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Nazri tells Tamil Nadu CM not to interfere

November 28th, 2007
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Nazri to Tamil Nadu CM – butt out!
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75415
Yoges Palaniappan
Nov 28, 07 6:34pm

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz has warned Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi not to interfere in Malaysian politics. 

At a press conference in the Parliament lobby, Nazri (left) said Karunanidhi (right) should "look at his own backyard" before interfering in Malaysia’s affairs.

"His own state is out of control. (What happens in Malaysia) has nothing to do with him. This is not his country. This is Malaysia," said Nazri.

Karunanidhi has reportedly written to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking immediate action for the "sufferings and bad treatment" of Tamils in Malaysia, based on grievances linked to last Sunday’s street protest. 

Nazri also took the opportunity to warn the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), the coalition behind the rally, against challenging the government.

"I would like to reiterate the prime minister’s and deputy prime minister's statement that we would not accept challenges from Hindraf," he said.

"In France, the authorities use rubber bullets to control the crowd, we only use water cannon and tear gas, and still they (Hindraf) said that we (the police) have used excessive force.”

Check on claims

Nazri further said the government would not hesitate to charge Hindraf legal adviser P Uthayakumar under the Sedition Act if it is true that he had made certain claims in a memorandum to be presented to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The memorandum that the Umno led government had killed some hundred Indians in the Kampung Medan "mini genocide" (in May 2001) and that the Indian Malaysians fear they would be forced into terrorism in a matter of time, as has happened among Sri Lankan Tamils.

Nazri was of the view that words like "genocide" could incite the Indian community to hate the Malays and vice versa.

) has to be responsible for his actions. We will discuss this with the attorney-general and consider charging him under the Sedition Act," he said.

Asked when the government would act on its threat to use the Internal Security Act against demonstrators, Nazri said: "For the time being, we will use existing laws. We will use the police and open court as long as we can control the situation."

Asked for an update on the royal commission of inquiry into the Lingam tape , Nazri said the cabinet meeting today, which was chaired by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, discussed only the terms of reference. 

He said the cabinet did not discuss the composition of the commission and that Abdullah would select its members and announce all the details.

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PM warns against spreading the memorandum by hindraf

November 28th, 2007
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We will use Act against street protestors if we have to, says PM

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By JANE RITIKOS

PETALING JAYA: The Government will use the Internal Security Act (ISA) against street demonstrators who threaten national security and disrupt racial harmony if necessary, warned the Prime Minister. “If there are reasons for us to use it, we will use it,” Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi stressed. He was commenting on illegal street demonstrations held in Kuala Lumpur recently, including the latest by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), which claims to be fighting for the Hindus in Malaysia. Abdullah said using the law, which allows for detention without trial, would be preventive action to spare the country untoward incidents that could affect its peace and national security.  “The ISA is there, if the situation warrants it, it will be used,” he told reporters at the RMAF air base in Subang here upon his return from Cairo yesterday. On calls by certain quarters for the ISA to be invoked against illegal street demonstrators, Abdullah said: “I am very surprised that people want the ISA. I thought they never wanted it.”  The police, he said, would decide on the appropriate action to be taken. 

On rallies being planned for next month, he said he would leave it to the police to assess whether they would be a threat to national security. The annual Human Rights March organised by the Bar Council human rights committee is planned for next month. 

Abdullah also warned that action would be taken against those who download and distribute the memorandum signed by Hindraf legal adviser lawyer P. Uthayakumar addressed to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, which had been published in the Internet. The memorandum alleges persecution of Malaysian Indians. He said the Government acknowledged freedom of the Internet but action could be taken against those who misuse it to spread allegations against the Government.  The memorandum appeals to Britain to refer Malaysia to the World Court for crimes against ethnic Indians. It also claimed that “100 over Indians were slashed and killed by the Umno-controlled Malaysian government in the Kampung Medan mini genocide”. To this, Abdullah said that if Hindraf had indeed made such claim, Umno would act. “We want to know what proof they have (to support their claim). This is a serious accusation because they say it was Umno,” he said. 

On Hindraf’s action, he said: “They want to kiss the orang putih (British). They want the orang putih to take action because they are not satisfied with us”. Abdullah said Hindraf got support from the Indian community who thought they would each get RM1mil in compensation from its class-action suit filed against the British Government for bringing Indians into Malaya to work as labourers. The Prime Minister also said that everyone must realise that accusations against the Government were made because certain people thought that the election was around the corner, and this was the case in every elections. “But we hear what they say. Some of the demands are in the process of being addressed while some have been addressed but they are still harping on it,” he said. 

On Cameron Highlands MP S.K. Devamany’s comment in Parliament that the Hindraf demonstration showed there was frustration at the lower levels in the community, Abdullah said the Government must be fair to all. “If we focus on the interest of one group, others will be jealous, others will complain,” he said. 

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I will hand over says samy

November 27th, 2007
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Samy Vellu unperturbed by Hindraf protest

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KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 27, 2007): MIC president Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu today dismissed his community's biggest anti-government protest as an opposition ploy and denied he was out of touch with the increasingly agitated Indians.

Sunday (Nov 25)'s Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force) rally by more than 10,000 people, who defied water cannon and tear gas to protest racial discrimination, could pose a headache for the government ahead of early polls as Indians are traditionally seen as a vote-bank for the ruling coalition.

In an interview with Reuters, Samy, the combative head of the main ethnic Indian party and Malaysia's longest-serving minister, branded protesters as "trouble makers" and said he was not losing sleep over the bloody demonstration.

"We have fought worst battles than this during elections," the ebullient 71-year-old leader said.

