DPM: Hindraf move will hurt MalaysiaTHE MOVE by Hindu Rights Action Force leaders to take their issues overseas will only tarnish the image of the country internationally, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.
Regretting their move, he said the Government would have to act to counter any negative picture painted by the group.
“Whatever they have raised are internal issues but they want to internationalise them. It is obvious they have political motives,” he said.
Najib was speaking to the Malaysian press covering his roadshow to promote Malaysia to Hong Kong fund managers here yesterday.
It was reported that Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy was headed for India on Wednesday before going to Europe and the United States.
Waythamoorthy would proceed to London to meet the Malaysian desk officer at the Foreign and Commonwealth office of the British Foreign Ministry and non-governmental organisations there.
He is also expected to meet officials at the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and other UN bodies in Geneva.
“We will have to see what they do and we will have to be prepared to act,” Najib said, adding that the Government would have to explain matters to the international community.
“While many people now want us to act, we have to also realise that the use of the ISA (Internal Security Act) will be made into an international issue,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said the internal security of the country remained the paramount consideration.
“They can keep at it but one day, they will cross the line,” he said.
He said people who did not agree with Hindraf could speak out on television but further reaction would only make the situation more heated.
On his meeting with Cameron Highlands MP K. Devamany scheduled for tomorrow, Najib, who is Barisan Nasional chief whip, said he wanted to give him the opportunity to explain what he said.
“I also want to read the Hansard. Then, I will talk to him,” he said.
loading...