Malaysian vows to probe mistreatment of Indians
Malaysian vows to probe mistreatment of Indians
Agencies, Kuala Lumpur
Malaysian authorities on Tuesday pledged to investigate allegations that police mistreated more than 150 Indians, including many information technology professionals, wrongly detained on suspicion of being illegal immigrants.
"There are serious allegations of abuse of power and wrongdoing as well as mistreatment," said Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar. "We'll investigate the matter in a transparent manner."
However, Syed Hamid, said that initial reports received by his ministry did not indicate any mistreatment by police, according to the national news agency Bernama.
A Malaysian opposition leader urged acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Tuesday to apologize to Indian IT professionals rounded up for alleged visa irregularities.
"I would urge the acting prime minister to make a formal apology in parliament," said Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP).
India warned Malaysia Monday that diplomatic relations could be affected by the incident.
The High Commissioner of Malaysia in New Delhi, Choo Siew Kioh, was called in to the foreign office, foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said.
India's High Commissioner to Malaysia, Veena Sikri, expressed concern earlier this week after police detained dozens of Indian migrant workers in a crackdown on illegal immigrants at a Kuala Lumpur apartment building on Sunday.
The workers were initially not allowed access to consular officials, Sikri said. They later complained they had been handcuffed for several hours and that police officers defaced many of their passports, she said.
Some reportedly claimed they were slapped, kicked and had to strip to their underwear.
Kuala Lumpur Deputy Police Chief Ahmad Bahrin Idrus denied any mistreatment occurred.
The workers were mostly employed in Malaysia's Multimedia Super Corridor - a government-subsidized project promoted as this Southeast Asian country's version of California's Silicon Valley.
Police initially detained 165 Indian workers, but only nine remained in custody for not having valid immigration documents.