The innocuous, almost ridiculous, demand for massive historical damages has smouldered into an international loss of face for Malaysia. Purely realpolitik terms, this was easily avoidable had the Malaysian government shown a little restraint. By jumping headlong in a fit of panic, Abdullah Badawi has invited both trouble at home and bad publicity outside. Within a week, Malaysia finds itself in muddy waters, which only promises to get worse.

A commonsense solution to stop the protest getting out of hand was to invite the protestors for a talk. More importantly, the protestors employed–what is now fashionably called–Gandhigiri to vent their grievance.

A Tamachelvy, from Klang, told Malaysiakini that she, along with her 60-year-old father, attended this rally after hearing about the spate of Hindu temple demolitions.

“We felt very hurt after watching VCDs about how the government would destroy our temples. We are Malaysians but our government treats us like foreigners,” she said.

Instead of hearing them out, a democratically-elected Malaysian government swiftly resorted to violence without grave provocation. Badawi also threatened to invoke a tyrannical Internal Security Act, which

…allows for detention of any person the police deem to be a threat for up to 60 days. Detainees are denied access to legal counsel. Police can act on suspicion that an individual“ has acted or is about to act or is likely to act in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof or to maintenance of essential services therein or to the economic lifethereof." The law allows the Minister of Home Affairs to extend detention for up to two years without trial or submission of evidence. The detention order can be renewed indefinitely.

If the protest was allowed to pass on without violent state intervention, it would have caused a major embarrassment to Badawi at the most. Badawi could have remedied that embarrassment by a standard looking-into-the-grievance line. But his thoughtless move has resulted in severe damage to Malaysia’s image on at least two crucial fronts: as a favoured tourist destination, and in general, a peace-loving nation.

A clue to understand Badawi’s response may lie in the highly-Islamized Malaysia, where Sharia courts wield equal–if not greater–power as the "regular" judiciary. The Malaysian government’s response makes sense in that light because Islamic political principles grant a dhimmi (or zimmi) status to non-Muslims. Accordingly, the origin or domicile status of a non-Muslim ceases to be of any consequence to the state. Dhimmis have absolutely no right, and any method to silence discontent is sanctioned. Does Badawi deem Malaysia an Islamic state governed only by the Sharia? Some political observers answer in the affirmative.

Malaysia’s Islamization over the past decade has arguably made matters worse and likely contributed to the hostility. Even though Muslim Malays just barely constitute a majority of the population, the government has proudly proclaimed Malaysia an Islamic state. It’s strictly political Islam…Islamization’s main effect isn’t to unite the country but to highlight differences, whether it’s with your Chinese neighbors or that Westerner ordering local fare.

That report is more than six months old, and provides great hindsight into what lurked beneath the awesome spectacle of Kuala Lampur.

The Malaysian government seems to be indifferent to the torrent of criticism that has emanated from all directions including the US. In what appears presumptuous, it has singled out protestors for arrest. Worldwide condemnation is a hopeful sign but we need to watch whether it fizzles out once the freshness of the atrocity fades.

From India, noises have reverberated from the expected quarters. Karunanidhi’s concern, although rooted in his party’s Tamil-first ideology is welcome. But the Indian government has so far refrained from taking any official position on the issue. Despite this, Nazri Aziz, a Malaysian minister has asked Karunanidhi to "lay off" the issue. Within India several agitating leaders who demanded Indian intervention were snubbed with

We are a very responsible democracy. We don’t discuss … any other country in such a manner," Chatterjee said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency…

India cannot obviously sweep this under the carpet. A direct diplomatic offensive against Malaysia will send out wrong signals. Malaysian Indian protests were overwhelmingly–if not hundred percent–Hindus with specific Hindu grievances like state-sponsored temple destruction. An offensive will spark demands from other countries based purely on religious grounds: Buddhists in Burma, Sikhs in Canada and France, etc. This is not to argue against India’s support for Hindus outside India but against setting thoughtless precedents. Overt intervention in Malaysia’s internal crises will send wrong signals to other, similar "weaker" nations. This is an important lesson India needs to learn from America’s thoughtless interventions post World War II based solely on its prowess.

Malaysia has given plentiful reasons for India to feel offended. Malaysia has never made a secret of its hostility towards India. Its non-admission of Indians during the Surat plague is an open insult few of us remember (or care to). Its coziness with Pakistan is semi-secret. Shaukat Aziz has served it well by for example, lowering trade barriers so Malaysia could clamour for more from India at the ASEAN. That sounds like a harmless, routine international game compared to the dangerous nexus between A Q Khan and Badawi’s son.

The documents, obtained by AP via searches of publicly accessible files, reveal a paper trail through privately held and publicly listed companies that outlines ties between the prime minister’s son, Kamaluddin Abdullah, and the Sri Lankan, Buhary Syed Abu Tahir, as well as his Malaysian wife.
The documents show that the men were top executives at Kaspadu Sdn.Bhd. when Tahir negotiated a deal for a company linked to Kaspadu,Scomi Precision Engineering, to build components that Western intelligence agencies allege were for use in Libya’s nuclear program.
U.S. President George W. Bush last week called Tahir the "chief financial officer and money launderer" of the black market network led by Khan, who has admitted selling nuclear technology and know-how to Iran, North Korea and Libya.

The disgraceful Polaris incident is also worth recalling at this point. Just to add to India’s list of complaints against Malaysia. India desperately needs to (re)learn the art of displaying its displeasure to Malaysia. A good way to do this is to put a spanner in Malaysia’s economic prospects. By economically choking Malaysia, India has little to lose and a lot to gain. It will (finally, hopefully) send a clear message that India will not allow itself to be taken for granted. Given India’s current closeness with the US, a strong push in the right direction might convince the latter to change its mind about the FTA, which is currently "under review" for–among other things–"racial preferences." India might also need to "review" its agreement on the Multimedia Super Corridor, arguably, Malaysia’s most ambitious economic project…

Finally, international groups need to forcefully pick up the cause of Malaysian Indians and sustain pressure on Malaysia to clean up its act. India can "guide" them from behind the scenes when required. This technique has a high success rate, demonstrated by the fundamentalists who surround Bush. A diplomatic offensive on India’s part will only brand India as a troublemaker.

Is this too much to expect of our policymakers?