Hindu front activist held in Malaysia
By IANSMonday, August 30, 2010
IPOH - An ethnic Indian was arrested in Malaysia while attempting to submit a memorandum seeking freedom of religious conversion.
M. Balakrishnan, 53, a retired army officer and supporter of the Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRPM) and the banned Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), was arrested Sunday, New Straits Times reported.
The police foiled his bid to hand over the memorandum at Istana Kinta, the residence of the Sultan of Perak who is also the state’s constitutional head.
Balakrishnan, who was clad in an orange shirt bearing the names of Hindraf and political party Makkal Sakti, was led away by the police after he allegedly shouted expletives at Ipoh Traffic and Public Order chief Deputy Superintendent Rodzi Rajab.
He had gathered with more than 20 members and supporters Sunday morning at a location 500m from the palace so that he could hand over the memorandum to Sultan Azlan Shah.
Malaysia is home to 1.7 million ethnic Indians, a bulk of them Tamil Hindus who settled here during the British era.
