The Hindu : Front Page : Malaysia considering ISA against Hindraf

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Dec 09, 2007
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Malaysia considering ISA against Hindraf

P. S. Suryanarayana

Police told to monitor the group closely

SINGAPORE: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is considering the “option” of invoking the Internal Security Act (ISA) against the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), which has been accused of establishing links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Without trial

The ISA provides for detention without trial. And, the Hindraf, which organised a mass protest rally in Kuala Lumpur on November 25 to focus international attention on the alleged “marginalisation” of Malaysian Indians, has, in an interview to The Hindu, denied any links with the LTTE.

Speaking to reporters during a provincial tour on Friday, Mr. Badawi said: “I have asked the Inspector-General of Police to monitor the group [Hindraf] closely.” Malaysia’s national news agency reported Mr. Abdullah as saying that he had to study the ISA option before making any decision. He was quoted, on the online site of the New Straits Times, as saying: “ISA is an option. I will decide when the time is right. If they are deemed [as a threat to national security], we will know what to do.”

In a follow-up comment on Saturday, Mr. Badawi said the Hindraf’s activities overseas were also being monitored.

The Hindraf sources, when contacted, said Mr. Abdullah’s comments were “directly” aimed at the group and perhaps “indirectly” at its sympathisers.

Karunanidhi invited

In an unrelated reference to Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Deputy Information Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said: “We are inviting him to Malaysia to see for himself how [ethnic] Indians are living in this country.”

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