Ethnic Indians protest racial violence in KL
Ethnic Indians protest racial violence in KL
KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Nearly 200 ethnic Indian activists
demonstrated outside parliament on Tuesday, declaring Prime
Minister Mahathir Mohamad responsible for recent ethnic clashes
that were Malaysia's worst in three decades.
Waving banners reading "We demand justice and development" and
"Maintain harmony without racism," the protesters demanded a
meeting with Mahathir to air grievances over social and economic
problems faced by ethnic Indians, Malaysia's third-largest
minority group.
Mahathir, however, was not in Parliament -- where Speaker
Mohamed Zahir Ismail rejected an opposition motion on Tuesday to
hold a special debate over this month's fighting between ethnic
Malays and ethnic Indians that killed at least six people and
wounded dozens.
The demonstration came one day after the 25-day session opened
with a plea for unity by Malaysia's king. Protests are extremely
rare at parliament, which is four-fifths dominated by Mahathir's
ruling National Front coalition.
K. Arumugam, a spokesman for 51 non-government organizations
who demonstrated, said ethnic Indians felt "alienated and
deprived" compared to Malay Muslims, who comprise more than half
of the Southeast Asian nation's 22 million people and benefit
from government affirmative action programs.
"The existence of racism has always been there," Arumugam told
reporters.
In a letter to Mahathir, the protesters urged Malaysia's
leader of nearly 20 years to establish a multiethnic police task
force to handle racial conflicts and a race relations commission
to probe intolerance.
"We believe (Mahathir) had the power and authority to
decisively act to minimize the deaths of Malaysian citizens," the
statement said, referring to the clashes. "We hold the Prime
Minister of Malaysia and the government responsible for what
happened."
Most of the protesters dispersed peacefully after two hours.
They met Deputy Housing Minister M. Kayveas, who pledged to
convey their request for a meeting with Mahathir, but refused to
give their letter to the junior minister.
Azizah Ismail, an opposition lawmaker and the wife of jailed
former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, told The Associated Press
that the demonstrators' suggestions were "very fair."
This month's violence, which flared intermittently on the
outskirts of Kuala Lumpur for four days starting March 8, broke
out after an ethnic Indian man knocked over furniture at an
ethnic Malay wedding, inflaming tensions which escalated into the
worst fighting between ethnic groups since riots between Malays
and ethnic Chinese in 1969.
Observers say the violence underscores discontent among ethnic
Indians, who are about eight percent of Malaysia's population and
who are generally poorer than other races. Ethnic Chinese, who
comprise nearly 30 percent of Malaysians, have dominated the
economy for generations. Government programs which benefit ethnic
Malays include university slots and preferential treatment for
government business contracts.
The government has pledged new public housing in the villages
which were torn by the fighting and where more than 100,000
laborers, factory employees and squatters live. Hundreds of
police patrol the streets to guard against further fighting.
Inspector General of Police Norian Mai said late Monday that
the region has been peaceful for more than a week, and police
might scale down their operation. He said authorities detained
five men in connection with one of the deaths, the first arrest
directly connected to the killings.
The five were arrested on Sunday night and a magistrate has
given police permission to lock up the suspects.
Two of the five are minors, aged 16 or less. The oldest is 32.
The clashes over three days between minority Indians and majority
Malays in a poor neighborhood outside the capital marked
Malaysia's worst ethnic violence since 1969.
Aside from the killings, nearly 30 people were hospitalized
with broken bones and cuts and stab wounds, while many more were
injured less seriously.