"We are also seeking accountability. The minister needs to be accountable to the Indian public. The government has provided for plenty of benefits for the Indian community in Malaysia, but we do not know where all that has gone. Don't we have a right to know where our benefits have gone? Velu is 71-years-old and he should make room for younger leaders. If not he should at least allow more Indians to participate in the government. But he wants to create a monopoly," he said.
Regarding the protests, he said the intentions of the communiry were always peaceful. "All the protestors had assembled and each one had a picture of Mahatma Gandhi on his shirt. But the vested interests do not want to give in to our demands and hence are creating a false propaganda in the media about our protest being violent. They are attempting to curb our freedom of speech," he said.
On what the rebels want to prove at the PBD, he said: "We are here in two batches. We want to tell the world what the minister's intentions are. A team of ministers has come down for the event. They are scared the truth may come out and want to paint a rosy picture of what is happening in Malaysia. We have come to counter that and we will use the PBD as a platform," he said.
A spokesperson for the MIC, Punithai Chandran, denied all the charges and said the ethnic Indians are to blame for the current situation. "There is a lot being spoken about the problem in our country. Even if there are demands, there is a manner in which one has to ask for it. We have a constitution and all of us are bound by it. There is a procedure and each one has to follow it," he said.
"Our minister has done a lot for the Indian community and will continue to do so. People have to understand that problems have to be sorted out sensibly, and not emotionally. I heard that another group from Malaysia has come for the event too. But I have not had the time to find out their plan and motive as we are involved here in more creative work. Our intention is to showcase Malaysia to the world," she said.
Image: Supporters of Hindu Rights Action Force leader P Uthayakumar voice their support after Uthayakumar was freed from a court in Klang, outside Kuala Lumpur.
Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Also read: Harnessing the power of the NRI
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