KL wants neighbors to boost border security

KL wants neighbors to boost border security

Associated Press, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia will ask Indonesian and Philippine authorities to intensify border security to prevent the return of thousands of illegal immigrants who were expelled from Malaysia in a recent crackdown, news reports said on Sunday.

"We will request Indonesia and the Philippines to beef up security," Deputy Defense Minister Mohamed Shafie Apdal was quoted as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.

Mohamed Shafie said officials were particularly concerned about security near Sabah, a Malaysian state on Borneo island that shares borders with Indonesia's Kalimantan province and the southern Philippines, where most of the migrants were from.

Malaysia, one of the wealthiest countries in Asia, has become a magnet for migrant workers from poorer and less stable countries in the region.

The crackdown triggered diplomatic tensions earlier this month. Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo lodged protests over claims that Filipino immigrants awaiting deportation in Malaysia were mistreated. The Malaysian government is investigating allegations by a 13-year-old girl from the Philippines that Malaysian police in Sabah raped her.

Mohamed Shafie expressed hope that increased bilateral security cooperation would also help the Philippines end the threat of Abu Sayyaf rebel guerrillas, who authorities fear might try to flee to Sabah to escape a military operation in the southern Philippines.