Defence Minister AK Antony who returned from Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday said that the Malaysian Government was unhappy over the delay in signing a proposed Memoranda of Understanding that would regulate the employment conditions and welfare of Indian workers in Malaysia and Malaysian nationals in India.
"This topic came up during my discussions with the Malaysian Foreign Minister as well as the Prime Minister," Antony told newspersons on the sidelines of a function to launch the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Asked if the move by Kuala Lumpur to ban recruitment of workers from India figured in his talks, Antony said, "nobody raised the issue."
He termed his interaction with the Malaysian leaders as ‘very fruitful’.
"We focused on expanding defence cooperation and the Malaysian leaders were very positive on this." Antony said it was only during his visit that Malaysia awarded a major contract, which had been pending for a long time, to IRCON.
The comments by the Defence Minister assumes significance in the backdrop of Malaysia's announcement on Tuesday night of barring Indians from seeking employment in the country after strong protests by ethnic Indians against their alleged marginalisation.