Signs of calm and normalcy have finally returned to Petaling Selatan, the site of clashes between communities at Old Klang Road, Petaling Jaya, a Keadilan leader said today.

"Barisan Alternatif's (BA) National Unity Bureau notes that there are signs that Kampung Medan is returning to normal after the disturbances of the last few days," Keadilan vice-president Dr Chandra Muzaffar said in a statement.

Chandra, who is the bureau chairperson, said the factor that contributed to this was effective management of the situation by police, despite "initial lapses and errors of judgement" plus more careful reporting of the event by the press.

"In the early stages, the media were wrongly directed by the authorities to clamp down on vital information in hope it would lessen ethnic tension.

"It is accurate information presented in a sober manner - and not a blanket censorship on so-called 'sensitive' news - that dissuades people from believing rumours that often fly around during ethnic disturbances," he said in his statement.

Chandra also commended Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for visiting the site two days ago.

"It is a pity, however, that Abdullah and other leaders did not make their presence felt earlier, when there were first indications that trouble was brewing," he said.

Ethnic integration

Chandra reiterated Keadilan's call for a independent Commission of Inquiry to "investigate the immediate cause and underlying factors of the Kampung Medan incident".

The neighbourhood where the skirmishes occurred - which include Taman Datuk Harun, Kampung Lindungan, Kampung Medan, Taman Medan, Kampung Penaga, Kampung Ghandi and Kampung Muniandy - is populated by Malays, Indians and foreign Indonesian and Bangladeshi migrants, and comprises longhouses, low-cost flats, terrace houses and wooden squatter houses.

The majority of the residents are from the lower income group, most being factory workers, mechanics and small-time businessmen.

So far it has been reported that six have died, more than 40 injured and 190 arrested.

Chandra also called for the formation of an autonomous Consultative Council on National Unity comprising "representatives from all the religious and cultural communities in the country".

"At the same time groups from civil society - from political parties and the media to professional bodies and literary organisations - should also be invited to participate in the proceedings of the council," he said.

Among the objectives of the council, he said, would be to formulate an approach to ethnic integration acceptable to all, to suggest solutions to ethnic disputes and to reduce racial polarisation.

"Seen in the context of the Kampung Medan incident, the proposed council would in an objective manner analyse whether the government's concept of, and approach to, development had contributed to the recent disturbances in the area," he said.