MIC president G Palanivel will raise the issue of the prime minister' scheduled visit to Sri Lanka for the Commonwealth Conference during the cabinet meeting this Friday.

Palanivel acknowledged that the Ceylonese government's ill-treatment of the Tamils in the country had enraged the Tamil community in Malaysia and elsewhere.

"I will speak to him (Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak) on Friday.

"If they hold the conference elsewhere (like in) Singapore, Malaysia or India, then it is quite okay. (But) doing it in Sri Lanka... everybody is angry," he said.

He was responding to Malay-rights group Perkasa's call for Najib to be sensitive to the sentiments of the local Tamil community and snub the conference on Nov 15 to 17.

Palanivel who appeared surprised at Perkasa's call quipped that even the movement's chief Ibrahim Ali was angry about Sri Lanka.

It has been reported that the prime ministers of India and Canada will boycott the conference in protest against the Sri Lankan government.

'No warning'

On a separate matter, Palanivel, who is also Natural Resources and Environment Minister, took Tenaga Nasional Berhad(TNB) to task for releasing the dam water in Lembah Bertam in Cameron Highlands without prior notice.

"Before TNB sounded the siren, they should have alerted Rela, the information department and police to evacuate the residents.

"They did not do that, they just sounded the siren and released the water which affected a lot of people," he said.

He added that the government is in the process of relocating the victims.

Palanivel also cited that the frequent landslides in Cameron Highlands are caused by human activities such as illegal farming, while addressing the issue of this morning's landslide in Brinchang.

He added that he will engage with the farmers to enable them to farm legally and at the appropriate areas.