Thirteen lawyers have vowed to move a resolution on the Petaling Jaya Selatan 'racial' clashes at the Bar Council's annual general meeting next month. Spokesperson of the group, P Uthayakumar, said the resolution will ask the government to set up a royal commission of inquiry into the violence.
According to him, the groups will distribute the facts of the case to the 10,000 members of the Bar Council so that "everyone will know the truth".
Uthayakumar was speaking at a dinner in Kuala Lumpur last night in remembrance of the tragedy's victims.
"It is has been more than one year. But up till now, no one has been charged.
"Only three persons have been charged in a magistrate court for the murder of one person and the matter ended there," he told the 100-odd attendees.
The incident better known as the Kampung Medan clashes broke out on March 8 last year, leaving six people dead and scores others injured, mostly predominantly working-class Indian Malaysians.
Uthayakumar, who is also Parti Insan Reformasi pro-tem secretary-general, reiterated that the incident was "an organised attack" and not racial clashes as claimed by the government and the media.
He also criticised the police for their inability to contain the situation and questioned why Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has yet to issue a white paper in Parliament on the tragedy.
"The police took 15 days to contain the situation, but they take only minutes to disperse thousands of people in a gathering," Uthayakumar lamented.
No justice
Meanwhile, Concerned Group of Citizens spokesperson Charles Santiago said there has been no justice for the victims, and the tragedy has become a permanent block to race relations in the country.
Santiago also asked why there was no outcome to the police investigations.
He added that the CGC will be submit a draft of the Minority Protection Act to Parliament soon.
"It appears that the government under the rule of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has failed to uphold the Constitution of the country. We have failed to protect minority groups," he said.
Former Internal Security Act detainee and student activist Khairul Anwar, who also spoke at the dinner, urged everyone to reject those who propagate racist ideologies.
"My friends and I are very sad that after 44 years of independence we are still fighting one another," said an emotional Khairul.
Meanwhile, Wong Chin Huat, spokesperson for the Civil Rights Committee a group under the human rights section of the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall said the tragedy was not an Indian problem but a Malaysian one.
"Hate crimes spreads and if retaliation happens, anyone could be burnt in the fire of ethnic bigotry," he said.
Wong said the real cause of the problem has been "swept under the carpet" as the authorities prefer to refer to it as a neighbourhood fight or gangsterism rather than a product of hate crime.
Others who gave speeches, include DAP member of parliament for Seputeh Teresa Kok, PRM assistant secretary-general Ang Hiok Gai, Keadilan supreme council member Dr Xavier Jeyakumar, DAP Selangor chairperson T Kannan, who spoke on behalf of the party's national chairperson Lim Kit Siang.
The dinner was organised by the Concerned Group of Citizens.
