December 04, 2007	Tuesday	Ziqa'ad 23, 1428

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 3: Malaysia on Monday warned foreign governments not to meddle in its politics after New Delhi voiced concerns about a crackdown by police on minority ethnic Indians here.

“This is Malaysia. We’ll deal with our problems and issues according to our laws. Other countries should be mindful of our rights,” Syed Hamid Albar, foreign minister was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

Last week Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said New Delhi was disturbed by reports about the use of force against the protesters in the multicultural Islamic country.

The United States has also backed the rights of Malaysians to hold peaceful protests and criticised the threat to use a draconian law to detain protestors indefinitely without trial.

But Syed Hamid said Malaysia has every right to handle its own internal issues as it sees fit and other nations should respect its sovereignty.

At least 8,000 Indian protesters including women and young people massed last month near Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Petronas Towers — meeting stiff resistance from police, who beat them with batons and used tear gas and water cannon.—AFP