He was commenting on the detention of Azizul Raheem Awalludin, a Tourism Malaysia director in Stockholm, and his wife, Shalwati Norshal, by the Swedish authorities on Dec 18 for allegedly hitting their 12-year-old son.
He said Wisma Putra would seek a swift resolution to the matter for any prolonged delay in charging the couple would not be beneficial to the children, ages between seven and 14.
Anifah said Malaysia will not interfere in Sweden's judicial process and they (Swedish authorities) have been very accommodating and cooperative.
He said Wisma Putra would use diplomatic channels to speed up the judicial process while ensuring that the couple and their children have access to embassy representatives.
"What we seek is that the process is speeded up as we think that the 14-day detention and subsequent 14-day remand is too long," he told a press conference.
On the children, Anifah said embassy officials visited them last Friday and they were in 'good spirits'.
"They indicated that they want to stay with Muslim foster parents and come home to Malaysia as soon as possible," he added.
He said a list of three Muslim families had been submitted to the Swedish authorities and lawyers have been appointed by the authorities to assist the couple.
On family members or interested groups wishing to go to Sweden to assist, Anifah said they must not resort to action such as submitting a protest note or seek third-party legal intervention in the matter.
"They can go to Sweden but please don't go overboard," he said, adding that it would be preferable if Wisma Putra was informed beforehand of any trip.
On whether Malaysians civil servants serving abroad are briefed by Wisma Putra on the 'dos and don't' of a host country prior to their postings, he said this was done as "standard operation procedure and we usually summarize it by reminding them to respect the laws of the country."
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