JAKARTA, Aug 30, 2007 (AFP) - An Indonesian furore over the assault of a referee by Malaysian police escalated Thursday with lawmakers and students calling for an apology and boycott of Malaysia's independence day festivities.

Four plainclothes Malaysian police are alleged to have beaten up the karate referee last week when he refused to show identification to prove he was not an illegal immigrant.

JAKARTA, Aug 27, 2007 (AFP) - Indonesia's karate team has boycotted an Asian championship in Malaysia in protest at a brutal attack on one of its official referees, allegedly by police there, an official said Monday.

Four plain-clothes police officers jumped from a van and tried to arrest referee Donald Kolobita on Friday in the town of Nilai, the secretary of the Indonesian Karate Federation (FORKI), Maxi Pauran, told AFP.