KL to tighten border security with RI and RP

KL to tighten border security with RI and RP

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): A senior Malaysian military official
said on Monday that border surveillance will be beefed up to
counter security threats emanating from armed rebellion in the
Philippines and political unrest in Indonesia.

The security increase follows a year in which extremist
Islamic insurgents from the Philippines kidnapped workers and
tourists from Malaysian diving resorts and Indonesia's government
contended with separatist and religious violence.

The national news agency Bernama quoted the army's deputy
chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Abdul Aziz Hassan, as saying in Kuching,
capital of the Malaysian state of Sarawak on Borneo island, that
two new battalions of soldiers were being sent to monitor the
border with Indonesia.

Disputes over logging rights have been common along the
border, but emotions ran far higher than usual last month after
an Indonesian immigrant maid in Kuching was allegedly beaten with
a hammer by her Malaysian employer.

Malaysians crossing from Sarawak to the Indonesian province of
West Kalimantan reported being intimidated and harassed in
retaliation.

Abdul Aziz also said that measures would be taken to enhance
security in Sabah state, north of Sarawak, which was raided twice
last year by guerrillas of the Philippine rebel group Abu Sayyaf
to take hostages, including foreign tourists.

All were freed following the payment of huge ransoms and
eventual attacks on Abu Sayyaf strongholds by the Philippine
army. Generally, Malaysia enjoys calm relations with its
neighbors and does not face any military threat.

Most Malaysian military operations are focused on combating
piracy and preventing illegal immigration from Indonesia and the
Philippines, both countries that are much poorer than Malaysia.

Meanwhile, thousands of Malaysians have signed a petition
urging UN chief Kofi Annan to head an international campaign for
the release of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, supporters
said on Monday.

Raja Petra Kamarudin, director of the FreeAnwar Campaign, told
AFP that about 21,000 people petitioned the United Nations
secretary-general "to lead the world community in demanding the
immediate and unconditional release" of Anwar.

The petition was handed in to the local UN office Monday, he
said. It was launched on Oct. 14 by the women's wing of the
National Justice Party led by Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah Wan
Ismail.

"Many appeals have been made to the authorities by various
sectors of Malaysian society but they have fallen on deaf ears.
We are now inviting the world community to add its voice to
ours," the petition said.

It said Anwar's sacking as deputy premier and his subsequent
arrest, assault and imprisonment were tantamount to a travesty of
justice.

"He has been subjected to farcical trials which have outraged
the international judicial and legal fraternity," it said,
describing Anwar as a victim of malicious, vicious political
persecution.

"He posed a challenge to Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's
authoritarian might and the corruption and cronyism that taint
his regime.

"This is why he had to be removed from position and power.
This is why he languishes in prison today. This is why the
international community has to respond to the injustice
perpetrated against the man," the petition said.

The Malaysian government denies any political motives against
Anwar and says he received fair trials. "At this juncture, with
Anwar once again seriously ill in hospital, there is an added
urgency to our appeal," the petition said.

Anwar was taken from prison to a government hospital on
November 25 with acute back pain which he believes is partly due
to an assault in 1998 by the then-police chief, Rahim Noor.

The officer has been jailed for two months for the assault but
is free pending appeal.

Mahathir sacked Anwar on Sept. 2, 1998. He was arrested 18
days later following mass anti-government rallies. In April 1999
Anwar was jailed for six years for abuse of power and in August
last year was imprisoned for nine years for sodomy, with the
sentences to run consecutively.