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