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“Other countries should be mindful of our rights”

SINGAPORE: Malaysian Foreign Minister Hamid Albar on Monday asserted again his country’s sovereign rights over matters concerning its ethnic Indian minority, even as political leaders called for steps against the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF).

The Minister told journalists in Kuala Lumpur: “We will deal with our problems and issues according to our laws. Other countries should be mindful of our rights.”

The Minister was asked to comment on the concerns expressed in India over the current situation in Malaysia regarding its ethnic Indian population.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi called for efforts to counter the “baseless accusations” of the HINDRAF leaders, “aimed at causing chaos” in the country.

Mr. Abdullah on Saturday rejected the charges by the HINDRAF that “an ethnic cleansing” of the Indian-origin minority was on.

He told officials that the best way to counter such allegations was to keep the focus on the successes achieved and on the plans for the future in the economic domain. Poverty afflicted 5.7 per cent of the total population, and the aim now was to eradicate “hardcore poverty” by 2010.

Samy Vellu, Works Minister and president of the Malaysian Indian Congress, echoed Mr. Abdullah in denouncing the HINDRAF. The Congress is a constituent of the long-serving coalition at the federal level.

Nazri Abdul Aziz, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, indicated that the HINDRAF had been brought under the scanner to determine possible charges under the Sedition Act.

Information Minister Zainuddin Maidin suggested that the HINDRAF leaders were “unqualified” to meet the Prime Minister for talks on the current situation.

Mr. Zainuddin said: “We also regret the action of certain quarters who have taken advantage of the situation to allege that the President of India and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu supported the HINDRAF action.”

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