Mahathir warns foreign workers

Mahathir warns foreign workers

Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Friday warned foreign workers to abide the laws of the country following a riot by a group of Indonesians.

"Please go back to your own country (if you want to cause trouble), the premier was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency in the northern Kedah state.

On Thursday some 400 Indonesian textile workers staged a violent protest in central Malaysia after police tried to detain 16 of their co-workers for drug abuse, police said on Thursday.

The rioters overturned a police truck, van and a police car and then retreated to their five-story hostel block from where they jeered at the police and threw chairs, tables, bottles and stones.

Ten Indonesian workers were eventually detained by police for suspected drug abuse after a tense stand-off and intervention by Indonesian embassy officials.

The incident took place in a textile factory in central Negri Sembilan state.

Mahathir said the influx of foreign immigrants into the country could create an unhealthy situation in the employment sector.

"We must be careful. If many foreign immigrants work here, it would appear as if we are too dependent on them and in the end some of our employment sectors will be controlled by them," he said.

Zainal Rampak, president of the Malaysian Trades Union Congress (MTUC), told AFP that those who participated in the rioting should be charged and, if found guilty, punished and deported.

"Such wild behavior must be nipped in the bud," Zainal said, adding that MTUC had warned the government that foreign workers must be screened to ensure only workers of good character were allowed in.

Zainal said the foreign workers in the country should be encouraged to join a union to avoid such incidents in the future.