Malaysia defends right to deal with ethnic Indians

Syed Hamid said this in response to Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee's concerns over the apparent mistreatment of Indians in Malaysia.

"If they break any law, it is our right to deal with them in accordance with Malaysian laws," Syed Hamid was quoted as telling the Star daily.

Malaysia's ethnic Indian community, which makes up less than 10 per cent of the population, mostly originate from India's southern Tamil Nadu state.

On November 25, more than 5,000 ethnic Indians launched a street protest in the capital Kuala Lumpur to highlight their claims of discrimination from the mainly-Malay government.

The demonstrations, which began before dawn, lasted several hours and ended with riot police firing chemically-laced water cannons and tear gas at the people. More than 100 demonstrators were also detained.

Following the demonstrations, Indian lawmakers have been protesting in Parliament for two days and demanding the government address the matter with Malaysia.

Syed Hamid defended the government's move in stopping the street demonstration, which was held without a police permit, and urged Indian lawmakers not to interfere in the country's laws and home affairs.

"I hope there is no misunderstanding of what is happening here. If they are talking about Indian citizens, we would understand the concern, but what happened involves Malaysian citizens," he said.

The Malaysian government has denied any forms of discrimination against ethnic Indians, and claims that the demonstrations were a ploy used by opposition political parties to garner support.//DPA