RI urges KL to respect rights in crackdown

RI urges KL to respect rights in crackdown

MALAYSIA: Indonesia on Saturday urged Malaysia to ensure there are no human rights abuses when it begins a massive operation next week to arrest and deport hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.

Visiting Indonesian manpower minister Fahmi Idris said Jakarta accepted Malaysia's Monday deadline to end an amnesty for illegal immigrants, mostly Indonesians, to return home without penalty.

But Malaysia must ensure it follows humanitarian principles in carrying out the crackdown, he was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency after meeting Home Affairs Minister Azmi Khalid.

Azmi assured Idris that the government would ensure that the welfare of the immigrants were taken care of.

"The very reason we are sending them back is because we want them to come back legally. This is very, very humanitarian," he said. "We just want to legalize you because if you are illegal, you are being exploited. So what more humanitarian approach can anybody think of?" -- AFP