Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Malaysian PM Badawi playing hide and seek over Indian workers', priests' ban? Come clean, PM.

Is Malaysia playing hide and seek over ban?
Wednesday January 9 2008 00:00 IST (New Indian Express)
Shafi Rahman


NEW DELHI: Malaysian authorities on Tuesday practiced verbal gymnastics, raising doubts that a proposal to freeze employment of Indian workers is being put in place. Malaysian Works Minister Samy Vellu on Tuesday back flipped after confirming that there is a freeze on employment of all foreign workers.

"We have enough workers now. Number of available workers is going up in the country. Not only India and Bangladesh, we are banning workers from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Indonesia," he told this website's newspaper. in the sidelines of the PBD just before the afternoon session.

Hours later, he withdrew his comments. "I have talked to my Prime Minister, Minister for Human Resources and the secretary general of home affairs. There is no truth in the reports," he said. "There is status quo. Indians are welcome for employment in Malaysia ", he said from his hotel room over phone to this website's newspaper.

The minister's press secretary said that his earlier comments should be "disregarded". But the news reports from Malaysia say that Cabinet decision on employment freeze was made on December 18, but was not officially announced.

It was confirmed by a Home Ministry official only when reporters called for clarification on a statement by a religious group that Indian temple workers were being denied permission to work in Malaysia.

Malaysia has the largest delegation of 130 members to the PBD, led by the Works Minister

http://www.newindpress.com/NewsItems.asp?ID=IEH20080108121540&Title=Top+Stories&Topic=-519&

1 comment:

K P VARAN said...

It is pitiable that the Prime Minister of Malaysia is constantly and possibly with pre meditated intent kept in the dark over most things or, on the other hand, his faculties have started to fail so hideously, that he is no more in a position to give a firm reply on any point or to steer the country in the right direction. It is said that he seeks directions from nincompoops and imbeciles and those attempting to usurp his powers.

Whatever it may be, there can be no noise and so much of hullabaloo about the firing of chemical laced cannons into Hindu Temples; razing them down despite interventions by Senior Ministers appealing to second generation Indons holding high office in the land of Malaysia if such things as reported over the Newspapers; Al Jazeera, BBC ; YouTube etc have some sembalnce of truth.

Things appear to get more for the worse for the Ethnic Indians in Malaysia with their "Great Leader" giving way to all sorts of wild lies to the Press in India to cover up the brutality and marginalisation that goes on in his home country.

India, as the article above urges, should make sterner efforts in the interests of its own citizens working or intending to come to work in Malaysia.

Indians who come to work in Malaysia are more often than not are treated like peasants and scum by the local Authorities and there is nothing that other Malaysians can do to alleviate the position. The NGOs can merely bleat like sheep and once in a way confront the water cannons which are increasing in number.

The cries of millions who form the DIASPORA should not be ignored and should be given due weight in the in the name of Human Rights and Human Dignity in this age of Kali Yoga.