New Delhi: In the backdrop of confusing reports of Kuala Lumpur imposing a ban on Indian workers, India on Wednesday sought an early conclusion of a pact to regulate such employments as it took up the matter with the Malaysian government.
Defence Minister AK Antony, who on Tuesday concluded an official visit to Kuala Lumpur, voiced India's unhappiness over the delay in signing a Memorandum of Understanding on employment of Indians in Malaysia and Malaysians in India.
The issue of the reported ban on recruitment of Indian workers in Malaysia came up when External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Malaysia's visiting Works Minister Samy Vellu in New Delhi on Wednesday evening.
Vellu, a minister of ethnic Indian origin, also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The Indian side is understood to have sought to know the factual situation with regard to issue.
Vellu conveyed that there was no move to ban recruitment of Indians and the reports in this regard were wrong. Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi said Malaysia had denied issuing any orders to ban recruitment of Indians.
Reports emanating from Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday had suggested that Malaysia had imposed ban on recruitment of Indian workers, triggering serious concerns in New Delhi.
It was seen as a move linked to the recent mass protests by the ethnic Indians against their alleged marginalisation in Malaysia.
Antony said during his Malaysia visit he had asked their Foreign Minister to hasten the process of signing the MoU.
"I urged him to hasten the process of signing an MoU on employment of Indians in Malaysia and Malaysians in India. He promised to expedite it," Antony said on the sidelines of a function to launch the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Defence Research and Development Organisation in New Delhi.
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