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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
Nazri also took the opportunity to warn the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), the coalition behind the rally, against challenging the government. 
He alleged that Malaysia was "becoming a Sri Lanka" where the government "sidelined Tamils from all government departments". 
