SYED HAMID: WE'LL HANDLED OUR CITIZENS OUR OWN WAY

The above news item appeared in the Star on Saturday , 1st December 2007 recently.

The Malaysian government will deal with its citizens according to its laws and no other country should interfere with how Kuala Lumpur handles its domestic affairs.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said all Malaysian citizens, no matter their countri origin, had to abide by the law.

"If they break any law, its our right to deal with them according to Malaysian law" he told the Star when asked to comment on a report in which Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee expressed New Delhi's concerns over the treatment of Indians in Malaysia.

Indian Prime Minister echoed similar sentiments. When asked by reporters in the Indian capital, he said " Whenever Indians abroad or people of Indian origin living abroad are adversely affected, that naturally is a source of concern to us"

Syed Hamid said if any foreign country starts to question ethnicity in the country, Malaysia would eventually face a breakup

"I hope there is no misunderstanding of what is happening here. If they are talking about Indian citizens, we would understand the concern, but what happened here involves Malaysian citizens"