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