KUALA LUMPUR, May 20: Malaysia has allowed 100 foreigners fleeing Indonesia to enter without visas but is intensifying security along its border, reports said on Wednesday. The foreigners, mostly from India, Pakistan, and Africa, could remain temporarily in Malaysia until they can return to their countries, said Deputy Home Minister Tajol Rosli Ghazali.``We are extending our assistance to enable them to return to their countries. We hope they will not take advantage of our generosity,'' he was quoted as saying by The New Straits Times newspaper.``We are not making this a precedent but they were allowed into the country on humanitarian grounds . we could not let them sleep at the airport.'' Tajol said his ministry was also monitoring citizens from other South-east Asian and Commonwealth countries who fled Indonesia, as they were only allowed to stay on a one-month social visit pass.Defence Minister Syed Hamid Albar was quoted as saying that units of the armed forces and police posted along the seaand land borders had been placed on high alert since the trouble in Indonesia began. ``The ministry is also having regular contacts with the Indonesian armed forces for the latest update on the situation in that country,'' he said, adding that the move was a ``precautionary measure against any eventuality''.Indonesians, along with other foreigners and Malaysians, were reportedly flooding into Malaysian ports since last week, when rioting erupted in Jakarta leaving more than 500 people dead.The Malaysian media continued its watch on Indonesia. On Wednesday, the Malay-language daily Berita Harian noted in an editorial that president Suharto's decision not to run the new polls had not been accepted by Indonesians who were afraid it may be a political game. ``But we feel that Suharto's move not to step down hastily has many advantages. The absence of an able leader could cause worse riots, and may lead to a power struggle and a civil war,'' it said.It added that what was important to neighbouringcountries was that the change in leadership in Indonesia must be carried out constitutionally and not through bloodshed.The Utusan Malaysia said in its editorial, ``Suharto may have become careless with power, leading him to create laws that favour and enrich his friends and family members.'' During such crises, it added the Indonesian people cannot remember the good deeds done by Suharto but wanted reforms to ease their hardship.Human rights activist Chandra Muzaffar wrote in The New Straits Times that Suharto should heed the people's plea to step down as the crisis was partly because of his own rule. ``While it is unfair to castigate the Suharto government as a regime without any redeeming qualities,'' Chandra said, it failed to re-distribute wealth and income in an equitable manner.
