Malaysians may know them as members of the People's Volunteer Corps (Rela), but Indonesians think of them as "gangsters and crooks".

In saying this, Alex Ong, the Malaysian representative of Migrant Care - an Indonesian association for migrant workers' sovereignty - claimed that complaints against Rela arrive "on a daily basis".

"Recent incidents have also made the situation more tense," he told a press conference at the Parliament lobby today.

He was referring to the alleged rape of Indonesian maid Suriyani Nas and the assault on Indonesian karate referee Donald Pieter Luther Kolopita in Negri Sembilan by four police personnel.

"There are demonstrations by Pancasila members (a youth body) in front of Malaysian agencies in Jakarta... the situation is very worrying," Ong claimed.

"How can we strengthen ties between the grassroots (in both countries) if the situation is so tense? It may also affect Indonesian investments in Malaysia."

Ong called on the Home Ministry to retract its directive to Rela to bar the media from covering its operations.

The directive, issued on Feb 6 last year, casts a shadow on Rela's governance, he said.

"If Rela is really in good hands, why do they need to block the media from covering operations?" he asked.

He added that the ministry must be transparent if Rela is "truthful" in carrying out its operations against illegal immigrants.

Misleading reply

Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez, who was at the press conference, called for review of the wide powers given to Rela.

"We cannot give power to thousands of civilians. In addition, they are given an allowance for each operation or illegal immigrant they arrest," she said.

"Even the police need a warrant to enter somebody's house, but Rela members can go anywhere without a warrant. If this goes on, the government will be paving the way for a group of vigilantes to become militias."

DAP Seputeh MP Teresa Kok condemned the ministry for a recent parliamentary reply that she said could mislead the Dewan Rakyat.

She was referring to her question on Monday, in which she asked if the ministry has received any reports about abuse of power by Rela members during operations.

She said the reply - that the ministry has never received such reports - could deceive MPs.

"I brought Irene and Alex in today to prove that the ministry's answer was not truthful," she said.

Irene then read out several reports made respectively to the ministry and the Human Rights Commission about alleged misconduct by Rela members.

"How can the ministry deny receiving such reports?," she said.

Local and international bodies have been calling for Rela to be disbanded - or at least for its powers to be checked - because of allegations that its members treated undocumented workers harshly.

Rela has countered that it works within the law.