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india concerned about malaysian indians

November 30th, 2007
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thanks to Nagarajan for highlighting this.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/071130/43/6nwie.html

India to take up issue of ethnic Indians with Malaysia
 
By IANS
Friday November 30, 03:55 PM
New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) India Friday said it is concerned about the crackdown on peaceful protests by ethnic Indians in Malaysia and will take up the issue with the country's government.
'Whenever Indian citizens abroad or people of Indian origin are adversely affected, it's a cause of concern,' Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told reporters at a joint press conference with leaders of the European Union.
He was replying to a question on whether his government was planning to take up the issue of alleged victimisation of peaceful protesters with the Malaysian government.
'This is matter which does concern us,' he said.
The prime minister refused to comment any further as External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was making a statement on the issue in parliament.
'I am in touch with the Malaysian government. We are going to take up the issue with them,' Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha in response to a question on the issue.
At least 80 ethnic Indians were charged in Malaysia early this week for taking part in a rally to demand equal rights in the Muslim-majority country. About 10,000 minority ethnic Indians took out a rally in Kuala Lumpur police last Sunday.
The police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protesters. Around 250 people were arrested and three protest organizers were charged with sedition.
Indians comprise eight percent of Malaysia's population of 27 million. They allege that an affirmative action policy favours Malays in government jobs.
 
India taking up Tamil issue with Malaysia
 
NEW DELHI, NOV 30 (PTI)
With ethnic Tamils under attack in Malaysia, the Government today told the Rajya Sabha that New Delhi was taking up the issue with Kuala Lumpur.
 
"The matter is being taken up through diplomatic channel," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Suresh Pachouri told the House during Zero Hour.
 
He was responding to the concerns of members who took strong exception to a senior Malaysian minister asking Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi to "lay off" from the happenings in that country.
 
Terming as condemnable the ill-treatment being meted out to ethnic Tamils, Pachouri said that after the matter was taken up with the Malaysian authorities, the External Affairs Minister would make a statement in the House.
 
Raising the issue, R Shanmugasundaram (DMK) drew the attention of the Governnment to the statement of the Malaysian Minister on the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. "This is highly condemnable as the Malaysian Minister has no business to talk like this. The Governnment of India should take appropriate action," he said.
 
S S Ahluwalia (BJP) demanded that the Malaysian envoy to India should be called to explain.
 
B S Gnanadesikan (Cong) expressed serious anguish over the manner in which the Chief Minister was snubbed by the Malaysian minister. He was joined by his party colleague V Narayanaswamy.
 
 
India lawmakers protest treatment of ethnic Indians in M'sia

NEW DELHI (Nov 30, 2007): Several India lawmakers expressed their concern in parliament yesterday over the treatment of ethnic Indians in Malaysia , news reports said.

 
The issue came up both in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, India's lower and upper house of parliament, PTI and IANS news agencies reported.
 
The legislators expressed concern over the police treatment at a rally by Malaysia's ethnic Indian minority in Kuala Lumpur, demanding equal rights to jobs and education.
 
The protesting lawmakers were largely from India 's southern Tamil Nadu state and cut across party affiliation. Most of Malaysia's ethnic Indian people have origins in Tamil Nadu.
They demanded that the Indian government take up the issue with the Malaysian government and ensure protection of Indian ethnic minorities.
 
Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee disapproved of the motions, and ordered some of the members' remarks expunged from the record.
 
"We are a very responsible democracy," he said. "We don't discuss any other country in such a manner."
 
But Rajya Sabha deputy chairman K.Rahman Khan said India 's external affairs minister would be informed of the sentiments of the lawmakers. – dpa

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gcc handover complaint to suhakam

November 30th, 2007
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Police slammed for 'racial stance'
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75519
Andrew Ong
Nov 30, 07 4:49pm

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) should come out to condemn acts of racial profiling by the government and the authorities, said a lobby group. 

