Dozens arrested in protest over racist literature text

Kuala Lumpur (AP):

Malaysian police arrested dozens of ethnic Indians yesterday in a clampdown on a protest against a high-school literature book that was slammed for denigrating the minority community.

Police set up roadblocks in the country's biggest city, Kuala Lumpur, amid tight security around the landmark Petronas Twin Towers, where the protest was to be held.

The main protest leader, lawyer P. Uthayakumar, was among those rounded up early Sunday as he was leaving home, said his colleague S. Jayathas, who was also detained. He said more than 100 Indians were believed to have been picked up.

Some 50 protesters, who managed to escape the police dragnet, gathered at a temple in the city, holding banners and shouting "Ban Interlok" and "Don't insult the Indian community", before dispersing.

"We want a stop to racism against minority citizens, especially the Indian poor, and a ban on Interlok, which is sowing the seeds of racism in schoolchildren. We are not asking for special rights but equal opportunity," Jayathas told The Associated Press from police detention.