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.