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78 people linked to banned Hindu rights group held in Malaysia

The protesters, believed to be members of the Hindu Rights Party (HRP) -- an offshoot of the outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) -- were protesting against introduction of the Malay language novel 'Interlok' in the senior school curriculum.

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Malaysian police today arrested 78 people, most of them ethnic Indians believed to be liked to a banned Hindu rights group, when they marched towards the city centre to take part in a rally declared illegal by the government to protest against introduction of a novel in high school curriculum.

The protesters, believed to be members of the Hindu Rights Party (HRP) -- an offshoot of the outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) -- were protesting against introduction of the Malay language novel 'Interlok' in the senior school curriculum.

A section of the minority community, including Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) -- the country's largest ethnic Indian party, believes that the novel contains offensive words like 'pariah' which they say connotes a caste system that they claim does not exist in this country.

Their protest came despite the government's assurance that the book would be introduced in the curriculum only after amendments were made.

The arrest of 78 people was made as the protesters walked from the Rennaisance Hotel to the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) in front of the iconic Petronas Twin Towers, once the tallest building in the world, in small groups, local media said.

HRP president P Uthayakumar was arrested when he was leaving his residence at 8 am local time and taken to a police station. The others arrested included Kedah state HRP chief Ramu Ramasamy and a Penang HRP leader.

Though the main group of protesters was stopped by the police near the hotel before they could march to the Petronas twin towers, a section managed to evade police to make their way to the protest venue.

Malaysian police yesterday warned that legal action would be taken against anyone attending the gathering sponsored by the outlawed Hindraf.

Police had rejected an application by Hindraf to hold the gathering on the grounds that it would jeopardise public order.

Inspector General of Police Ismail Omar said no permit had been issued for the gathering and anyone attending it would be breaking the law.

Home minister Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said he had directed Ismail to personally monitor the situation and take firm action if Hindraf created trouble.

"He will be responsible for ensuring that the illegal organisation does not jeopardise the (security) situation," he said yesterday.

Ismail said incitement and extremist demands could cause rifts among communities and trigger hatred for one another.

He said there should be early education on the need for tolerance and mutual respect in building a nation.

The home minister claimed that the organisers were trying to create an atmosphere that was being witnessed in the Middle East, but noted that Malaysia was in a different situation altogether and the protesters were not getting the response they wanted.

Hindraf was responsible for organising a massive rally of ethnic Indians in November 2007 to protest against the alleged marginalisation of minority community in multi-ethnic Malaysia.

The group was banned following the rally which saw its leaders detained under the Internal Security Act. After his release, Uttayakumar, one of Hindraf leaders, formed the Human Rights Party (HRP).
 

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