(The Star - Tuesday November 24, 2009.) The Sri Lankan refugee situation resulted in heated exchange in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, with an Opposition MP telling Deputy Foreign Minister Senator A. Kohilan Pillai at one stage to go “hang himself.”
Kohilan had just said the Malaysian Government had provided US$100,000 (RM338,000) to the Sri Lankan government to finance humanitarian efforts for the refugees when N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR – Padang Serai) accused him of being a Sri Lankan agent.
“This is a humiliation for the Tamil people. It’s better that you hang yourself,” he shouted at Kohilan.
Earlier, in reply to a question from Prof Dr P. Ramasamy (DAP – Batu Kawan), Kohilan had said Malaysia considered the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers an internal matter.
He said the Sri Lanka government had cooperated with the United Nations in the resettlement of refugees from the Tamil minority group.
“The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had visited Sri Lanka on May 23 to check to see if Sri Lanka had adhered to international treaties in the handling of refugees.
“His special envoy also visited the island state in a follow-up and submitted a report that the refugee situation was generally satisfactory.
“However, the return of the refugees had to be delayed for safety reasons because many land-mines had to be cleared first.”
When Dr Ramasamy asked the Government to hold an emergency Parliament session to discuss the “killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka,” Kohilan replied the matter was being handled by the Sri Lankan government, adding that a total of 78,000 refugees had been resettled to-date.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR – Permatang Pauh) interjected:
“I was in Colombo recently. There is no seriousness on their government’s side to resolve the refugee issue.”
Kohilan accused Anwar of trying to be a hero to the Tamil community:
“I was also there. I’m shocked because what you said in Colombo is contradictory to what you are saying in Malaysia.”
Anwar took offence to Kohilan’s remark but Kohilan replied he would not retract his statement.
Gobalakrishnan told reporters in the Parliament lobby later he got upset because Kohilan’s statement on the Sri Lankan refugees was not in line with the views of most Malaysians.
At a separate press conference, Kohilan said Malaysia practised a policy of non-interference.
“Sri Lanka’s issue is an internal matter, unlike the Palestine-Israel conflict which is between two countries.”
Saying Gobalakrishnan’s call for him to “hang himself” was uncalled for, he added that Anwar had met Sri Lankan opposition leaders when there.
“The ruling government represents about 80% of the country, so when he listens to the minority, he might not get the right idea,” Kohilan said. TheStar
Kohilan had just said the Malaysian Government had provided US$100,000 (RM338,000) to the Sri Lankan government to finance humanitarian efforts for the refugees when N. Gobalakrishnan (PKR – Padang Serai) accused him of being a Sri Lankan agent.
“This is a humiliation for the Tamil people. It’s better that you hang yourself,” he shouted at Kohilan.
Earlier, in reply to a question from Prof Dr P. Ramasamy (DAP – Batu Kawan), Kohilan had said Malaysia considered the conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers an internal matter.
He said the Sri Lanka government had cooperated with the United Nations in the resettlement of refugees from the Tamil minority group.
“The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had visited Sri Lanka on May 23 to check to see if Sri Lanka had adhered to international treaties in the handling of refugees.
“His special envoy also visited the island state in a follow-up and submitted a report that the refugee situation was generally satisfactory.
“However, the return of the refugees had to be delayed for safety reasons because many land-mines had to be cleared first.”
When Dr Ramasamy asked the Government to hold an emergency Parliament session to discuss the “killing of Tamils in Sri Lanka,” Kohilan replied the matter was being handled by the Sri Lankan government, adding that a total of 78,000 refugees had been resettled to-date.
Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR – Permatang Pauh) interjected:
“I was in Colombo recently. There is no seriousness on their government’s side to resolve the refugee issue.”
Kohilan accused Anwar of trying to be a hero to the Tamil community:
“I was also there. I’m shocked because what you said in Colombo is contradictory to what you are saying in Malaysia.”
Anwar took offence to Kohilan’s remark but Kohilan replied he would not retract his statement.
Gobalakrishnan told reporters in the Parliament lobby later he got upset because Kohilan’s statement on the Sri Lankan refugees was not in line with the views of most Malaysians.
At a separate press conference, Kohilan said Malaysia practised a policy of non-interference.
“Sri Lanka’s issue is an internal matter, unlike the Palestine-Israel conflict which is between two countries.”
Saying Gobalakrishnan’s call for him to “hang himself” was uncalled for, he added that Anwar had met Sri Lankan opposition leaders when there.
“The ruling government represents about 80% of the country, so when he listens to the minority, he might not get the right idea,” Kohilan said. TheStar
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