Filipinos want Malaysian king's visit postponed

Filipinos want Malaysian king's visit postponed

MANILA (Reuter): Philippine politicians and newspapers yesterday demanded postponement of the Malaysian King's visit after Malaysia refused to apologize over the police roundup of 1,200 Filipino maids in Kuala Lumpur.

Gloria Macapagal, head of the Senate committee on trade and commerce, urged President Fidel Ramos to revive Manila's territorial claim to the Malaysian state of Sabah.

The Sabah claim had been a sore point in relations between the two countries for three decades until Ramos agreed last year to set aside discussion of the issue for the sake of cooperation within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Ernesto Herrera, chairman of the Senate committee on labor, denounced Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's statement that there was no reason for his government to apologize as an "annoying arrogance."

He urged cancellation of the invitation to Malaysian King Sultan Azlan Muhibuddin Shah to visit Manila on April 14-16.

The maids were attending Sunday mass on March 27 when they were rounded up by police as part of what Malaysian officials said were periodic checks on illegal entrants. All were freed later except for 21.

The Philippine Star newspaper accused Malaysian police of herding the maids like cattle into an army truck "in a scene reminiscent of the Nazi roundup of Jews."

"It says a lot about Malaysian arrogance and insensitivity and is clearly a contradiction of the spirit of ASEAN," it said.

The Malaya (Free) daily urged the Malaysian King to postpone his Manila trip until the affair blew over.

"(He) is likely to leave the country with unpleasant memories, while the Filipinos will be tempted to revert to the old animosities against Malaysia," it said.