PUTRAJAYA: Malaysians must help regain the confidence of the British government so that it will not impose visas on them, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim.

In his meeting with his British counterpart a few days ago, Rais said he had requested that Malaysians be allowed to visit the country without visas.

"There are more than 12,000 Malaysian students there and the bilateral trade between Malaysia and Britain is rising.

"I will work with Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar in making sure that our people comply with Britain's visiting requirements.

"I want to appeal to Malaysians who want to go to Britain to comply with its rules and regulations. This is for our benefit."
Rais also said he had requested that the British government inform the Malaysian high commission of cases of non-compliance by Malaysians.

"Although it was claimed that more than 1,500 Malaysians had overstayed in the country, we have not been given complete data."

It was recently reported that Malaysians visiting Britain may have to apply for visas from next year.

Malaysia is among 11 countries being evaluated over the next six months to determine if their citizens needed visas to enter Britain.

The others are Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Lesotho, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

Rais, speaking after his ministry's post-Cabinet meeting, also said the Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Singapore would be focusing on the human rights' charter, co-operation between member countries in fighting the drug menace and Malaysia's rights with regard to regional co-operation.