Berikut saya forwardkan satu lampiran official letter dari Wisma Putra berhubung kejadian. Kebenaran surat ini saya serahkan kepada Allah Azzawajalla.

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BACKGROUND AND TALKING POINTS FOR MISSIONS
ON VIOLENCE WHICH ERUPTED IN SETTLEMENTS
ALONG JALAN KELANG LAMA,
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA

BACKGROUND

The violence between Indian and Malays, which started on The 4th of March at the Jalan Kelang Lama area, was not essentially a race problem. The incident was sparked of by two unrelated events resulting from misunderstandings that spread into armed altercations.

The first incident happened at Taman Desa Ria at 3.00 a.m. on 4th July 2001 when two Indians on a motorcycle found their way home blocked by a wedding tent erected on a village lane. The two, who were possibly drunk, started to argue with the wedding host. At the heat of the argument they knock down some chairs and tables angering the host his friends and relatives who chased the pair away.

The two later returned with a number of friends and another argument ensued. Harsh words were exchanged. At height of the moment a fight broke out resulting in injuries to the wedding host and an Indian man.

Finding themselves out-numbered, the Indians made their way to an Indian residence grieving for a funeral. They were pursued there and in the subsequent scuffle, a few vehicles were damaged. The Police later brought the situation under control.

The second incident also happened at Taman Desa Ria. It involves some Indian children playing with catapults. They inadvertently smashed the windscreen of a van driven by Malay but owned by an Indian.

The Indian owner confronted the children and coerced them to bring him to their homes so that he could demand compensation from their parents. At one of the homes, a heated argument broke out between the van owner and the parent of the children.

The arguments led to a fight between them and the Malay driver attempted to separate them. However some other Malays in the vicinity assumed that the Indians were assaulting the Malay driver. They then went "to assist him" and what started as a minor quarrel spread into an armed battle.

The two incidents started a wave of rumours of Indians attacking Malays and vice-versa. The rumours which include one about a call for Jihad against Hindus, started a wide spread fear and anxiety among both communities in Taman Desa Ria, Kampong Medan, Kampong Lindungan, Kampong Ghandi, Kampong Penaga and Taman Dato' Harun. The Police investigated 15 such rumours on the 8th alone.

Fear for their safety led to people arming themselves in preparation against being attacked. Such preparation led to other misinterpretations between the two communities and thus other clashes ensued leading to more injuries and deaths.

However the situation has been brought under-control through strong preventive measures taken by the Police and intervention by community leaders and politicians.

The Menteri Besar of Selangor, The Minister of Works and The Deputy Prime Minister had all visited the place to talk to people and reassure them of their safety. A strong Police presence has greatly help and the situation is now back to normal.

Among actions taken by the Police was to find those responsible for the fights to break out. So far the Police had remanded 183 people to help in investigations. They include 94 Malays, 52 Indians and 2 Indonesian aged between 18 and 40

The incident also resulted in deaths and injuries, 6 people had died and 31 were injured. However the Police is yet to determine whether the last 3 deaths were related to the incident at Jalan Kelang Lama or they were separate criminal acts.

TALKING POINTS

· The incident was not a racial riot nor was it planned in advance. It was a spontaneous combustion of violence ignited by misunderstanding between members of two communities and fed by fears made worse by rumour mongering by irresponsible people.

· In their haste to file stories, the press especially the foreign ones, had talk to the wrong people, got the wrong information and came to the wrong conclusion regarding the situation and the cause of it. It is easy to do so because the Police themselves were sent on a number of wild goose chases.

· There is no truth to reports that the fight broke out when an Indian funeral procession refused to take "an agreed route".

· There is no truth to allegations that the authorities especially the Police had reacted slowly or not enough to stop the violence at Jalan Kelang Lama. The Malaysian government considers such incidents as a very serious matter. Racial harmony is the lynchpin of Malaysian democracy and the government will stop at nothing to ensure that it continues.

· This is well reflected by the concern shown by Malaysian political leaders through the actions that they had taken to calm tempers and alleviate fears among members of the communities.

· The Malaysian Police has manage to restored order by instituting firm and specific measures to contain the isolated incidences of random clashes and acts by certain irresponsible parties. In this context investigation is still continuing to determine whether other isolated incidents were connected to the Jalan Kelang Lama incident.

· The Malaysian Government regrets the lost of lives and injuries suffered. The Government is determined to find the cause of the violence and punish those responsible for it. The Police had detained a number of people to assist in their investigations. Those responsible will be charged in court.

Information Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Kuala Lumpur
13 March 2001