Ethnic cleansing claims are lies - Malaysian PM

Malaysia’s leader said claims made to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown that his government pursued ethnic cleansing policies were lies designed to divide the races in the Muslim-majority country.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi vowed to resign if he was proved wrong, newspapers reported today.

The Hindu Rights Action Force, which organised a banned rally on November 25 to demand equality and fair treatment, sent two letters to Mr Brown last month saying the Malaysian government was pursuing “ethnic cleansing” policies to drive out the Hindu minority, the group’s leader, P Uthayakumar said.

The outraged Prime Minister said there was no truth in the Hindu activists’ claims.

“The allegations are all lies to deceive the Indians that they are an exploited race. Malaysians will not believe this,” he told The Sunday Star.

“Ethnic cleansing is something that was done in Bosnia. We do not do it in this country. I’m really angry. I rarely get angry but this blatant lie cannot be tolerated at all,” he said, adding that he would resign if there was proof of ethnic cleansing.

The Hindu group’s letters urged the British Government to lead international condemnation of Malaysia’s government, Uthayakumar said.

He said Mr Brown had not responded.

Some 10,000 Indians took part in the Hindu activists’ protest last month in central Kuala Lumpur. Police dispersed the demonstration with tear gas and water cannons.

Abdullah has threatened to invoke a security law that allows indefinite detention without trial to prevent future demonstrations.

Indians, who make up about 8% of Malaysia’s 27 million people, say they suffer discrimination because of an affirmative action policy that favours Malay Muslims in jobs, education, business and government contracts.

They also complain Malaysia’s government is becoming increasingly Islamic and is denying them their religious rights, citing the demolition of dozens of Hindu temples.

Ethnic Malays form about 60% of the population and control the government. Chinese make up a quarter of the population and generally are much wealthier than Indians, most of whom earn low incomes and work in menial jobs.

Uthayakumar said the group sought international help after the government turned a deaf ear to the plight of ethnic Indians.

“We have exhausted all local avenues. We have sent over 1,000 letters to the government but nobody wants to hear us,” Uthayakumar said. “We have no political motive. We are fighting for poor Indians.”

Last week, authorities tore down an Indian squatter colony in central Selangor state without offering alternative housing, and attempted to demolish another Hindu temple in northern Kedah state but backed off after protests, Uthayakumar said.

“They are continuing to tear down our temples. This is ethnic cleansing. They do not want to see Indian symbols in the country,” he said.

Officials have said the temples that were torn down had been illegally built on private land, and that aid has been given to poor Indians.

Hindu Rights Action Force chairman P Waytha Moorthy is travelling to India, Europe and the US to seek support, and he hoped to meet officials at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN bodies in Geneva, Uthayakumar said.

The Indian government has expressed concerns about the alleged atrocities against Indians in Malaysia, but Kuala Lumpur has told New Delhi not to meddle in its internal affairs.