PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim today defended his remarks made in India, in which he argued that New Delhi had the right to express its concern over the crackdown on the Hindraf rally in Malaysia.

Anwar, who was in Mumbai on Saturday to participate in an International Islamic Peace Conference, felt that India was justified in lodging a protest with the Malaysian leadership.

"In these days, no leader has a right to say lay off to any other country since we live in a globalised world," he was quoted as saying by the Times of India on Sunday.

According to Anwar, he said that the Malaysian leadership had ignored the issue till it reached a flashpoint.

"I had warned them off a crisis building up, but they ignored the signals. You cannot deny the rights of indigenous communities, but at the same time you must protect the right of ethnic minorities as well," Anwar said. "As a Malaysian Muslim, I believe in tolerance to dissenting voices."

Anwar added that he had gone to India after being invited to attend a number of conferences on democracy.

Speaking to Bernama in New Delhi today, the former deputy premier said he had raised genuine grievances faced by minority groups in Malaysia during his current lectures.

"These conferences were planned five months ago, I gave my commitment and I attended," he said when asked what made him come to India at this time.

"The lectures were about the state of democracy and I gave my honest answers," he added.

Anwar arrived in New Delhi yesterday to present a special lecture entitled 'India and Worldwide Movement for Democracy: What India Can Learn From Others and What It Has To Give'.

Meanwhile, Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) chairperson P Wayatha Moorthy met Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani in New Delhi but failed to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Malaysian lawyer also delivered a lecture on human rights at a law symposium.

'Exploiting the issue'

Earlier today, MCA slammed Anwar for going to India in the wake of a massive rally organised by Hindraf on Nov 25.

The party’s secretary-general Ong Ka Chuan claimed that the opposition stalwart had gone to India to seek foreign support to interfere with the domestic affairs of Malaysia.

“It is obvious Anwar is going all out to exploit the (Hindraf) issue for his political gain. It is in fact a desperate attempt to revive his waning political strength,” he said.

Hindraf had organised the rally to support a class-action suit filed by the movement against the British government for bringing Indians here as indentured labourers.

In a memorandum to the British government, Hindraf had also accused the Malaysian government of marginalising Indians and subjecting them to ethnic cleansing.

The rally and the allegations had gained international media coverage while government leaders here lambasted Hindraf for making unfounded claims and stirring up racial sentiments.