Malaysia has frozen the recruitment of Indian workers, including temple priests, sculptors and musicians, an official said today, in a move apparently linked to an unrest by Malaysia’s ethnic Indians.

The decision, made by the Cabinet on December 18, became public the day India’s Defence Minister A K Antony ended a three-day visit, which both sides hailed as a boost to rapidly growing bilateral relations, including military links.

The decision was not conveyed to Antony during his talks with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak and Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, and apparently caught the Indian High Commission by surprise.

The Cabinet decision was made December 18, but was not officially announced. It was confirmed by a Home Ministry official only when reporters called for clarification on a statement by a religious group that Indian temple workers were being denied permission to work in Malaysia.

The Indian High Commission said it is in touch with the “authorities concerned on the reported circular.” It did not elaborate.

The Home Ministry official said Indians workers who are already in the country will be allowed to carry on, but their permits will not be renewed. He said the ban is related to a recent unrest by the country’s minority ethnic Indians, who are demanding racial equality in the Muslim majority country.

Meanwhile, the government has also barred all major airports in Malaysia from employing foreign workers, claiming they didn’t want tourists to be taken aback on being greeted by a sea of non-Malaysian faces on arrival. A

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