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PKR says got body contact

November 30th, 2007
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PKR rebuts IGP's 'no body contact' claim
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75481
Andrew Ong
Nov 29, 07 6:42pm
PKR today said it has evidence to disprove Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan''s claim that the police made 'no body contact' in relation to the mass rally on Nov 25.

Contrary to the police chief's assertion that his personnel exercised restraint, PKR supreme council member S Manikavasagam said the heaviest police action took place in Batu Caves on the night before.

"About 100 people were hurt when they were assaulted by the FRU (riot police) and police during a gathering at Batu Caves. One of them is warded in the Intensive Care Unit," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

According to Manikavasagam, a crowd of 3,000 – mostly from neighbouring states – had gathered inside the Batu Caves compound to spend the night before the rally.

He said at about 3am, the police allegedly fired tear gas and water cannons over and through the gates of the compound on the crowd which had nowhere to run.

Previously, Musa denied the use of tear gas and water cannons in the Batu Caves compound, which is Malaysia's most popular Hindu shrine.

Video evidence

Manikavasagam claimed that he has video and anecdotal evidence to back his claim and that this would be presented to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) tomorrow.

Apart from this, the PKR leader added that he has evidence of excessive force being applied by the police during the rally on Sunday morning.

In one example, Manikavasagam showed reporters pictures of B Arumugam, 27, who was heavily bandaged on the nose.

Arumugam, from Seremban, was among the thousands who had gathered at the crack of dawn near the iconic KLCC Twin Towers.

Manikavasagam claimed that Arumugam was hit by a tear gas cannister while seated in a crowd and sustained injuries that required 27 stitches and further surgery.

"The best part is, the police took him away, gave him RM20 and told him to take a taxi to the hospital… They don't want the public to see what had happened to him," he alleged.

Temple called the cops

When contacted, Batu Caves temple committee secretary M Devarajoo confirmed that it was the temple committee who called the police.

"There were a lot of people outside the temple (around midnight). We could not control the crowd, so we called the police," he said.

Devarajoo claimed that the police arrived at the scene after 1am to disperse the crowd.

"We opened the back door to allow people to leave," he said, denying that the police had entered the Batu Caves compound.

He also denied news reports that the damage in the compound added up to RM10,000 and that a bus was torched in the incident.

"There were minor damages to the gate and a fridge. There was no major damage," he said.

The rally was organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf)to support a lawsuit by Hindraf against Britain for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years.

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Abim slams Hindraf for seditious words

November 30th, 2007
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Abim slams Hindraf for 'seditious' words
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75465
Nov 29, 07 5:22pm

The Muslim Youth Movement of Malaysia (Abim) has criticised Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) for using 'subversive' and 'seditious' words in its documents to the British government.

In a statement today, Abim expresses concern that some contents in various documents issued by Hindraf "constitute extreme, exaggerated and sensationalised allegations implicating the Muslim community in one way or another".

"The use of terms and expressions such as 'ethnic cleansing', 'permanent colonization' of Indian Malaysians by 'Islamic extremists', 'Malay gangs' and (others) are clearly racially and religiously unjustified, seditious and borders on the subversive". 

However, the Muslim movement urges Malaysians to remain calm because Hindraf's view is not representative of all Indians in the country.

No ill will

"We believe that although there may be grievances among the Indian community, the majority of our peace-loving Indian friends and mainstream Hindu organisations do not harbour ill will or undue enmity against the Muslims and are also not agreeable to the manner, style and approach adopted by Hindraf," Abim said.

The movement proceeded to warn those fighting for racial and religious interests to learn from history that such issues, if not carefully handled, may cause tensions to flare up.

"When emotions are left unchecked and the communal temperature is too high, there's no guarantee that public order and safety can be maintained.

"(We) condemn all forms of racial and religious extremism and urges peace-loving Malaysians not to take actions that may jeopardize peace, harmony, public order and safety in the country," it said.

The NGO also viewed that relevant authorities should be allowed to regulate the exercise of freedom of assembly rights by taking into account the circumstances of each case.

They urge the police to observe due restraint and be reasonable in exercising their discretion in handling the situation.

Solidarity with all groups

Abim was referring to the rally that took place last Sunday where about 30,000 people – mostly Indians – gathered at Jalan Ampang in Kuala Lumpur to participate in a rally organised by Hindraf to submit a memorandum to the British High Commission.

The authorities had denied a permit for the rally and obtained a rare court order restraining the public from taking part. The police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd.

