We refer to Tanglimaras letter headlined "Kg Medan: Time to heal, not to find scapegoats"(March 18). Clearly, the writer is attempting to muddle the issue further and help his political bosses to sweep an injustice perpetrated on poor Indian Malaysians under the carpet.

The facts are so glaring. Six people were mercilessly killed and more than 75 brutally injured in March last year. The law of the land should and must take its natural course. The assailants, at least most of them, should have been identified, arrested and charged in court.

So far, this has not happened. It brings into contempt the principles of natural justice and the constitutional guarantee on the right to life.

Naturally, Malaysians would like to know why our generally efficient police force had not performed its statutory duty in this case. Why are these thinking Malaysians now accused of assuming a narrow sectarian stance and tone for calling justice to be done? It is mind-boggling.

Further, refer to this extract of a news report in International Herald Tribune (March 12, 2001): "Parameswary Batumalai, 28, who lives along a row of cheaply made cinder-block houses with zinc roofs, described in an interview Sunday the killing of one of her neighbors, Muniratnem, a father of four who worked as a bartender in central Kuala Lumpur.

"The police, she said, stood by and watched as Mr Muniratnem was beaten by four young men armed with sticks and motorcycle helmets.

"Miss Parameswary said she witnessed the beating after being roused from her home at 3am on Saturday by the screaming of Mr Muniratnem. She left her house carrying a stick that she had fashioned into a weapon by driving a nail into one end.

"Although she could see Mr Muniratnem being attacked, she and dozens of other neighbors were stopped by the police from going to his aid, she said."

So far the authorities have neither denied nor taken action against the IHT report. If it is indeed accurate, then it is very worrying, especially for Indian Malaysians. Going by Tanglimaras reasoning, is the writer suggesting that Muniratnem deserved to die because his neighbourhood is crime-prone and the residents are reluctant to listen to the speeches of MIC leaders and the paid staff members of Yayasan Strategik Sosial (YSS)? That it is alright if the assailants who killed Muniratnem are not brought to justice? That the police behaviour in this instance need not be questioned?

We certainly hope it is not so. For the record, Muniratnem was a hardworking and law-abiding family man who was mercilessly beaten to death solely because of his ethnic origin.

Our intention is not to adopt a sectarian approach but rather an effort to create legal protection for the poor and weak, stemming from the present inadequacy in the legal system.

We agree that "other potential Kg Medans abound around the country and it would be far more constructive for the concerned parties to sit down and to work on the preventive measures". But the first step in this direction must be an open and truthful accounting of all aspects of the Kg Medan tragedy.

Lastly, we would like to remind Tanglimara that it is not proper to hide behind a pseudonym and make generalised and sweeping statements, blaming a poor marginalised community for its social ills. The problems of the poorer sections of the Indian Malaysian community are the direct result of nearly 50 years of political, socio-economic and government neglect. They are aggravated by a deeply entrenched communal political system in Malaysia.

It would have been more helpful if the writer had given honest and specific factual accounts based on "his 10-year experience in Kg Medan" instead of desperately seeking credibility for MIC and YSS. What is the writer implying? Whenever such tragedy occurs to Indian Malaysians, truth and justice must be buried? The community must accept its fate and the victims need only be given handouts?

Such views are repulsive and are not in line with the long-term goal of building a modern, progressive and just nation.