The government will apologise to the Indian government over the recent mass arrest of Indian nationals, including IT professionals, in a check for illegal immigrants, local media reported today.

"We will apologise. We are not so proud as not to do so if there had been any mistakes committed by our enforcement officers," Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times .

He had informed the Foreign Ministry to "take whatever action necessary" to convey apologies to New Delhi over shortcomings in handling the arrests, The Star said.

"In this particular operation, there was inadequate preparation like not informing the Indian High Commission of the action to be taken," Abdullah said.

Ties soured

New Delhi had warned the issue was affecting relations between the two countries, which have strong economic links, and cancelled Indian participation in an international field hockey tournament in Malaysia.

The row was sparked when police raided an apartment block near Kuala Lumpur o­n March 9 and detained some 200 Indian nationals, who complained of rough treatment before being released after a visa check.

Many of those who were detained worked in the Multimedia Super Corridor, a business development initiative set up by Malaysia to emulate Silicon Valley in the United States.

Around 40,000 Indian expatriates work in Malaysia, including information technology professionals, engineers, doctors, academics and executives involved in joint ventures. AFP