00:00Hello and welcome to OneIndia.
00:20Joining me today is the president of the Malaysian Advancement Party, founding president of
00:28the Hindu Rights Action Force in Malaysia, and also a former minister with the Prime
00:35Minister's Office of Malaysia, Mr. Vaidya Murthy.
00:38Hello, sir.
00:39How are you?
00:40I'm well.
00:42Namaste.
00:43Yes, sir.
00:44We recently came across a press release, sir, this will be my first question to you.
00:49We recently came across a press release which was written by you or rather your foundation
00:56to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, seeking his intervention and asking him to do everything
01:02necessary to safeguard the rights of the minorities in the country of Bangladesh, considering
01:08the present scenario and the aftermath of the student protests.
01:13A, why did you feel the need to do so?
01:16And what is it that you expect from the government of Malaysia going forward?
01:20Okay, firstly, we ourselves are a minority community in Malaysia.
01:25We know how it feels like to be a minority community.
01:29We had our share of various issues in Malaysia many, many years ago, and reading events that
01:42is unfolding in Bangladesh now, especially with the destruction of the ISKCON temple,
01:50the destruction of other temples, attack on minority communities, including the Christians
01:57and Buddhists, I feel compelled, as a leader of the Malaysian Hindu society, to write to
02:07the Prime Minister of Malaysia, urging him to make representations to the incoming interim
02:15Bangladesh government pretty soon.
02:20Our Prime Minister has been an advocate of human rights himself.
02:24He has spoken on various issues, and recently has also taken the cause of the Palestinians
02:33in Malaysia, and various representations internationally has been made by the Prime Minister.
02:40Being a Hindu minority in Malaysia, and on top of that, we also have about 1 million
02:46Bangladeshi workers working in Malaysia.
02:49So I'm of the opinion that our own Prime Minister is in a good position to speak to the Bangladeshi
02:58interim government to ensure the protection of minority communities in Bangladesh.
03:04Sir, I believe you guys have also planned, your foundation rather has also planned a
03:10series of initiatives, including a Solidarity March to stand with the minority communities
03:16of Bangladesh.
03:17Can you tell us a little bit more about that?
03:19And also, I would extend this question a little bit, over and above the politics, over and
03:25above the, I would say, the quota politics that is running in Bangladesh, and which is
03:31sort of ventured into other nations in Southeast Asia and South Asia at the moment.
03:38What do you feel as a human being, when you look at the images emerging out of Bangladesh
03:42at the moment, considering the death and despair that is reflective in all those images?
03:49The images are obviously a matter of deep concern, not only for me, but I think throughout
03:56the world, it is a very disturbing image.
03:59And no one would condone such violence, no matter in whatever situation it is.
04:07Now, we understand, you know, there were protests held.
04:10And the point is now, the Prime Minister has resigned and she has left the country.
04:20Law and order should be restored, you know, in Bangladesh immediately.
04:25And I feel that the unprovoked attack upon the minority communities in Bangladesh
04:33should not have happened in the first place.
04:36The last question, sir.
04:38The Indian administration is at the center of whatever is happening with respect to the
04:43issue at hand.
04:45So what is your message, request, whatever you may term it as, vis-a-vis the Indian government,
04:51considering the present situation?
04:53My personal view is that, you know, I feel there has been a long, good relationship between
05:00Bangladesh and India.
05:02And I hope the Indian Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji, would communicate with the
05:09Bangladeshi interim government immediately once it's formed, and urge the government
05:14to provide protection for the minority Hindus, Christians and Buddhists in Bangladesh.
05:20Though India is a secular country, India is looked upon as a mother of Hindu religion,
05:26and as the lead of the largest Hindu nation in the world.
05:31Naturally, there is expectation on Modi ji to ensure Hindus and minorities are protected
05:37in Bangladesh.
05:39Thank you, sir.
05:39Thank you for speaking with One India.
05:43We hope that yours and all the efforts that are being put in by strategic partners,
05:49strategic stakeholders across the world, are taken to a logical conclusion and the
05:56situation comes down to normalcy as soon as possible.
05:59Because I think, irrespective of profession, at the end of the day, we are all hoping for
06:03harmony and for peace to prevail in the state of Bangladesh once again.
06:08Thank you so much.
06:09And we wish you luck with whatever you're doing concerning the rights of the people.
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