Malaysian INDIANS PROTEST

Thousands of Malaysian Indians protest to highlight plight

For the second time this month, Malaysian riot police fired tear gas and water canons to disperse thousands of protesters who took part in an illegal street rally in the capital on Sunday.

The rally, organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force to highlight their complaints of discrimination by the ruling government, ended with hundreds arrested.

In a rare protest by the one of the country's ethnic minorities, thousands of Malaysian Indians took to the streets of downtown Kuala Lumpur to demand equal rights.

Police had set up roadblocks across the city and obtained a court restraint order in an attempt to foil the rally.

Just the night before, more than 3,000 ethnic Indians from across the country gathered at a Hindu temple at Batu Caves outside the capital.

Many were arrested when they clashed with the police who fired tear gas in a bid to stop them from joining the rally.

At the protest outside the Petronas Twin Towers, police fired hundreds of rounds of tear gas and used water canons with chemical-laced water to disperse the crowd.

But the protesters, who did not have a permit for the rally, still tried to force their way through the police barricades to submit their petition to the British High Commission.

Many picked up the tear gas canisters and threw them back at the police.

M Kulasegaran, lawyer for Hindu Rights Action Force, said: "The time has come for a change and as you can see, thousands of people are not afraid of anybody."

One of the protesters cried: "Because we ask what are the Indian rights? I want to think about the next generation; I want to think about my son."

The protest was organised to highlight the economic woes of the minority ethnic Indians who represent 8 percent of the country's population.

The group Hindraf recently filed a multi-trillion-dollar class action against the British government whom they hold responsible for their decades of discrimination.

The mainstream political parties, meanwhile, have disassociated themselves from the rally, saying that the illegal gathering is an opposition ploy to smear the government's image ahead of the country's general elections.

Just two weeks ago, tens of thousands of Malaysians took to the streets to protest for a free and fair election.

The Malaysian government has warned that it will not hesitate to invoke the country's strict security laws that allow detentions without trial on those involved, simply because while Malaysia practises democracy, taking to the streets is simply not the Malaysian way of life.

The dark force is strong there!