"We also believe that the current situation is such that it is very irresponsible and dangerous for anyone to manipulate this issue to fan racial sentiments for any political or ulterior agendas," the movement added.

Abim then reaffirmed its solidarity with the poor and marginalised communities and urged all parties to undertake continuous effort to improve their livelihood.

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MIC hotline to address community

November 30th, 2007
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Update from the Star and also THR this morning. I have SMS’ed my suggestion on setting up multiple communication channels to him just now.

MIC to set up hotline to address the problems of the community
source

By A. LETCHUMANAN and PARVEEN GILL

KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC will set up a hotline as soon as possible to handle all problems faced by the Indian community, its president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said.

He said that after meeting the Prime Minister on Wednesday, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had also asked MIC to set up a special committee to analyse and address socio-economic problems faced by the Indian community.

“We expect calls on problems on Tamil schools and Hindu temples. Other problems can also be channelled to the hotline,” he told reporters after chairing the party’s central working committee meeting here yesterday.

Samy Vellu said the problems would be referred to party leaders according to their portfolios.

He said the telephone and contact numbers of the hotline would be published in the local newspapers as soon as it was set up.

“When there are problems which need to be brought to the attention of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, I will bring it up with them,” he said.

Samy Vellu said that he had also received hundreds of SMS on his handphone after certain quarters distributed his numbers and those of MIC leaders.

“While many were genuine, some were crank ones.”

Samy Vellu said Abdullah wanted the committee to submit a detailed report on all the demands of the Indian community so that they could be evaluated.

He stressed that the committee was a result of a report submitted by the party to Abdullah in June. The report is entitled “A New Mechanism for the Indian Community”.

Asked if all these measures were due to the Hindraf protest last Sunday, he said MIC had always submitted a report to the Prime Minister every six months.

He said Abdullah was very sympathetic to the plight of the community and the Prime Minister had promised to study the report.

Saying that Abdullah asked the special committee to come up with more proposals, Samy Vellu said among the new proposals would be to provide the number of non-bumiputras serving in the civil sector, their ranks and also the number of vacancies available at both the federal and state levels.

The Works Minister said that whenever the party did something for the Indian community, it did not seek publicity. He refused to comment on the fate of Cameron Highlands MP K. Devamany on remarks the latter made on the woes of the Indian community in the Parliament sitting on Monday.

“I do not want to comment on the issue as he is supposed to meet Barisan Nasional Chief Whip and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Abdul Razak to explain his remarks.”

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miss malaysia favorite to win miss world

November 30th, 2007
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Best wishes to Deborah, hope she will win the award.

Miss Malaysia seen as hot favourite for world title
source

By CHOW HOW BAN

SANYA: Miss Malaysia Deborah Priya Henry is not letting it go to her head that bookmakers and websites are pitching her as a hot favourite to win the Miss World 2007 beauty pageant.

“It is very exciting and encouraging to read about Miss Malaysia being one of the top five favourites.

“It raises my confidence level. But at the end of the day, it is the judges who make the decision and not the bookmakers,” said Henry, 22, of her chances at the pageant, being held here in Hainan, China.

Still, the stunning beauty from Kuala Lumpur, who is of Indian and Irish parentage, is confident, having done well when she spoke to the judges about herself at the pre-judging session.

Although the pageant has courted some negative publicity over reports of stealing and backstabbing, Henry said she was game to face the challenges.

“Good and bad things happen in the real word. I have been modelling for seven years so I know that people do a lot of bad things and it’s unavoidable. You have to put things in perspective,” she said yesterday.

Henry said it would help if contestants treated their counterparts nicely and made friends with them.

“Miss World is an opportunity for us to network and make friends from all over the world,” the political science and economics graduate from the University of Queensland said.

She said it was important for the contestant to be herself, to stand a chance of winning the contest. “You have to know your limitations and principles. In competitions like this one, sometimes it’s easy to waver and do things you are not comfortable with.

Henry’s parents, Raj and Mary, arrived on Wednesday to give her moral support at the final, to be held tomorrow at the Beauty Crown Convention Centre here

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PM asks MIC to prepare report

November 29th, 2007
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today,night, Minnal FM stated that PM has asked MIC to prepare a list of what the malaysian indian community wants. MIC to create committee and start working on the report.

i hope the create a multi-channel feedback – email/sms/hotline/fax/letter/forum/meet the rakyat sessions etc. not only focus on academicians, politicians, NGOs, govt dept, but also go down to the affected areas.

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