British lords praise Najib

 

GEORGE TOWN: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s decision to engage Hindraf to address ethnic Indian issues has won praise from members of the British House of Lords.

Lord Diljit Rana called it a wise move and Baroness Sandip Verma said it showed Najib’s seriousness in addressing issues of concern to the Indian community.

Both spoke yesterday at a ceremony to honour Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy’s appointments as a senator and deputy minister in charge of Indian affairs.

The event, sponsored by Rana and Verma, was held in the British upper house. Among the guests were Malaysia’s Deputy High Commissioner to Britain, Wan Zaidi Wan Abdullah. Several Malaysians residing in London and representatives of various civic groups also attended.

Rana praised Najib’s initiative to sign a memorandum of understanding with Hindraf just before the recent general election. It was essentially a government pledge to implement policies recommended in a document often referred to as the Hindraf Blueprint.

“The Malaysian Prime Minister has taken a wise decision to engage Hindraf into negotiations and resolve the conflict in a practical manner,” Rana said.

Verma applauded Najib’s government for showing that it was serious in resolving Indian issues and congratulated Waythamoorthy for his appointments.

The baroness has always been a supporter of Hindraf’s human rights activities. In December 2008, she organised a briefing in the House of Lords to help Hindraf raise the various human rights issues affecting Malaysian Indians.

Both Rana and Verma said Waythamoorthy’s appointments represented a rare success story in human rights activism.

In his speech, Waythamoorthy said Najib’s administration was serious in implementing new policies to bring about changes in the lives of poor Indians in Malaysia.

“I just want to urge my fellow Indians to be patient for a while till the unit has been set up and running,” he said in reference to the office he would head in the Prime Minister’s Department.

(Source: Free Malaysia Today)