Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has again refuted charges of apartheid against the two million plus population of Hindu immigrants, saying that half his cabinet comprised non-Muslims.
With a half the ministers in his cabinet being non-Malays and non-Muslims, how could they be expected to support a policy of apartheid, he asked the media during a tour of Penang, The Star newspaper said Friday.
He was responding to a front-page article in a foreign newspaper -- that he did not name - alleging discrimination and apartheid against the Hindu population.
Badawi said that based on his experience as former foreign minister, he found that the international community did not understand the political situation in Malaysia and often had a wrong perception of Malaysian politics.
'They don't really understand the power-sharing concept practised by the Barisan Nasional (the ruling coalition) government because such cooperation of political parties has never worked and existed in their countries,' he said.
'You think they (the cabinet) would go with the government and allow themselves to be associated with it? Tak masuk akal (This does not make sense),' he said.
He lambasted the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) that organised a rally on Nov 15 to highlight its grievances. The rally was declared illegal and 31 leaders have been detained.
'When Hindraf said we carried out genocide, its allegation was a sign of evil. Please think about the cabinet. Half of it is non-Malays, non-Umno members and non-Muslims,' he said.
The prime minister also expressed concern over the slew of rumours via SMS that could bring discord to the country.
'When the country gets into trouble, who will win or benefit? Nobody,' he said.
Badawi said that instead it would affect the economy and 'that is why we need to consciously guard the peace in the country.'
'We must always ensure that our relationship (between each other) is well and we must always be united,' he emphasised.