I refer to the Malaysiakini report Gov't backs Sri Lankan resolution despite local anger .

It has become sort of a trite to ridicule the Umno-led government in that whatever it says or does, as it more so often shoots itself in the foot.

The war between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ended recently with the Sri Lankan government emerging victorious. While there were Tamils who supported the LTTE's methods, a large number of them, and particularly Malaysian Tamils, wanted a peaceful resolution to the long-standing conflict.

This was particularly emphasised because of the civilian casualties that may follow a military confrontation, knowing very well that both parties to the conflict had little or no regard to loss of civilian lives.

Malaysian Tamils, with relatives and close relations in Sri Lanka, pleaded with the Malaysian government not to support the resolution proposed by Sri Lanka to the UNHCR because it is with bleeding hearts that many of us learnt of the genocide committed by the Sri Lankan army on the innocent civilians, with a recent report putting the numbers as high as 20,000.

The casual or dismissive reply by our foreign minister alluding to the reasons for the support of the resolution was like adding insult to injury. Even the MIC president made a passionate plea not to support the resolution, but his pleas fell on deaf.

That is the reason I started this comment by saying that much of what drove the Indians/Tamils to the opposition should be faulted on the actions of Umno with the component parties paying the price.

The Sri Lankan ambassador to Malaysia made an unprecedented remark when he termed as ‘jokers' those who gathered at Batu Caves to vent their frustration. This speaks volumes of the

character and quality of an ambassador and the country he represents.

Such casual and dismissive treatment of Indians, and most of whom are Tamils, over many years have forced them to abandon BN and drove them into the arms of the opposition. Today, the unimaginable has happened.

Whereas PAS was seen with so much suspicion in the past, the spite towards Umno is so much that the Indians are now willing to carry the flag of PAS.

When the Palestinians were bombed rampantly and a collective punishment imposed on them, Malaysians of all walks, irrespective of race and religion, marched together to make it known to the Israeli regime and its supporters that we are one in opposing the atrocities.

Too bad, even if there is no support insofar as the Sri Lankan Tamils sufferings are concerned, the least the Malaysian government could have done was to abstain from voting. The Tamil news over RTM mentioned the other countries that supported and voted for the resolution but surprisingly Malaysia was not mentioned.

The government may have realised the uneasiness of the Indian Malaysians over its stand but was cocky enough - as amply seen in the way our foreign minister - expressed his views - to proceed with the voting in favour of Sri Lanka.

During a recent forum on the genocide issue, one of the speakers pointed out the glaring difference between the treatment towards the Palestinians and the Sri Lankan Tamils.

While such perceptions may not have arisen in the past, the open support our government has given to the Sri Lankan government in supporting the resolution will force such comparisons to arise in the future as they seem too obvious.

With the fracture of Indian support during the last elections still continuing, I would have thought that our government would have voiced out or not supported the resolution and by a masterstroke made the Indians/Tamils feel that it does have feelings towards the plight of Tamils who could only watch helplessly as their kin and kith were butchered by the murderous regime of Sri Lanka.

Such goodwill would have been a tremendous boost to the government's standing in the eyes of the Indians in that it feels their concern and pain. Again, a lost opportunity for the government.

Of course, there is nothing the Malaysian Tamils can do except to vent their frustration by making speeches and by this uncaring attitude of the Umno-led government, the divide has become even wider.

Of course, our voices that point out the reality are either drowned out or dismissed. We had pleaded before the elections for a saner approach to problems faced by a community that had since independence unflinchingly supported the government.

At the end of the day, it is the votes of Malaysian citizens that count in this country, not that of Sri Lankans. Would the Malaysian government ever be serious in understanding the pulse of Malaysian Indians/Tamils?