Walking the Malaysian tightrope

Tamils of Indian origin face problems in countries like Fiji, Sri Lanka, even Burma.

Tamils of Indian origin face problems in countries like Fiji, Sri Lanka, even Burma. But it is amazing that it is happening in a successful democracy in a Muslim majority setting like Malaysia, which with Turkey, is a leading light in the Islamic world. And even more, that it is happening in a major ASEAN country, given that organisation8217;s strong words to Myanmar on the recent pro-democracy demonstrations.

When the Organisation of Islamic Conference OIC summit came to Asia for the first time 8212; to Kuala Lumpur 8212; in 2003, under Mahathir8217;s leadership, we thought that the grouping would finally acquire a new energy to mitigate the targeting of the community after 9/11. We had hoped that OIC resolutions would recognise the inclusive democratic society that India had nurtured as home to the world8217;s second largest Muslim community. Our hopes were belied and we saw the same old criticism of India. It is therefore surprising to hear the Malaysian leadership take umbrage at the concern expressed by PM Manmohan Singh over the plight of the Indian-origin people in that country.

The issue needs to be seen in the context of inter-communal relations in that country. The sudden eruption of the HINDRAF Hindu Rights Action Force agitation has outed the discrimination the Tamil community has historically felt but hitherto articulated only sotto voce. The Malaysian government has tried to tone down the dissatisfaction of the Indian-origin Tamils by co-opting a part of the community8217;s leadership within the government. It was these leaders who were welcomed in India, and who have been used by the Malaysian government to canvass for lucrative infrastructure contracts and solicit better conditions for Malaysian Airlines MAS in India8217;s recent economic boom. The Indian government was not averse to this as it was believed that strengthening Indian origin leadership in Malaysia would leverage the community in Malaysia8217;s political matrix. The HINDRAF demonstration shows that the co-opted Indian leadership has failed to meet the aspirations of its rank and file.

If there is one thing that has defined the parameters of India-Malaysia relations, it is palm oil. Until recently our heavy dependence on this product has made us wary of taking hard positions vis-agrave;-vis Malaysia. This has to some extent been mitigated by new sources of palm oil on the market and the recent exposure of Malaysian companies in India in road and port contracts amounting to over 3 billion, and the tremendous revenue that MAS gets from its flights to India.

While we do possess a degree of leverage vis-agrave;-vis the Malaysian government, it is moot whether using it will lead to a satisfactory result. Notwithstanding our navy8217;s growing reach, we do not possess any hard power to intervene in the situation relating to the Tamils of Indian origin. In the final analysis, they have to work out the solution internally. Yet we do have some chips to provoke a softer response from the Malaysian government so that the current situation does not worsen.

Are we ready to use them and go beyond the expression of concern? Remember, our expression of concern at the burning of the Jaffna Public Library in 1983 was the origin of India8217;s involvement in the ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka.

The fact that the leader of HINDRAF did not get a hearing in New Delhi is a pointer. The mere expression of concern without backing it with substantive discussions could do harm both to our bilateral relations and the interest of the Tamil community. That cannot be our goal.

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The writer, a former Indian diplomat, is chairman, Kunzru Centre for Defence Studies and Research, Pune abhyankarhotmail.com