The Group of Concerned Citizens (GCC), lodging a complaint about an incident in Batu Caves, Selayang, last Sunday, said these acts occurred when:

• Almost 100 people were charged in court in connection with the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) rally in Kuala Lumpur; and 

• Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nazri Abdul Aziz referred to rally participants as penyangak (crooks). 

GCC representative M Manohar told Suhakam commissioner Prof Khoo Kay Kim today that the police had been selective in their actions, by remanding and charging Hindraf supporters but not those who attended the Bersih rally two weeks before.

Manohar said he believed this was racially motivated because the Bersih rally participants were mostly Malays, while the those at the Hindraf protest were mainly Indians.

“Suhakam must find out why no one was remanded or charged over the Bersih rally… we believe there is some racial element involved,” he said.

More than 40,000 people took part in the Bersih (Coalition for Free and Fair Elections) rally on Nov 10. About 200 people were arrested but have not been charged to date.

During the Hindraf rally in Kuala Lumpur, almost 400 people were arrested and 88 were charged for various offences on Wednesday. 

On Nazri’s penyangak remark, another GCC representative Charles Santiago told Khoo that such acts were unacceptable and unbecoming of a minister.

“Such sinister attempts at racial profiling of a disadvantaged minority community as ‘violent people’ speaks volumes of the failure of race-based politics in Malaysia,” he said.

He also urged Suhakam to issue a written condemnation of Nazri’s remark.

Photo evidence

GCC’s complaint letter was officially handed over to Khoo by several of those who said they were affected in the Batu Caves incident.

Their allegations encompassed alleged use of excessive force by the police to disperse the crowd that had gathered there on Sunday morning, several hours ahead of the Hindraf rally in the city centre.

Santiago used a series of photographs to show Khoo how the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) had fired tear gas and used water cannon against those caught within the temple compound.

One photograph depicted several FRU members inside the compound – the site of one of the holiest Hindu shrines in Malaysia.

Santiago said the FRU had entered the compound and assaulted people, including those who were there to perform prayers in conjunction with the holy festival of Karthikai.

One victim, K Ramesh, said he and his family members had just finished performing their prayers, when the FRU struck.

“They came in and arrested me and my brother. One of them pushed my mother and she fell,” he claimed, adding that he was forced to surrender his identity card and it was not given back.

Another eyewitness, G Ashok Kumar ( photo), 47, told Khoo that he was with another group in Batu Caves intending to proceed to KLCC for the rally.

He said the police locked the main entrance to the compound at about 4.30am, forcing many in the crowd to sit near the gate.

Ashok said several of them were arrested as they tried to leave the compound, and that some angry people then hurled projectiles at the police.

“After that, they just kept on pumping tear gas inside… (the police said) there was no body contact. That was absolutely rubbish. There was lots of body contact (when people tried to flee),” he said.

Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan has steadfastly maintained that there was “no body contact” between the police and the crowd.

Approached for comments later, Khoo (photo) skirted a question on whether he felt there were human rights violations during the Batu Caves incident.

“From what that has been conveyed, there appears to be a question to be addressed with regard to the interpretation of the law,” said Khoo.

The upcoming commission meeting on Dec 10 will decide the next course of action based on complaints in hand.

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hindraf did not approach unity panel says ongkili

November 30th, 2007
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Ongkili: Hindraf didn't approach unity advisory panel

source

PUTRAJAYA: Disgruntled group Hindraf has never approached the National Unity Advisory Panel over its grouses. 

Minister in Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili said neither the panel, which was set up to hear grouses from Malaysians in the country, nor the Parliamentary Select Committee on National Unity and National Service that he chaired, had ever heard anything from Hindraf. 

“We have had 250 groups from a diverse range of backgrounds approaching us and submitting some 600 memoranda and proposals on their grouses. 

Hindraf has never tried to make an appointment to meet up with the panel or the committee. 

