KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (CNN) -- Thousands of Hindu protesters met water cannons and tear gas in Malaysia's capital on Sunday while demanding equal rights and consideration from the government. CNN confirmed at least 5,000 protesters marched in Kuala Lumpur, but The Associated Press placed the figure as high as 10,000. Some protesters threw rocks at the water cannon trucks, but others were urging peaceful demonstrations.
The AP quoted witnesses who saw people being beaten and dragged into trucks by police. Public transportation into the city was stopped, hindering protesters from coming in. Police stopped protesters as they tried to take a petition to the British High Commission. Talks were under way for authorities to allow six protesters to deliver the petition, should the crowd disperse. The rally -- rooted in complaints that the ethnic Malay Muslim-dominated government discriminates against minorities -- was the largest protest in at least a decade involving ethnic Indians, the country's second-largest minority population after ethnic Chinese.
The ethnic Indians are generally the most underprivileged. Earlier this month, riot police used water hoses and tear gas against thousands of protesters demanding electoral reform, the largest demonstration in Kuala Lumpur in nearly a decade. Street demonstrations are considered rare among the multiple ethnic groups in Malaysia, which prides itself on its communal and political stability. Malaysia has maintained racial peace since 1969, when some 200 people were killed in riots sparked by Malay frustration over the economic clout of Chinese.
The violence spurred the creation of programs that give Malays privileges in government jobs, contracts and education.
All Malaysian please beware of the current situation...................
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