RI Embassy told to help nationals

MEDAN, North Sumatra: A legal activist demanded on Saturday that the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur help secure the release of 140 Indonesians arrested by the Malaysian authorities.

The Indonesians were arrested in Malaysia for failing to have the necessary documents.

"The 140 Indonesians must be released and returned to Indonesia," the director of the Medan chapter of the Legal Aid Institute, Irham Buana Nasution, said.

The 140 Indonesians -- 124 from Aceh, 11 from Flores and five from Java -- are being held in Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan state, where they are facing prosecution.

Irham said that even if the Indonesians did enter Malaysia without the proper documents, the Indonesian Embassy was obligated to help secure their release.

The Indonesian Embassy should engage in diplomacy to persuade the Malaysian government to free the Indonesians and return them home, he said. -- Antara