“We will welcome any proposal from them,” he told reporters after a dialogue with Federal CID director Datuk Christopher Wan and Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation members at his office here Friday. 

Dr Ongkili said groups should use only legal means to express their unhappiness. Resorting to illegal avenues such as rallies would only raise suspicions that they had other motives and intentions, he added. 

As the minister in charge of national unity and integration, Dr Ongkili also said he had also been informed that his officers had attended some of Hindraf’s functions. 

“They have gone to the grassroots to listen in during some of the meetings and they have reported to us that this group is intent on creating violence,” he said, urging all Malaysians to help preserve the country’s stability. 

“Our officers as well as the 3,600 Rukun Tetangga members are monitoring the situation,” he said.

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i vote for my master

November 30th, 2007
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when my relative was asked who she'll vote for, being govt servants, she said "for BN".

obviously i asked why? she said because the govt can trace who we vote…nanti "hilang kerja la" or "no promotion".

made me thinking – am i as an individual so significant that the powers to be would want to allocate resources and investigate who i vote for? i mean she'll be just one of the 10.8 million voters.

how can this fear of voting appear? if an educated person can think like that….?????

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MIC reacts with committee

November 30th, 2007
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tamil schools already have existing forums which is the state tamil school coordinators, plus tamil school HM association, plus the MIC exco in states are briefed about the schools.

temples also same – there's MHS, MIC excos, even committee in Perak and KL.

does it mean that all this didn't work until now?

whatever it is, we shall give our suggestions and do our part.

The Star's version is over here.

MIC's new approach on community woes
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75495
Nov 30, 07 12:45pm
The MIC will be setting up a special committee and a call centre soon to help the Indian community to overcome its woes.

According to a Bernama
report, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has asked MIC to form a special committee to prepare a complete report on demands by the Indian community as a follow-up to the party's proposals in June.

The news agency quoted MIC president S Samy Vellu as saying that the directive followed a meeting with Abdullah on Wednesday.

"The committee was asked to study the proposals in the report titled "New Mechanism for the Indian Community" presented to the Prime Minister in June," said Samy Vellu.

Samy Vellu, who is also the works minister, added that Abdullah sympathised with the MIC's requests and promised to study them.

"However, he asked the special committee to put in new proposals."

The new proposals include data on non-Bumiputeras in the public sector, posts and vacancies at the federal, state and local authority-level, and giving priority to recruiting non-Bumiputeras in areas where they have high population concentration in sectors like welfare, education, health and youth.

On the call centre proposal, Samy Vellu said the hotline would enable the public to channel their problems to the party. He said issues such as temples and Tamil schools could be made known to the party through the call centre.

"The MIC is a responsible party which represents the Indian community and has the social, moral and political obligations to protect the interest of Indians.

"It will continue to struggle for the betterment of the Indian community so that they can progress together with the other communities towards achieving the objectives of Vision 2020," he added in the Bernama report.

While the NST says this:

PM open to MIC proposals

source

KUALA LUMPUR: The prime minister is sympathetic and open to proposals forwarded to him by the MIC leadership concerning socio-economic ills affecting the Indian community.

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was very receptive to the proposals which were contained in a 12-page report entitled "Mechanism for Effective Delivery for the Indian Community".

He said the report was handed over to the prime minister in May.

"The prime minister even suggested including additional input among the proposals, so that all areas are covered."

Samy Vellu, who headed the committee that prepared the proposals, said they included investment opportunities, skilled training, micro-credit facilities, education, employment health and issues pertaining to temples.

He said Abdullah had directed his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to study the proposals and work with the MIC leadership to conduct periodic reviews to address the plight of the Indian community.

"The periodic review is to ensure that the proposals agreed to are carried out effectively," he said after chairing the party's central working committee meeting at the MIC headquarters.

Samy Vellu added that the proposals included budget allocations under the Ninth Malaysia Plan to ensure that the Indian community would not be marginalised when the country achieved its "Vision 2020" aspirations.

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