Malaysia has banned an ethnic Indian group spearheading a protest movement demanding equal rights for minorities in this Muslim Malay-dominated country.
The Hindu Rights Action Force, or Hindraf, was “detrimental to public order and security,” Malaysian Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said in a statement on Wednesday.
The group repeatedly organized gatherings without permits and tried to get international support, tarnishing the country’s image, Syed Hamid said.
The organization says its struggle to end discrimination is peaceful and applied last year to become a legally sanctioned group. But the ban, effective immediately, means it no longer has any hope of receiving legal status.
Anyone who joins activities associated with the group can be prosecuted and faces up to five years in prison for involvement in an “unlawful society,” said N. Surendran, a lawyer who frequently represents its supporters.
“It’s a way to criminalize Hindraf ... with the aim to stamp out the movement. They are trying to make things more difficult,” he said. “It’s not going to work obviously. It will anger not just the Indians but other Malaysians because most don’t view Hindraf as a threat.”
The organization shot to prominence last November when it led tens of thousands of ethnic Indians in a rare street protest calling for an end to government policies that favor ethnic majority Muslim Malays in education, jobs and business opportunities.
Following the demonstration, which was quelled with tear gas and mass arrests, five of the group’s top leaders were arrested under a strict security act that allows for indefinite detention without trial. A sixth leader fled the country and now lives in exile in London.
The rally was seen as a watershed moment in the country’s politics. It emboldened Malaysians unhappy with the government, strengthening opposition parties that made spectacular gains in general elections in March.
Syed Hamid said the organization threatened fragile race relations between Muslim Malays, who account for 60 percent of the population, and mainly non-Muslim, ethnic Chinese and Indians, which make up a third.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese