Outraged Malaysian PM says charges of ethnic cleansing of Indians are lies

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) -- Malaysia's leader said claims that his government pursued ethnic cleansing policies were lies designed to divide the races in this Muslim-majority country, and vowed to resign if he was proved wrong, newspapers reported Sunday. The Hindu Rights Action Force, which organized a banned Nov. 25 rally to demand equality and fair treatment, sent two letters to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown last month saying the Malaysian government was pursuing 'ethnic cleansing' policies to drive out the Hindu minority, the group's leader, P. Uthayakumar said. An outraged Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi slammed the Hindu activists, saying there was no truth in the claim. 'The allegations are all lies to deceive the Indians that they are an exploited race. Malaysians will not believe this,' The Sunday Star quoted Abdullah as saying. 'Ethnic cleansing is something that was done in Bosnia. We do not do it in this country. I'm really angry. I rarely get angry but this blatant lie cannot be tolerated at all,' he said Saturday, adding that he would resign if there was proof of ethnic cleansing. An aide to Abdullah confirmed his comments, but couldn't give further details. The Hindu group's letters urged the British government to lead international condemnation of Malaysia's government, Uthayakumar told The Associated Press. He said Brown has not responded. Some 10,000 Indians took part in the Hindu activists' protest last month in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Police dispersed the demonstration with tear gas and water cannons. Abdullah has threatened to invoke a security law that allows indefinite detention without trial to prevent future demonstrations. Indians, who make up about 8 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people, say they suffer discrimination because of an affirmative action policy that favors Malay Muslims in jobs, education, business and government contracts. They also complain Malaysia's government is becoming increasingly Islamic and is denying them their religious rights, citing the demolition of dozens of Hindu temples. Ethnic Malays form about 60 percent of the population and control the government. Chinese make up a quarter of the population and generally are much wealthier than Indians, most of whom earn low incomes and work in menial jobs. Uthayakumar said the group sought international help after the government turned a deaf ear to the plight of ethnic Indians. 'We have exhausted all local avenues. We have sent 1,000 over letters to the government but nobody wants to hear us,' Uthayakumar said. 'We have no political motive. We are fighting for poor Indians.' He said the government has refused to hold an inquiry into a bloody racial clash in 2001 in which a Malay mob killed six Indians and injured hundreds, and claimed one Indian temple was being demolished every three weeks. Last week, authorities tore down an Indian squatter colony in central Selangor state without offering alternative housing, and attempted to demolish another Hindu temple in northern Kedah state but backed off after protests, Uthayakumar said. 'They are continuing to tear down our temples. This is ethnic cleansing. They do not want to see Indian symbols in the country,' he said. Officials have said the temples that were torn down had been illegally built on private land, and that aid has been given to poor Indians. Hindu Rights Action Force chairman, P. Waytha Moorthy, was traveling to India, Europe and the United States to seek support, and he hoped to meet with officials at the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and other U.N. bodies in Geneva, Uthayakumar said. The Indian government has expressed concerns about the alleged atrocities against Indians in Malaysia, but Kuala Lumpur has told New Delhi not to meddle in its internal affairs.

Source : Arab Times Online

Can you imagine what will outsider think when they read this article? There's one occasion where a fren of mine been asked, if it is true that Indians in Malaysia are poor, and I like his reply...

"I'm not so sure about that but the third richest man is Indian (Ananda Krishnan - Maxis) and the biggest port belong to Indian too (Tan Sri Ganalingam - PTP). Our longest serving minister also an Indian (Samy Vellu) and the famous KLCC Twin Tower was built on the land of Indian (Ananda). So, I'm not sure if they really poor..."