The Penang government is willing to plead for leniency with the Singapore for Malaysians, especially any Penangites, who had gathered to seek electoral reforms in their country, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He said the state government is trying to determine whether there were any Penangites among the 21 Malaysians arrested for conducting two protests on May 8 and 11.

He added that while the Penang acknowledged and respected the Singapore government's right to determine and take action based on its own laws and affairs, the latter should not reject efforts to plead for leniency.

dap special meeting 110313 lim guan eng "Such an effort is based on humane grounds and should not be seen as foreign interference in Singapore affairs," said Lim, ( left ) in a statement.

He also said that Singapore can view this case not from a criminal angle but from a human rights perspective as those involved are law-abiding, without any criminal record or had no record of interfering in Singapore's internal affairs

Lim was responding to an incident reported on May 12 in which Singapore police arrested 21 Malaysians while staging a protest at the Merlion Park.

The eight men and 13 women aged from 21 to 40 have been released on bail. However, the nature of their jobs remains uncertain up to now.

On May 23, PKR despatched a memorandum to the Republic's High Commission to show solidarity with the 21 while appealing to the republic to rescind its action to revoke their work passes.

Out of the 21 Malaysians facing action, two had their work passes cancelled while the authorities have warned that others would face a similar fate.

The home affairs and foreign affairs ministries have issued statements saying foreigners who break the the country's law should be prepared to face the consequences, including having their visas or work passes revoked.