At least 150 Malaysian activists on Monday staged a noisy protest outside the Myanmar embassy demanding the military junta stop the violent crackdown against civilians and restore democracy.

"Stop the violence, Free Burma," chanted demonstrators, made up of members of the ruling and opposition political parties. They also handed two memorandums to the embassy condemning the use of deadly force against Myanmar protestors.

"We hope that more Malaysians will be able to express their solidarity with the Burmese people, who have for very long been suffering," said Khairy Jamaluddin, the deputy youth chief of the powerful ruling United Malays National Organisation.

Khairy is the son-in-law of Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who last week made a rare call for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Earlier Monday, a regional youth group, the Young Progressive Southeast Asia, handed a note to the Myanmar embassy condemning the use of force by security forces.

"We strongly condemn the Myanmar military regime's use of brute force to crush the peaceful demonstrations of the Buddhist monks and Burmese people," it said.

It urged the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), to exert political pressure and impose economic sanctions on the regime and to review Myanmar's membership in the grouping.

Last Friday, about 2,000 Myanmar protesters -- many of them migrant workers in Malaysia -- demonstrated outside the embassy amid a heavy police presence.

The Myanmar junta began a crackdown last Wednesday on anti-government demonstrators, leaving at least 13 people killed and hundreds arrested.

Malaysia is an important economic partner of resource-rich Myanmar.