M'SIAN DPM WANTS STERN ACTION FOLLOWING ESCAPE BY 20 AFGHAN NATIONALS

PUTRAJAYA, Aug 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysian deputy prime minister Muhyiddin
Yassin wants stern action to be taken against those concerned following the
escape by 20 Afghan nationals who were being detained at the KL International
Airport (KLIA) Immigrant Detention Depot early Sunday morning.

He said that a committee had been formed to investigate whether the matter
involved a syndicate.

"Such a case had happened twice. Certainly something is not right. We don't
want the matter to recur," he said after chairing a meeting of the Cabinet
Committee on Foreign Workers and Illegal Immigrants, here Monday.

In the incident at about 3am on Sunday, all the detainees, aged between 25
and 40, were suspected of cutting the grills of the two gates before escaping.

Earlier on April 27, 12 Afghanistan and four Myanmar nationals, aged between
22 and 48, had escaped via the opening on the grills which had been cut before
escaping by climbing over the perimeter fence of the same detention centre.

Asked on the proposal that members of the Cabinet declared their assets to
the public, Muhyiddin said the matter was left to Prime Minister Najib Razak to
decide.

"Whether this will become a new measure needs to be studied. Whatever it is,
the matter is up to the Prime Minister to decide.

"We follow procedures and make our statutory declaration (to the Prime
Minister). We don't declare just like that," he said.

Muhyiddin was commenting on the proposal by the Chief Commissioner of the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Abu Kassim Mohammed who planned to
ask members of the Cabinet to declare their assets to the public.

Abu Kassim was earlier reported to have agreed to the proposal by former
president of the Bar Council, S. Ambiga that assets of politicians, especially
members of the Cabinet and judiciary, be disclosed to the public to show
transparency.
-- BERNAMA


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