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Kuala Lumpur: A group of Malaysian lawyers demanding affirmative action for the country's ethnic Indians vowed yesterday to sue top police and legal officials who claimed it had ties to terrorists.
Malaysia has tried to paint the group, the Hindu Rights Action Force, or Hindraf, in terrorist colours after it organised a rare protest by 10,000 ethnic Indians last month. Malaysia's police chief said it was trying to provoke racial clashes.
But Hindraf dismissed the accusation as ridiculous, saying it was pursuing its objectives by legal, peaceful means. "They're bankrupt of ideas to punish us," said group's legal adviser, P. Uthayakumar.
"They've no more bullets to fire so they're firing this at us. It's like killing a fly with a sledgehammer, because we're so small."
Multi-racial Malaysia has brushed aside claims that it has mistreated its ethnic Indians, saying they are better off than those still at home.
Lack of opportunities
But ethnic Indians, who make up about 7 per cent of a population of roughly 26 million, complain of a lack of educational and business opportunities, saying government affirmative-action policies that favour majority ethnic Malays have marginalised them.
November's protest also upset authorities because it followed a much larger opposition-sponsored rally seeking electoral reform in Malaysia, where such gatherings are unusual because police clamp down tightly on them.
Police chief Musa Hassan this week accused Hindraf of seeking assistance from terrorist groups.
"Of late there have been indications that Hindraf is trying to seek support and help from terrorist groups," Musa told state news agency Bernama late on Thursday.
"The police are concerned over Hindraf's activities and will not hesitate to take harsh action to guarantee the nation's peace and security."
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