Malaysia
Is Stricken by Ethnic Bloodshed Worst
Strife in 30 Years by Thomas Fuller of International Herald Tribune
Officials Minimize ....The
police, she said, stood by and watched as Mr. Muniratnem was beaten
by four young men armed with sticks and motorcycle helmets. Miss
Parameswary said she witnessed the beating after being roused
from her home at 3 a.m. on Saturday by the screaming of Mr. Muniratnem.
She left her house carrying a stick that she had fashioned into
a weapon by driving a nail into one end.
Media Statement
by DAP National Chairman Lim Kit Siang
Dr M rapped
over Kg Medan clashes
K Kabilan and Zakiah Koya..............
Barisan Alternatif (BA)
leaders today called on prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad not
to incite and exacerbate racial tensions at Kampung Medan, Petaling
Selatan and surrounding areas by making statements of a communal
nature. The racial clashes at the Petaling Selatan squatter areas
and its vicinity since last Thursday have resulted in the death
of at least six persons and the arrest of 154.
Police
urged to tell all on Kg Medan clashes
Susan Loone .......... Police
should be transparent and release all information on the Kampung
Medan clashes to defuse tension and dismiss rumours regarding
the situation, an opposition leader said today. Keadilan vice-president
Tian Chua said that until today, the public have no clear idea
on the actual sequence of the incidents and reason for the outbreak
of violence.
Dangerous
stakes of racial games
P Ramasamy.......these racial clashes between Malays
and Indians have taken place in areas that are socially and economically
depressed. The combatants and victims are members of the working
class who have real no enmity with one another. But then the nature
of racial politics, symbolism of Malay dominance, the racial discrimination
of Indians, class exploitation of Malays and Indians together
have combined in the most nefarious ways to bring out ethnic hatred
among these ethnic groups.
Bloody
early warning signal
CHIAROSCURO
Malaysiakini MGG Pillai.......Where racial and political
harmony is presumed with pious intonations to pat itself on the
back for it, combined with threats when official equanimity is
challenged, it takes but little to throw it out of gear. When
disparate communities and races find their political, social and
cultural bonds fraying with neglect and political chicanery, something
must
give.
Malaysiakini Wednesday
March 14 Kg Medan: Lancing
the boil with a machete CHIAROSCURO
MGG Pillai .....Squalid
sprawl So, is Abdullah saying what is or what should be? How does
he explain why some 600 uniformed and armed policemen surround
the area? Why has he not taken action against the state assemblywoman
who said it was Indians who attacked the Malays, when he insists
what happened is not a communal clash? Why is the police issuing
a racial breakdown of those arrested, wounded, killed? Why is
the media encouraged to report them? As the secretary of the National
Operations Council, formed after the May 13,1969 riots, Abdullah
should have known the power of getting even amongst the communities
under siege.
Riot
Cops Quell Malaysian Violence by
SEAN YOONG Associated Press Writer.........Police seized
96 weapons, including eight homemade bombs, parangs, samurai swords,
catapults, chains, steel pipes, batons and axes, Jamil was quoted
as saying by the national news agency, Bernama.About 700 police
were deployed to the area, which comprises five villages that
are home to about 2,000 families, mostly poor laborers or squatters.
Two police helicopters patrolled the skies overhead.
Sunday, 11 March, 2001,
07:23 GMT http://news.bbc.co.uk
Police
clampdown on Malaysia violence By South East Asia correspondent
Simon Ingram....when people start spreading rumours
that Indians are attacking Malays, then people come out and clashes
happen, Doctor Mahathir said.Ever since bloody riots between Malays
and ethnic Chinese in 1969, the government has regarded its record
of maintaining racial harmony as one of its proudest achievements.These
incidents are a reminder that while Malaysia's problems are nowhere
near as severe as those of neighbouring Indonesia, ethnic tensions
still lurk beneath the surface.
Govt
fears unsubstantiated rumours spreading in the capital will add
fuel to three days of Indian-Malay fighting, which has resulted
in five deaths.
By Leslie Lau IN KUALA
LUMPUR
Unanswered
questions on clashes: BA leaders
K Kabilan and Leong Kar Yen
NGOs
launch team to counter rumours
Leong Kar Yen
Time
to put things right for Kg Medan residents News analysis by
WONG CHUN WAI IT Star Tuesday,
March 13, 2001........Started with an Indian
security guard on the way back from work at 3am on March 4. He
found a tent erected in the middle of the narrow road in Kampung
Medan, off Jalan Klang Lama, for a wedding. For reasons known
to him, he became agitated and started kicking the tables and
chairs.
