Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia, which has temporarily halted the recruitment of Indonesian workers after a riot, Thursday deported 22 textile workers, raising to 91 the total of those sent home.
Police had detained another 22 workers Wednesday, bringing to 147 workers held after a riot by some 400 Indonesians in the central state of Negeri Sembilan last Thursday when police tried to detain 16 of their co-workers for drug abuse.
State deputy police chief Kamarulzaman Itam said the first batch of 69 Indonesians was repatriated Wednesday followed by another 22 men, all in their 20s, early Thursday. "We have already deported another 22 this morning. They are already on their way back," he told AFP. Another 56 workers were still being held for investigations, he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Wednesday said 45 Indonesians held would be charged in court for rioting and damaging public property while the rest would be deported.
A police spokesman earlier told AFP he did not rule out more arrests. "Whether we will arrest more depends on the situation, but I can tell you we are not done with our investigations," he said.
Just three days after the riot, about 70 Indonesian construction workers armed with machetes went on the rampage and damaged food stalls run by fellow Indonesians at Cyberjaya south of Kuala Lumpur. Police have since arrested 28 workers for investigation.
Abdullah on Wednesday announced Malaysia would temporarily halt the intake of Indonesian workers following the recent riots and would consider labour from Cambodia and Vietnam. "We will not be able to take the Indonesian workers now," he told a news conference.
"We don't use the word freeze but for the time being, we should also be giving places to other workers. For a long time we have been giving preference to the recruitment of Indonesian workers."
Indonesian ministers have apologised on behalf of the government for the riots and two officials have been dispatched to Malaysia to try to help solve the problem.
Malaysia is home to some 750,000 foreign workers, mainly from Indonesia, as well as hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants.