Date:02/12/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/12/02/stories/2007120255750800.htm

International - India & World

Ethnic Indians are not enemies: Malaysian PM

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Saturday affirmed that his country’s ethnic Indian citizens “are not our enemies” and “in our 50 years of independence we never had any problems with the Indians.”

Speaking to reporters, while on tour away from Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Badawi condemned the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) for spreading a “blatant lie” about an alleged “ethnic cleansing” of Malaysian Indians.

The HINDRAF, an umbrella group of non-governmental associations, had organised a protest rally in Kuala Lumpur on November 25 to turn the international focus on the alleged “marginalisation” of nearly two million Malaysian Indians. Tear gas and water cannon were used to disperse the protesting crowds.

In a separate development, Foreign Minister Hamid Albar told The Star on Saturday that no external power should interfere in Malaysia’s domestic affairs relating to its ethnic Indian minority. As quoted on The Star online site, Mr. Hamid said: “I hope there is no misunderstanding of what is happening here [in Malaysia]. If they [India’s leaders] are talking about Indian citizens, we would understand the concern, but what happened involves Malaysian citizens.” He was commenting on the “concern” expressed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the public domain.

Diplomatic sources, when contacted by this correspondent, did not wish to go into the exact state of engagement at present between the two countries on this issue.

Mr. Badawi, in his condemnation of the HINDRAF, said: “Ethnic cleansing is like what happened in Bosnia when the Serbians killed and did everything to wipe out Bosnians from the country. We didn’t do such things here … In Malaysia, there are no problems with Islam and Hindu religions … There are no sectarian clashes here. Why [then] such things [as the alleged ‘ethnic cleansing’] are being raised?” The HINDRAF campaign “has racial undertones, aimed at disrupting the prevailing peace.”

Meanwhile, even as Works Minister and President of the Malaysian Indian Congress Samy Vellu reaffirmed the steps being taken to address the problems facing the community, the HINDRAF wanted the process to take place at the Prime Minister’s level.