The leader of ethnic Indian community in Malaysia on Thursday urged New Delhi to take up with Kuala Lumpur the issue of alleged mistreatment of People of Indian Origin in that country.

“India can do much more and it should realise that it is an economic giant. New Delhi can influence Malaysia as the latter cannot ignore the country’s business potential,” Waytha Moorthy, leader of Hindu Rights Action Force which is spearheading the agitation in Malaysia, said here. He suggested that India could impose some kind of trade sanction against Malaysia to “pressurise” it to provide ethnic Indians their rights.

“We know they (Malaysian authorities) will come hard at us. They are trying to kill the struggle by denying us our genuine rights. We need support and India can do much more,” Moorthy said. “A fear has been instilled successfully for the last 50 years and we expect more from the Indian side,” he added.

Malaysia: 31 denied bail
Singapore, UNI: A Sessions court in Malaysia on Thursday denied bail to 31 ethnic Indians, believed to be supporters of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf). Shah Alam Sessions Court Judge, Azimah Omar, took about 20 minutes to read out her decision, saying the court had taken into account the fact that public interest precedes the interests of all the accused, the Malaysian national news agency Bernama reported.