can't help talking about this
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Malaysian minister to contest elections despite calls to quit
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| KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s only ethnic Indian minister said yesterday he will lead his party to victory in upcoming polls despite allegations he has failed to defend the rights of his community. Works Minister S Samy Vellu, president of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) which is a member of the ruling coalition, has been heckled and abused at public events and faced mounting calls for his resignation. The veteran minister has become a divisive figure among ethnic Indians, who make up 8% of the population, since defending the government against recent anti-discrimination protests mounted by Indian activists. “I am confident we can get back the support of the majority of the Indians. The Indian voters now realise they have been misled,†Samy Vellu told reporters after announcing he would contest the March 8 elections as planned. However, pollsters say they expect the multi-racial coalition led by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to lose the support of the ethnic Indian and Chinese minorities at the ballot box. Many in the minority groups are angry with the government for maintaining its positive discrimination policies towards the Muslim Malays who dominate the population and make up its support base. Samy Vellu, who turns 72 on polling day, acknowledged that retaining the MIC’s nine national parliamentary seats and 19 state seats would be a battle. “I don’t think it will be easy to win 100%. I know Indians don’t like me nowadays. Their mind has been distracted and crippled by false promises,†he said. Ethnic Indians have become a political force for the first time in the upcoming elections, after a mass rally in November that led to the indefinite detention of five activists under internal security laws. The community has a long list of grievances including the destruction of Hindu temples, and discrimination in terms of employment and education opportunities. – AFP http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=202806&version=1&template_id=45&parent_id=25 |
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