFP