Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz today said he stands by the two million Indian Malaysians who did not participate in the Nov 25 rally organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

The minister said this when asked to comment on Gerakan leader Toh Kin Woon's remark yesterday that the government should look into the people's woes rather than condemning the rallies.

"Two million Indians stayed back and did not participate in the rally. Should I stand for the 20,000 people who gathered? I stand by those who did not," Nazri told a press conference at the Parliament lobby.

In a hard-hitting letter to Malaysiakini yesterday, Toh, who is a Penang state executive councillor, said he "disagreed with the country's leaders" on this issue.

Wrong signal

Nazri said the government would not condone street demonstrations and accept memorandums from illegal gatherings because "it would send the wrong signal to law abiding Malaysians."

"There are ways to discuss these issues. Street demonstration is not the way," he said, adding that grouses and complaints must be forwarded in a peaceful manner.

"We don't want to show that the government will pay attention (to the public's grouses) only after there are demonstrations and riots," he explained.

He stressed that the government would not bow down to threats and called on the public not to compare Malaysia with countries like Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam.

"In Thailand and Vietnam, there's no elected government. Even if there is, the elections are disputed," he said, adding that the Malaysian government, on the other hand, was given the mandate by the people to rule the country.

Meeting postponed

In a related development, Cameron Highlands MP K Devamany's meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has been postponed to Monday.

The MIC politician was scheduled to meet Najib, who is the Barisan Nasional (BN) chief whip, today over the former's remarks concerning the Hindraf rally.

"The deputy prime minister will be on a short transit stop on his way to Hong Kong today, and we felt that it is only appropriate for Devamany to meet him on Monday," said Nazri.

The minister said Devamany must be given enough time to explain himself.

On Monday, Devamany told the Dewan Rakyat that the Hindraf rally reflected the failure of government policies to help the Indian community.

The Hindraf rally was held to support a lawsuit by Hindraf against Britain for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years.

The suit sought a declaration that the Reid Commission Report 1957 failed to incorporate the rights of the Indian community when Malaya was granted independence and this had allegedly resulted in discrimination and marginalisation to this day.