Govt in touch with Malaysia: Pranab

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee assured Parliament on Friday that the Government was “in touch with the Malaysian authorities...

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee assured Parliament on Friday that the Government was “in touch with the Malaysian authorities” over the question of police action against people of Indian origin and “subsequent related matters”.

In both the Houses of Parliament, members cutting across party lines raised the issue and sought a statement from the Government. They also protested against a Malaysian minister’s statement that snubbed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for taking up the matter with the Indian Prime Minister.

Around two million people of Indian origin are protesting against what they call an “apartheid system” in Malaysia, which gives special rights to the Malays and discriminates against Indians. The protestors also demand that the Islamic state should become a secular one and atrocities against Hindus should stop. They have also demanded that 532 Tamil-medium schools should get state funding. The police cracked down on a rally in Kuala Lumpur on November 25 and a Malaysian minister on Thursday asked Karunanidhi to “lay off”.

Karunanidhi’s daughter and Rajya Sabha member Kanimozhi said the Malaysian minister’s statement was unwarranted as her father only expressed “pain” while writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

DMK members protested when the External Affairs Minister’s statement did not mention the Malaysian minister’s statement. Mukherjee subsequently explained that the expression ‘related matters’ in his written statement referred to the incident.

Making a suo motu statement regarding the Hindraf—Hindu Rights Action Force— demonstration in Malaysia, Mukherjee said the “Government remains deeply solicitous for the welfare of people of Indian origin living abroad”. He added, “As members are aware, there is a large community of people of Indian origin in Malaysia who are citizens of that country. We have friendly relations with Malaysia and we are in touch with the authorities there in the related matter.”

The minister, in his statement, said some MPs expressed their concern regarding the alleged harassment of participants of the rally organised by Hindraf and “subsequent related matters”. “The rally was to hand over a petition to the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur seeking the support of Queen Elizabeth II for a class action suit filed in the UK for the exploitation of Indians who were brought to Malaysia as indentured labour.”

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