NEW DELHI, July 19 — Malaysia has assured India that it will assist the country combat the smuggling of fake rupees to Kuala Lumpur, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said today.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also the Malaysian Home Minister, said he made the commitment during a closed-door meeting with his counterpart, Rajnath Singh at the latter’s office, here, late yesterday.

"They made a request (asking for help) to tackle and combat this issue immediately. I was told, these fake rupees were printed outside India and smuggled into Malaysia.

"Therefore, we need to get the details of the matter and so, I have called our Royal Malaysia Police (RMP) after the meeting for immediate action even though there is no formal written request,” he told the Malaysian media, here today.

Ahmad Zahid pointed out that the smuggling activity did not occur through India but via other countries and the fake rupees were made into currency and part of business trade and transactions in Malaysia.  — Bernama