Malaysia has no immediate plans to release Hindraf leaders

New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) The Malaysian Government has no
immediate plans to review the detention of five Indian-origin
leaders, who were arrested under a controversial law for
organising an unprecedented public protest against alleged
marginalisation of the ethnic Indian community.


Malaysia has kept in detention the Hindu Rights Action
Force (Hindraf) leaders since last one year under the Internal
Security Act (ISA), which allows authorities to hold people
for indefinite period without trial.


Malaysia's Human Resource Development Minister S
Subramanian said the release of the Hindraf leaders will
depend on the recommendation of a Review Board which meets
once in six months.


"We have a system of reviewing the (release of) those who
were arrested under the Act. This is done on a periodic basis
on every six months," the visiting minister told PTI when
asked about release of the detained leaders.

The Review Board met few months back and decided against
releasing the leaders. Its next meeting is expected to take
place after couple of months.

Subramanian said the Board comprising neutral members
meets once in six months and if it suggests releasing them,
then the government will set free the detainees.

"When their findings suggest that timing is appropriate
for such release to be made, then they will be released," he
said without specifying timing of their release.

Hindraf, which has been spearheading agitation demanding
more rights for ethnic-Indians, came into international focus
after it organised an unprecedented public protest in November
2007 against alleged marginalisation of the community.

The Malaysian Government last year banned the Hindraf,
branding it as a threat to national security.

Subramanian also rejected allegations of human rights
violations levelled by ethnic Indians and said the government
will address the genuine concerns of the community through
established mechanism.

Dismissing allegations that the government was
suppressing aspirations of ethnic Indians, the minister said
Indians were thriving in the country like other communities.

"I do not think there is any kind of suppression (of
Indians) as such," he said.

Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), which represents the
community in the ruling Barisan Nasional, had received a
drubbing in the general elections last year.

"Indians have wide political representation in Malaysia
and if there is any issue, there is a mechanism to deal with
it," Subramanian, who belongs to MIC, said.

Asked whether he was hopeful of finding a solution to the
problem, Subramanian said the Malaysian government was working
on it.

Indian community makes up nearly eight per cent of
Malaysia's 27 million people. Muslim Malays account for 60 per
cent of the population, while ethnic Chinese make up 25 per
cent.

Ethnic Indians and Chinese complain that they get fewer
opportunities in education, business and jobs than the
majority Malays.

India and Malaysia signed a bilateral labour mobility
agreement Saturday aimed at improving the recruitment and
employment conditions of workers and promote legal migration.

Currently there are 1.5 million Indian workers in
Malaysia. PTI