அத்வானியுடன் மலேசிய தமிழர் தலைவர் வேதமூர்த்தி சந்திப்பு- ஆதரவு உறுதி

ஜஸ்வந்த் சிங் மற்றும் அத்வானியுடன் மலேசிய தமிழர் தலைவர் வேதமூர்த்தி சந்தித்தார். அத்வானி மற்றும் பாஜக தலைவர்கள் மலேசிய இந்துக்கள் உரிமைப்போருக்கு முழு ஆதரவு என்றும், இந்திய பிரதமரிடம் மலேசிய இந்துக்கள் சார்பாக பேசுவோம் என்றும் உறுதி அளித்தனர்.

Advani to take up with PM plight of Malaysian Hindus
Friday December 7 2007 00:00 IST
Anita Saluja


NEW DELHI: Leader of Opposition L K Advani along with Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Jaswant Singh would take up the issue of the plight of the Malaysian Hindus with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Advani gave this assurance when Malaysian Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) Chairman P Waytha Moorthy on Thursday called on Advani. Waytha Moorthy met Advani and Jaswant Singh and other senior leaders of the BJP and apprised them of the plight of the nearly forgotten, marginalised and persecuted Hindu community in his country. About 10,000 Hindu temples have been demolished in Malaysia since its independence 50 years ago. Most of these existed from British colonial days and nearly 150-yearsold. Hindus are stripped of their dignity and self-respect by this act by the vindictive manner in which their temples have been razed to the ground.

The BJP strongly condemned the Malaysian Government’s policy of subjecting the country’s Hindu community in particular and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) in general, to discrimination, injustice and persecution. The BJP urged the UPA Government to take up this matter with the Malaysian Government at the highest-level with the seriousness it deserves. The Government should demand an immediate reversal of this anti-Hindu and anti-PIO policy, which runs counter to the obligation of all nations in the world to protect well-established and universally recognised human rights of all human beings, especially those belonging to minority communities.

It was pointed out that there has been a steady attempt to Islamise Malaysia's multi-faith population (in which Muslims constitute 55 per cent). The Shariah Court ’s rulings are being made binding on non-Muslims, especially in matters of inter-faith marriages and the religious identity of children. Nearly 70 per cent of the PIO population in Malaysia, which has been living in that country for over 200 years, remain manual labourers, living on daily wages. This underclass remains oppressed and suppressed, with the government making no special budgetary provision for their economic and educational advancement.

The number of Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam schools has dwindled drastically, even though the population has increased manifold. The Government’s neglect of the educational needs of the Indian community is deliberate, since the authorities want to cut off the PIOs’ cultural and spiritual heritage.

Waytha Moorthy, who is a leading lawyer, also shared information about the Malayasian Government’s repressive crackdown of the peaceful, legitimate and democratic protests by the Hindus. He underscored the fact that the Hindus in Malaysia have always been loyal, law-abiding and peaceful citizens. Three lawyers involved in taking up the cases of HINDRAF and its supporters have been charged with sedition for speaking the truth.

Thirty-one participants in the recent massive protest rally organized by HINDRAF have been falsely charged with murder under a law that denies them bail. "All this is being done to instill fear among the Hindus, so that they will not come out again to protest," Moorthy said.

Singapore ’s elder statesman and former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew, who now holds the position of Minister Mentor, on Thursday also called on Advani at his 30, Prithviraj Road residence here. The two leaders held discussions on wide-ranging issues, in which the persecution of PIOs in Malaysia also figured. Lee Kuan Yew not only fully shared Advaniji’s appraisal of, and concerns over, the situation, but also said, "Discrimination on religious grounds in Malaysia affects not merely the Hindus. All the non-Muslim communities in Malaysia - Buddhists, Taoists and Christians - are getting worried."