Indonesian illegal immigrants held in Malaysia raid

Indonesian illegal immigrants held in Malaysia raid

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysian security forces rounded up
almost 600 Indonesian illegal immigrants in a pre-dawn raid on
their jungle squatter settlement Friday.

The group -- 589 Indonesians, three Bangladeshis and one
Pakistani -- was detained near the site of the international
airport at Sepang, south of Kuala Lumpur.

They were believed to be working at construction sites around
Putrajaya, the country's planned new administrative capital, the
official Bernama news agency said.

Abdul Halim Abdullah, commander of the paramilitary General
Operations Force, said the raid was carried out following a tip-
off that illegal immigrants were building huts in the jungle.

The illegals were being detained pending deportation.

The New Straits Times reported last month that thousands of
Indonesians, many working as construction workers, have set up
illegal settlements near Putrajaya.

It said the presence of about 6,000 Acehnese, Madurese and
Javanese on private and government land was sparking fears among
local residents.

Hundreds of Acehnese and Madurese clashed last month over a
misunderstanding involving a cellular telephone.

In the southern state of Johor, marine police detained 47
Indonesians, including nine women and three children, after a 30-
minute boat chase Thursday night.

The operators of the two high-powered boats who were trying to
smuggle the Indonesians into Malaysia fled into a mangrove
jungle.

Malaysia's west coast is 50 kilometers from the Indonesian
island of Sumatra in some places. Many Indonesians enter Malaysia
illegally to escape economic hardship at home.