ADUN SPEAKS | The highlight of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's three-day visit to Sri Lanka was his defence of the human rights record of the Sri Lankan regime.

Najib said in his final address to government leaders and officials that Malaysia does not agree to the western interpretation of human rights on Sri Lanka.

There was much expectation from Malaysians especially from the sizeable Tamil community in Malaysia that Najib would be able to raise issues pertaining to serious human rights violations in Sri Lanka during the height of the civil war.

Of course, the presence of MIC President Dr S Subramaniam and Malaysia's Special Envoy to South Asia, S Samy Vellu in the delegation, gave some credence that Najib would be able to impress the Sri Lankan government on the need to take up the human rights issues seriously.

Thirty years of civil war between the Tamil national liberation movement and the Sri Lankan government had devastated parts of the country, especially in the north and east of the island, areas of Tamil concentrations.

During the civil war, hundreds and thousands of innocent Tamils were killed and injured. Thousands who were missing have not been accounted for until today. Moreover, the rape and sexual assaults against Tamil women have not be addressed by the government appointed agencies.

Furthermore, Tamil lands occupied by the armed forces in the north and east of the country have not been returned to the owners...