By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : Justifying action against an agitating Hindu group to prevent counter-stirs by other racial groups, a Malaysian newspaper Sunday asked the government that it should tackle on priority the social issues concerning urban poor in the country.
The Star newspaper sought to analyse the developments since Nov 25, when Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) staged a protest rally that was declared illegal. Thirty-one people have been detained, of which five top rally organizers have been held under the stringent Internal Security Act (ISA).
The developments had invited concern from India and criticism from the US, both of which have been resented by the Malaysian government.
“Maintaining race relations in Malaysia is not an easy job. As recent events have shown, it is a very delicate process indeed,” the newspaper said.
“Problems affecting the Malaysian urban poor, regardless of their race, need to be addressed. There must be a comprehensive plan to tackle these social concerns. It is not a consolation to use statistics to tell the community that they are not the poorest,” The Star observed.
It also took to task the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), the largest political party of the estimated 2.5 million Indian immigrants that form eight percent of the 27-million population.
“The Hindraf protest was unprecedented and certainly the MIC must sit up and listen hard,” it said.
“It has been weeks since the party (MIC) talked about setting up hotlines to listen to the grievances of the community and we have yet to hear details of the plan and the committee set up to analyse the issues affecting the poor.”
Regarding action against Hindraf, the newspaper said: “It was never a question of whether the ISA would be used but only a question of when.”
“The rising political temperature, fuelled by the series of illegal protest gatherings in the federal capital, had to be cooled down. If not, the leadership and police would probably have their hands full trying to stop counter demonstrations by other groups,” The Star said.
“Without doubt, the recent massive demonstration by Hindraf to highlight the economic plight of Indians struck a chord among many Malaysians who feel the issues need to be addressed,” it stressed.
“These are legitimate concerns, particularly on education and employment, for which the Indian community has strong sentiments. Certainly, the leadership needs to hear them out,” it said, welcoming Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s Friday meeting with 16 Indian NGOs.
“Statistics have now been provided that on a per capita basis, there are more Hindu temples than mosques and Suraus in Selangor, although the total Hindu-Indian population is about a quarter of the total Malay population.”
Hindraf has also charged that it was a “policy” to kill one person every week, of which 60 percent of the victims were Indians. This is farfetched and exaggerated, the newspaper said, adding: “It is a reminder to us all that extremism cuts across all religions and ideologies.”
Hindraf attracted the government’s ire after it posted a memorandum to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown complaining about the plight of “Commonwealth ethnic Indians” in Malaysia.
“Not a single Malaysian newspaper was prepared to print the entire contents of the memorandum submitted by Hindraf. For good reason, it was simply too extreme,” The Star said.
“But that meant, unfortunately, that many Malaysians were unable to see for themselves the whole memorandum and were also unable to make a better judgment of the group. That, in some ways, put the government in a defensive position as Hindraf leaders continued to hold gatherings locally and overseas,” the newspaper said.