'Give and take' suggested to resolve Malaysia's ethnic problems

'Give and take' to resolve Malaysia's ethnic problems
Submitted by Tarique on Mon, 12/31/2007 - 13:29.
By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has said that any dispute concerning ethnicity and religion can be resolved by subscribing to the "give and take" spirit.
He told a gathering of civil servants Sunday that confrontational methods would not resolve sensitive issues.
Reacting to claims that racial and religious tolerance had deteriorated in the country, Najib said: "We still hold on strongly to the concept which we have practised all this while."
He dismissed "rumours" being circulated that the demolition of a Hindu temple in Shah Alam had not been handled with care by the government, The Star reported Monday.
"First of all, the land where the temple was built was privately owned. It was not built on government land. It also took the owner three years to apply through the legal process to have it moved. It was only after three years that action was taken," he said.
He also refuted claims that idols of deities were destroyed when the temple was demolished.
"The deities were transported out of the temple first and not otherwise. Even my own friends who are Hindus asked me this and I checked and checked and triple checked. The deities were shifted first," Najib said.
Demolition of the temple was one of the issues raised by the Hindu Right Action Force (Hindraf), a group that claims to represent ethnic Indians, especially Hindu Tamils.
The Hindraf has alleged that 30,000 Hindu temples have been destroyed in Malaysia since its independence 50 years ago.
Hindraf organised a protest rally on Nov 25, which was declared illegal and dispersed. Thirty-one people are being prosecuted for participating in the rally and five of the organisers have been imprisoned for two years under the stringent Internal Security Act (ISA).
http://www.indianmuslims.info/news/2007/dec/31/give_and_take_resolve_malaysias_ethnic_problems.html