ADUN SPEAKS | The highlight of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's three-day visit to Sri Lanka was his defence of the human rights record of the Sri Lankan regime.

Najib said in his final address to government leaders and officials that Malaysia does not agree to the western interpretation of human rights on Sri Lanka.

There was much expectation from Malaysians especially from the sizeable Tamil community in Malaysia that Najib would be able to raise issues pertaining to serious human rights violations in Sri Lanka during the height of the civil war.

Of course, the presence of MIC President Dr S Subramaniam and Malaysia's Special Envoy to South Asia, S Samy Vellu in the delegation, gave some credence that Najib would be able to impress the Sri Lankan government on the need to take up the human rights issues seriously.

Thirty years of civil war between the Tamil national liberation movement and the Sri Lankan government had devastated parts of the country, especially in the north and east of the island, areas of Tamil concentrations.

During the civil war, hundreds and thousands of innocent Tamils were killed and injured. Thousands who were missing have not been accounted for until today. Moreover, the rape and sexual assaults against Tamil women have not be addressed by the government appointed agencies.

Furthermore, Tamil lands occupied by the armed forces in the north and east of the country have not been returned to the owners.

Apart from meeting the Chief Minister of Northern Provincial Council, CV Wigneswaran and the promise of aid to those affected by the civil war in the Jaffna area, there was hardly much talk about the progress of the human rights situation in the north and east of the island of Sri Lanka.

I dont think that the Malaysian delegation under the watchful eyes of the Sri Lankan authorities were allowed to meet NGOs who are involved in the rehabilitation of those affected by the civil war.

Najib did touch on the subject of human rights, but it was not about how the war had affected the population or about the suffering of Tamils. He basically defended the human rights record of the Sri Lankan government by saying that western interpretation of human rights cannot be imposed on Sri Lanka.

This endorsement of the human rights record of Sri Lanka was something wholeheartedly welcome by the President Maithripala Sirisena.

A number of countries have condemned the human rights violations of the Sri Lankan government. The United Nations have sent fact finding missions to investigate the extent of human rights violations in the country.

Currently, there is debate raging in the United National Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva as to how ensure accountability on the part of the Sri Lankan government to the atrocities committed by the armed forces during the civil war.

Some time back there was suggestion from a UN body on the need for an international investigation into human rights violations because the Sri Lankan government was reluctant to do its own investigation.

I am not sure whether Najib or members of his delegation knew about the civil war that had affected Tamils in the country. Today, it has been acknowledged by many that Sri Lanka is one of the countries that have a terrible record in human rights. During the civil war, a section of the Tamil population was wiped out all in the name of defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), "terrorist" group.

With all this evidence, how could Najib say that that western interpretation of human rights is not applicable to Sri Lanka? In other words, is he saying that human rights violation in Sri Lanka is matter of different interpretations, western or eastern?

Is he saying that the killings of thousands of Tamils, the disappearance of civilians, the rapes and molest inflicted by the Sri Lankan armed forces are a figment of western imagination or interpretation?

Thousands of prime Tamil land have been grabbed by the Sri Lankan armed forces in the name of defeating "terrorism" in the north and east of the country. Is this land grab a figment of the wild imagination of the western world?

What were the MIC leaders doing in Sri Lanka? Why did not they advise their beloved prime minister, the "father of Indian development", that human rights violations in Sri Lanka during the civil war were something real and true?

Were the MIC leaders who claim to the be the "champions" of the Tamil community in Malaysia, not aware of the devastation brought about by the civil war that was thrust upon the innocent Tamils in the country?

Do these MIC leaders agree that what took place in Sri Lanka was nothing short of a genocide against Tamils, a fact that have been endorsed by none other than the chief minister of the Northern Provincial Council, whom they met to discuss aid humanitarian assistance?

Can we, by extending Najib’s argument, say that siphoning funds from the 1MDB public fund was not real but a figment of western imagination or conspiracy? If this is the case, then the fictitious story about an Arab donating money to Najib might not even hold water.

I can understand Najib leading a delegation to Sri Lanka for bilateral trade and cooperation but his senseless or illogical defence of the Sri Lankan regime on human rights is stupid.

Human rights violations in Sri Lanka were real, not western interpretation. 

Let us not go back to the abandoned notions of western versus eastern interpretations of culture, ideas, human rights and many other subjects that are dear to us.

In a more specific sense, let us not defend the indefencible by resorting to arguments that seeks differentiation in cultural, religious or other subjective terms. The biggest danger is when we justify our acts in cultural terms or religious terms, as though these will absolve our crimes.

P RAMASAMY is Penang Deputy Chief Minister II and Perai state assemblyperson.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.