Taman Medan: Angkara
khabar angin? BUMI DIPIJAK Lee Ban Chen ....Dua
fakta harus ditekankan. Pertama, samseng merupakan masalah sosial
yang berkait rapat dengan sistem sosio-ekonomi negara kita, ia
bukan kesalahan mana-mana komuniti atau kaum. Kedua, pergaduhan
kumpulan samseng boleh dikatakan berlaku setiap hari di beberapa
tempat lain di negara kita, ia tidak menimbulkan permusuhan dan
ketegangan kaum seperti yang berlaku di sekitar Jalan Kelang Lama
baru-baru ini. Selain menyalahkan khabar angin dan kumpulan samseng,
saya fikir satu masalah yang lebih penting ialah: Bagaimanakah
latar belakang atau suasana kaum yang agak buruk sekarang telah
memainkan peranannya?
MALAYSIA Growth
of ethnic gangs aggravates tensions IAN STEWART in Kuala Lumpur........Chinese
allegedly taking part in a triad initiation ceremony near Malacca.
The two developments highlight the growth of ethnic-based gangs
in Malaysia, which are aggravating tensions in mixed-race squatter
areas, where people eke out a living in squalid surroundings.
Poverty, frustration over living conditions and the prejudices
of people of different races and religions contributed to the
initial skirmishes in the cluster of deprived colonies south of
the Federal Highway carrying commuters between the city centre
and the fancy condominiums of Petaling Jaya.
Troubled
Malaysian district has "all the chemistry" for mayhem.....KUALA
LUMPUR, March 14 (AFP) - The run-down Malaysian district where
bloody ethnic clashes broke out has "all the chemistry"
for trouble including poverty, poor housing and gangsterism, analysts
said Wednesday."The anger in Kampung Medan is a classic case
of the urban poor working for crumbs," the Star newspaper
said in an analysis.
FEER MALAYSIA Pressure
Point Poor squatter districts erupt in violence, prompting Malaysians
to fear for their racial harmony By
S. Jayasankaran/KUALA LUMPUR
Issue cover-dated March 22, 2001.......MALAYSIAN MINISTER
OF WORKS S. Samy Vellu burst into tears at the mortuary of University
Hospital on March 10. He was trying to persuade a hysterical woman,
whose husband had been killed in a racial attack, not to have
the funeral at her home in a Kuala Lumpur squatter district--epicentre
of ethnic clashes that killed six people and injured over 40.
From Asia Times
15th March 2001Racial
clashes show rise of new Malaysian underclass By Anil Netto........In
socio-economic terms, "the area is one of the worst areas
around Kuala Lumpur", says professor Ishak Shari, head of
the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies. "I
suppose the feeling of frustration [at their plight] is there.
The feeling of dissatisfaction must have been brewing all along,"
he explains.
STRATFOR.COM's Global Intelligence
Update
Mar 14, 2001 Ethnic
tensions weakening Mahathir's grip on power .....With
Malaysia's economy trapped in the regional slump, Mahathir's troubles
will only worsen. Throughout Southeast Asia - from Indonesia to
Vietnam, Laos to Myanmar - ethnic and religious tensions are erupting
into violence. Without a surge in economic growth, MalaysiaÕs
ethnic tensions are likely to boil over, leading to other clashes
and increasingly weakening Mahathir's hold on power.
From The South China Morning
Post, HK
Riots raise old
fears for Chinese Memory of 1969 racial violence still vivid for
community worried it may be target again IAN STEWART in Kuala
Lumpur15th March 2001Telephone
calls frequently begin with, "Have you heard . . .?"
or "A friend told me . . .". A problem for the authorities
is the longstanding lack of credibility of the establishment media,
which is perceived to report only what the Government wants it
to report.
Mahathir Says
Clashes Exploited by Opposition .......KUALA LUMPUR,
March 15 (Reuters) - Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday
accused his political opponents of trying to use last week's violent
clashes between Malays and Indians to whip up anti-government
sentiment.He also said, according to Bernama news agency, some
unknown groups were spreading rumours that hundreds of the country's
majority Malays had been killed, and similar stories could be
spread among Indians too, in a plot to spark more race riots.
Heed
needs of urban poor, says group Star
18/03/01