"We don't worry about this. We are confident of winning the next elections handsomely," said Samy, the Works Minister and an architect by training.

"They (the protesters) are fighting to create problems. They are trouble makers," said Samy, dressed in a smart black suit and red tie, as he attended to a handful of Indians in his ministry. His luxurious Mercedes Benz was parked on the driveway.

He has been leader of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and a cabinet minister since 1979. MIC is a junior partner in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ruling coalition, which is set to call general elections in the next few months.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition dominates the 219-seat parliament with 199 seats.

His friends regard Samy as the "champion of Indians" but foes say he stands in the way of solving the many socio-economic problems facing Malaysia's 1.8 million Indians.

The community, which forms just 7% of Malaysia's 26 million people, is in a parlous state, said a Hindu rights group which called the protest.

It said Indians lacked educational and business opportunities, adding that a government affirmative action policy in favour of majority Malays had marginalised them.

The Indians have always struggled to air their grouses openly. The community's economic clout is a scant 1.5% of national wealth and that too is in the hands of a few top businessmen.

UNFINISHED JOB

Many blame the MIC and Samy, known to some for his authoritarian style, for not quickly solving their woes.

And Sunday's protest, which attracted Indian doctors, lawyers and other professionals as well, could be an eye-opener to the BN, politicians said.

A senior leader of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the bulwark of the 14-party BN coalition, said BN should study the Indian grievances and try to overcome them.

"We have to look at the real issues, what is causing this unhappiness and I think BN has to pay attention to it," he said. Samy took the criticism in his stride.

"To me, I can throw the records on the floor on what I have done. I am not a man on the streets. I am a man on the job. There's always unfinished business." But he gave no hint when he would step down.

"I have been around for 29 years. At an appropriate time I will hand over." – Reuters

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samy vellue sad but not angry over rally

November 27th, 2007
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Samy: Sad, not angry

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SEREMBAN: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said he was “deeply saddened but not angry” with the Hindu Rights’ Action Force (Hindraf) for organising Sunday's illegal rally. Samy Vellu said Hindraf could have taken a better approach to air its grievances and should not have accused the MIC of failing the Indian community. “They must follow the law. In this country, we are very open … I have never seen a government which is more open. “The Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) has never shut his eyes or ears to their plight … but they should have abided by the law,” he said to reporters after opening the RM1.3 million SJK (T) Ladang Seremban in Sg Gadut near here. 

Hindraf defied a court order to go ahead with the illegal rally of thousands that was dispersed by police using tear gas and water cannons. During the incident, 241 people were arrested but of those, 105 were released after their statements were recorded.

Samy Vellu said that although he had offered to meet Hindraf leaders after they forwarded a memorandum to the Prime Minister weeks before the rally, they had refused to meet him. “I told them that I was prepared to see them but I was told that they wished to deal directly with Umno. So what can the MIC do?” he said adding that Hindraf leaders submitted a one-page memo to the Prime Minister about the community's problems over the past 50 years. 

Asked if there was merit in Hindraf’s demands, Samy Vellu said problems should be discussed within the system.
“When we discuss among ourselves, we can quarrel as much as we want. But why must we raise our displeasure outside the system?” he asked. 

On comments by newly-formed Malaysian Indian United Party president Datuk Nalla Karuppan that the party would work with the Barisan Nasional, Samy Vellu said anyone could do this. “Working is one thing but getting into the Barisan is a different thing. “Like I have always said, there will only be one party representing the Indian community in the Barisan and that is the MIC,” he said. 

Meanwhile, in Petaling Jaya, MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel said the party would not gamble on the future of the Indian community by urging them to take their grievances to the streets. He said this was because a large majority of Malaysian Indians depended on the Government for the community’s development.  “We believe we cannot achieve much by going to the streets.  “The cause you struggle for should not only be justified but must be pursued through legitimate means,” he said in a press statement.

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najib denies samy vellu is mandor

November 27th, 2007
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Najib: Government ready to deal with political challenges

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PETALING JAYA: The Barisan Nasional Government will face the “political challenges” thrown by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) group which defied the law and went ahead with its rally on Sunday.  “We will meet the challenge. We will not back down from political challenges,” Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said when asked if the Government was pressured by the group, which alleged that Hindus in Malaysia were being marginalised. He pointed out that if the Government had practised discriminatory policies against the Hindus as claimed by Hindraf, the Indian community in the country would not have supported the Government all this time and Barisan Nasional would not have been able to achieve big victories in elections. “Now, they suddenly want to raise the issue (of being sidelined). It’s politically motivated,” he said at a ceremony for the delivery of three Dauphin AS 365N3 helicopters by Eurocopter to the Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency yesterday. 

Najib reiterated that street demonstrations only produced negative effects on the national economy, besides inconveniencing the people. “Businesses are affected and the people are also inconvenienced by a few days of traffic jams as police set up roadblocks,” he said.

Hindraf defied a court order and went ahead with its gathering on Sunday and police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the illegal gathering. Thousands converged at various locations in the city to give support to Hindraf's plan to submit a petition with 100,000 signatures to the British High Commission. The petition was to ask Queen Elizabeth II to appoint a Queen’s Counsel to represent the Indian community in a class-action suit filed against the British government for bringing in Indians as indentured labourers to the then Malaya and exploiting them. Hindraf called off its protest after seven hours without handing over its memorandum to the British High Commission.  

At another function later, Najib denied claims that MIC leader Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was a “mandor” of Umno and an ineffective leader for the Indian community.

In Penang, acting Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said the Indian community could use other avenues to air grouses, as they were well represented in the Barisan Nasional coalition. Dr Koh said the Indian community could use signature campaigns to highlight their grievances.

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