Malaysia to arrest illegal immigrants

Malaysia to arrest illegal immigrants

MALAYSIA: More than half a million civilian volunteers will be
given the power to arrest illegal immigrants next year, local
media reported on Friday, despite fears that such a move would
encourage vigilantism and undermine the law.

Home Minister Azmi Khalid said that from January onward some
560,000 members of two neighborhood security watch organizations
would help police and immigration officials round up illegal
foreign workers, the national news agency Bernama reported.

The immigrants, mostly from neighboring Indonesia and other
parts of Asia, had ignored an earlier government amnesty offer to
leave Malaysia without punishment, Bernama said.

The government has said illegal immigrants detained from the
beginning of 2005 risk being whipped with a rattan cane, fined
and jailed before being deported.

Earlier this week, Human Rights Watch warned that Malaysia's
proposed deportation of hundreds of thousands of illegal
immigrants could spark human rights abuses and harm legitimate
refugees and victims of human trafficking.

The New York-based group also urged Malaysia to scrap its plan
to enlist civilian volunteers for immigration raids because it
would encourage vigilantism and undermine the rule of law. --AP