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Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email Finally, PM Badawi tells his version of the HINDRAF Raya open house visit. He was gracious enough to allow them in as he thought they wanted to wish him and the other ministers but was disappointed that their intention was not so. He said the group did not wish him “Selamat Hari Raya” except for one person. The others told him to release HINDRAF ISA detainees and repeal the ISA. According to the Star:
Relating the incident to reporters, he said the police and security personnel who initially denied the Hindraf group access, sought clearance from him.
“I discussed it with (Deputy Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the other ministers. In that spirit I told the security team to allow them in.
“They came in and there was a lot of noise, I don’t know why,” said Abdullah, who was at the time welcoming visitors to the open house with his wife Datin Seri Jeanne Abdullah, Najib and wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor.
“I heard very clearly ‘Hapuskan ISA, Lepaskan Hindraf’ (Repeal the ISA, Release the Hindraf detainees),” he said, adding that he did not know if another group of 70 people who arrived later had wished anyone as he had left for prayers by then.
Earlier, the Star published this version online (extracts only):
Abdullah said the police and security personnel, who had initially denied the Hindraf group access, sought clearance from him.
“I discussed it with (his deputy) Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the other ministers. My view was that they wanted to come to the open house, which is open to all and we do not stop any group from coming to wish us and join other guests. “We even welcomed non-Malaysians who came in huge numbers. In that spirit I told the security people to ask them to come in. But they came in and there was a lot of noise, I don’t know why,” Abdullah said on Monday.
Abdullah said those around him pointed out that none of the Hindraf supporters had wished him Selamat Hari Raya.
“The rest I heard very clearly – ‘Hapuskan ISA, Lepaskan Hindraf; Hapuskan ISA, Lepaskan Hindraf’ (Repeal the ISA, Release the Hindraf detainees). That was all they wanted to say to me. They did not have the spirit of Hari Raya, to enjoy and join in the celebration,” he added.
“But this one has created a lot of unhappiness to many people,” he said, adding he was told that when he went for prayers in between, another group of about 70 people were there.
“I was not present, if they were some among the 70 who wished Selamat Hari Raya, I wouldn’t know. But when I was there and this happened, nobody was interested to wish Selamat Hari Raya.
“Some of them even skipped my ministers. Even Datuk Seri Najib, some of them skipped also,” he said.
To a question he said no action was being planned against the group.
The NST quoted him as being disappointed with the HINDRAF members:
The prime minister said except for one Hindraf member, none of them conveyed Hari Raya wishes to him or his cabinet colleagues.
“No Raya wishes at all. Instead, they were saying things like ‘Hapuskan ISA (abolish ISA)’ and ‘Lepaskan Hindraf (release Hindraf detainees)’. I was very disappointed.”
Abdullah said he had given clearance for the group to enter the hall at the Putra World Trade Centre in the spirit of Aidilfitri.
“Our open house is for everyone and we do not stop anyone from attending.”
He said except for the morning prayers, the festivities had become a national celebration.
“We have thousands of guests and usually there are no problems. But this one has created a lot of unhappiness.”
While yesterday online version quotes from NST:
“Only one of them said ’Selamat Hari Raya’ (greetings) to me. The rest said ’Abolish ISA’ (Internal Security Act) and ’Free the Hindraf Leaders’,” he said.
“It was I who allowed them to attend, in the spirit of Hari Raya,” he said.
The prime minister said he believed that the open house was for everyone and that no one should be prohibited from attending it.
“Why should I prevent any Malaysian group from coming to the open house. Even non-Malaysians came in huge numbers,” he said.
more quotes from Malaysiakini:
“I feel disappointed, actually,” he told a press conference after chairing a meeting with members of the International Advisory Panel to the Malaysia Biotechnology Corporation at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre today.
“We don’t prevent any group from coming to our open house, to wish Selamat Hari Raya, and to mix with other guests. This is the spirit of Hari Raya,” he said.
“Why should I prevent Malaysians from coming to our open house? It’s open for everybody, even tourists and non-Malaysians who came in big numbers.”
However, he said the activists’ entry into the hall where the main reception was held was accompanied by “a lot of noise”, due in part to their sloganeering over the Internal Security Act (ISA) and demands for the release of their leaders currently being detained.
“What I was told by someone who was observing … behind me, was ‘Pak Lah, did you realise that only one of them said Selamat Hari Raya to you?’,” said Abdullah, adding that they had failed to shake hands even with other cabinet ministers.
“The rest (of their words), which I heard very clearly, was, ‘Abolish the ISA! Free the Hindraf! Abolish the ISA! Free the Hindraf!’ That’s all they wanted to tell me. This is not the spirit of Hari Raya, where you wish (Selamat) Hari Raya, are happy and have fun and socialise.”
Abdullah said the Hindraf crowd created “a lot of unhappiness to a lot of people who were around”.
He said, however, that “there is no report (to warrant) severe action” against the activists for their conduct.
