Badawi asks ethnic Indians to ignore ‘extremists’

Describing ethnic Indians as an integral part of society, Malaysian Premier Abdullah Badawi on Sunday said a Cabinet...

Describing ethnic Indians as an integral part of society, Malaysian Premier Abdullah Badawi on Sunday said a Cabinet committee has been set up to address their grievances but asked the community complaining of racial inequality not to allow “extremist groups” to influence them.

In his message on the occasion of Diwali, a public holiday in this multi-ethnic country, Abdullah said Malaysian Indians, the majority of whom are Hindus, had always tirelessly worked with and constructively engaged the government to improve the well-being of the community.

“The government is also fully committed to this end, knowing full well that any advancement made by this community, as with the others, will surely also benefit the country as a whole,” he said.

Story continues below this ad

Abdullah said a Cabinet committee has been set up to address challenges faced by the minority community which is an integral part of society. He said that the government recognises the ethnic Indians’ past and present contributions to nation-building.

“In the spirit of Deepavali, that good will always prevail. Malaysians must remain together and not allow extremist groups and individuals to cause tensions to rise. We are mature and united enough to recognise that the vast majority of Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, all aspire to achieve the same objectives for our families and for our country,” he said in his message.

The Prime Minister did not name any group but his comments were apparently aimed at the non-governmental Hindu Rights Action Force, a body spearheading agitation against the alleged marginalisation of ethnic Indians. The group was banned recently by government for adopting a “very extreme” approach to propagate its ideology.

Ethnic Indians have been part of Malaysia for the past 200 years when most of them were brought by the colonial British to help out in plantations, build roads and railways.

Story continues below this ad

About 8 per cent of Malaysia’s 27 million population are ethnic Indians.

Abdullah, in his message, said the best thing about being a Malaysian was being a part of a unique and diverse society.

Turning to the international financial turmoil, he said Malaysia remained steadfast and confident in weathering the global economic crisis by being united as a people to face it and “in ensuring that we come out of it better and stronger than before”.