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Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been urged to take immediate action concerning the state of the Indians in Malaysia. The premier’s intervention was sought by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and other politicians in the state following the mass rally held on Nov 25 in Kuala Lumpur. newspaper, Karunanidhi wrote to Manmohan on Tuesday asking him to employ the necessary measures regarding the “sufferings and bad treatment” of Tamils in Malaysia. Karunanidhi said the people of Tamil Nadu were disturbed over the happenings in Kuala Lumpur. The daily reported that he also conveyed their concern over the treatment being meted out to the Tamils living in Malaysia for a very long period of time. On Sunday, some 30,000 Indian Malaysians took to the streets in a protest organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf). The rally was held to support a lawsuit by Hindraf against Britain for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years. The suit sought a declaration that the Reid Commission Report 1957 failed to incorporate the rights of the Indian community when Malaya was granted independence and this had allegedly resulted in discrimination and marginalisation to this day. Police used tear gas and chemical-laced water to break-up the rally, which also saw scores of people being arrested. 'Treated like slaves' In a news report, Vijayakant, who is the founder leader of the DMDK party, said: "The Tamils were taken there 200 years ago by the then British rulers to work in the plantation fields but the way police dispersed them by firing tear gas showed that the Malaysian government is still treating them as slaves.
He warned that ignorance by India to intervene in this issue could create a situation similar to that of Sri Lanka, which is gripped by ethnic strife. "What started as a spark, is now burning all over Sri Lanka," he said. The Nov 25 rally received widespread coverage in the Indian as well as international media. The event was reported, among others, in the UK, US, China, Taiwan, Australia and the Philippines. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's warning that the government could invoke the Internal Security Act (ISA) against the protestors has also received wide media coverage. |
He alleged that Malaysia was "becoming a Sri Lanka" where the government "sidelined Tamils from all government departments". Related posts:
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