Malaysia gets tough on illegals

Malaysia gets tough on illegals

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Authorities detained 295 people as part of a crackdown on illegal immigrants after bloody clashes between foreign workers last week, news reports said on Sunday.

Mostly Indonesians and Bangladeshis were rounded up in raids conducted over the weekend around the capital, Kuala Lumpur.

Officials called it the year's biggest sweep of illegal immigrants. Those detained were expected to be deported, officials said.

Once hospitable to undocumented workers who cheaply built its modern capital, Malaysia launched an intense crackdown on illegal immigrants during the recent regional economic crisis.

Tens of thousands of workers were sent home, mostly to Indonesia, as Malaysia tried to free-up jobs for its own people.