Nasscom up in arms over Malaysian incident

Circuit EC / Mumbai

Kiran Karnik

The ongoing discussions on enhancing co-operation in IT, between India and Malaysia, have received a setback with more than 260 Indians, mostly information technology (IT) professionals, arrested on trumped-up charges by Malaysian authorities early last week. While most of the Indians have been released, India’s IT brand ambassador, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), has been up in arms and has strongly condemned the mental and physical harassment inflicted on the IT professionals. Said Kiran Karnik, president of Nasscom, “Nasscom takes a very serious view of the incident and is currently in the process of collecting details of the entire episode and the reasons behind it.”

According to reports, Malaysian authorities carried a dawn-raid on a residential complex, as part of its anti-illegal immigrants drive. Many of the people arrested in the raid were Indians working in the IT sector and holding valid passports and visas. To add to the ignominy, most of the professionals found that the Malaysian officials tampered with their passports before returning them. The photographs had been scratched out and data on the visa pages erased.

Karnik added that Nasscom was in close touch with key authorities to ensure the safety of Indian IT professionals.
India’s foreign office has also taken the issue very seriously and has lodged a protest with Malaysia over the
treatment meted out to its citizens. Malaysia’s High Commissioner to India, Choo Siew Kioh, was summoned by the foreign office and an explanation has been demanded. A foreign office spokesperson said that such unacceptable action by Malaysian authorities could adversely affect bilateral relations and also dent Malaysia’s image as a destination for IT professionals. The Malaysian government has told India that it would investigate the matter and let the Indian government know the outcome of the investigation.

The Indian diaspora has also lodged a strong protest against the treatment meted out to them. Most had gone to Malaysia on the behest of Malaysian companies, but are now planning on returning to India, as they don’t feel safe anymore. Malaysia lacks skilled IT professionals and hence looks towards countries like India, which has a abundance of skilled professionals.