By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : The alleged discrimination against ethnic Indians in Malaysia did not figure in the talks Indian Defence Minister A.K. Antony had here with the Malaysian leadership, a media report said Tuesday.
Asked if Antony had raised the issue of alleged discrimination against people of Indian origin in the country, Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said he had not, The Star daily reported.
“In fact, he said India hopes to learn from the Malaysian experience and development model. The matter raised by Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force) is a domestic matter,” he said.
The Hindraf, a group claiming to speak for the two million-plus ethnic Indians in Malaysia, courted controversy by staging a protest rally Nov 15. The rally, which attracted an estimated 10,000 people, was declared illegal and forcibly dispersed.
While 31 of the rally participants are being prosecuted, five of the organizers who head the Hindraf have been sentenced to two years of imprisonment under the stringent Internal Security Act.
The Malaysian government has said Hindraf has connections with terrorist organisations, particularly the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam (LTTE).
However, Hindraf has denied the charge and its chief P. Uthaikumar has sued the government for defamation.
India had expressed “concern” at the crackdown on the November rally and the US had criticised the Malaysian handling of the issue, both of which were resented by Kuala Lumpur.
Ethnic Indians have resided in Malaysia for centuries. A bulk of them went there during the British era and form eight percent of the country’s 27 million population.