PUTRAJAYA: The public has been advised to stay away from the illegal gathering planned by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) at the British High Commission on Sunday.
Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Johari Baharum said no permit had been given by the police for such a gathering, which renders it unlawful.
“Based on the SMS texts which have been attributed to this group and circulated lately, we found that Hindraf is playing up on sensitive issues which may lead to tension.
“I have asked the police to trace the sender of these SMSes and I ask the public to stay away from the gathering,” he told reporters after receiving a courtesy call from Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Ismail Omar at his office here yesterday.
The gathering is to submit a petition with 100,000 signatures to Queen Elizabeth II to appoint a Queen’s Counsel to represent the Indian community in a class action suit against the British government for bringing Indians as labourers to then Malaya and thereafter exploiting them.
The suit, filed at the Royal Courts of Justice in London by Hindraf chief P. Wathyamoorthy in August, sought compensation of up to US$4 trillion (RM13.5 trillion), or US$1mil (RM3.4mil) for every Indian in Malaysia.
On his meeting with Ismail earlier, Johari said the Government has agreed with the police’s proposal to have their personnel at its outposts in remote areas rotated every month to avoid boredom.
“At present, these outposts are manned by ordinary policemen, who have to serve and live in these areas for up to two or three years.
“This can get quite boring for these officers and their family members, especially those who have to man outposts in remote islands. They also face problems in carrying out their duties there because of having been stationed there too long.
“So, to avoid this, we have agreed to let the General Operations Force man these outposts and have them rotate their officers on a monthly basis,” he said.
Having officers rotated on a monthly basis at outposts, particularly those situated along the borders, has led to increased surveillance and better security in these areas, he said.
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