By DHARMENDER SINGH
The Star
The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has denied that it has any political motives or ambitions in its fight for the rights of the Indians in the country.
Its secretary V. K. Regu said its sole objective was to express the grassroots’ grievances and unhappiness over the current status of the Indians in Malaysia.
“We are not aligned or affiliated to any political party but welcome any support for our efforts, regardless of whether it is from the ruling party or the Opposition,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Regu said Hindraf also urged all parties, including the Government, not to turn the mass gathering on Sunday into a racial issue and provoke the public further as Hindraf harboured no ill feeling towards the other races.
“The races in Malaysia are like a family and like a member of this family who is not getting enough food, we are asking for more. It should not break the family,” he said.
He also said that it was wrongfully claimed that the gathering on Sunday was a Hindraf-organised rally as it never sent out any form of invitation for a gathering and even the SMS messages calling for a mass gathering did not originate from the movement.
He said the publicity actually came from statements by the police and the Government against Hindraf’s decision to hand over the memorandum.
Regu said Hindraf also wanted to make it clear that it resorted to handing over the memorandum to the British High Commission after getting no response from all the avenues it explored here to highlight the plight of the Indians, including the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
He said it was a peaceful gathering that turned ugly when police provoked those gathered by firing tear gas and chemical-laced water at the crowd.
He claimed thugs were also planted at Batu Caves to disrupt the gathering there.
“I also ask the local media to be more responsible and mature in its coverage of the events on Sunday by also reporting how many visitors got injured and not just how many cops were hurt,” he said.
He said Hindraf also urged the parties involved to stop unwarranted accusations of the mass gathering and instead look seriously at finding solutions to the plight of Indians without attaching racial connotations to it.
On why the memorandum was eventually not handed over, he said police already had a court injunction barring them from going to the high commission, and they viewed this as a trap to arrest Hindraf’s leaders.
The Star
The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has denied that it has any political motives or ambitions in its fight for the rights of the Indians in the country.
Its secretary V. K. Regu said its sole objective was to express the grassroots’ grievances and unhappiness over the current status of the Indians in Malaysia.
“We are not aligned or affiliated to any political party but welcome any support for our efforts, regardless of whether it is from the ruling party or the Opposition,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Regu said Hindraf also urged all parties, including the Government, not to turn the mass gathering on Sunday into a racial issue and provoke the public further as Hindraf harboured no ill feeling towards the other races.
“The races in Malaysia are like a family and like a member of this family who is not getting enough food, we are asking for more. It should not break the family,” he said.
He also said that it was wrongfully claimed that the gathering on Sunday was a Hindraf-organised rally as it never sent out any form of invitation for a gathering and even the SMS messages calling for a mass gathering did not originate from the movement.
He said the publicity actually came from statements by the police and the Government against Hindraf’s decision to hand over the memorandum.
Regu said Hindraf also wanted to make it clear that it resorted to handing over the memorandum to the British High Commission after getting no response from all the avenues it explored here to highlight the plight of the Indians, including the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
He said it was a peaceful gathering that turned ugly when police provoked those gathered by firing tear gas and chemical-laced water at the crowd.
He claimed thugs were also planted at Batu Caves to disrupt the gathering there.
“I also ask the local media to be more responsible and mature in its coverage of the events on Sunday by also reporting how many visitors got injured and not just how many cops were hurt,” he said.
He said Hindraf also urged the parties involved to stop unwarranted accusations of the mass gathering and instead look seriously at finding solutions to the plight of Indians without attaching racial connotations to it.
On why the memorandum was eventually not handed over, he said police already had a court injunction barring them from going to the high commission, and they viewed this as a trap to arrest Hindraf’s leaders.
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