Families of victims and action groups in Malaysia submitted a petition on Tuesday to the British government for an official apology over a massacre more than six decades ago.

The British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur said in a statement that High Commissioner Simon Featherstone received a signature petition from the Action Committee Condemning the Batang Kali Massacre on behalf of the British government.

The petition, in the form of 10,000 postcards, were addressed to British Prime Minister David Cameron in a request for an apology from the British government.

The killings, known as the Batang Kali Massacre, saw 24 ethnic Chinese shot dead by the British Scots Guards when the then- Malaya was under British colonial rule in 1948.

Last year, a British High court agreed that the British government had legal responsibility for the acts of the Scots Guards, but rejected the request by the victims' families for a official inquiry.

"What happened to the 24 Batang Kali civilians over 60 years ago is deeply regrettable and we extend our sympathy to the families and survivors for the loss of life and suffering," a spokesperson from the British High Commission said in the statement.

"The families of those who died are still seeking recourse through legal action, and as their case is being processed by the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time, "the spokesperson added.