Full speech | Obama: Democracy doesn't stop with elections

Protest over Uthaya's treatment in prison

A group of Human Right Party activists protested outside Kajang Prison this afternoon over the treatment of its leader P Uthayakumar there.

Some 25 people held up placards demanding that prison authorities address  the alleged mistreatment of Uthayakumar.

Also present was Uthayakumar's wife, S Indra Devi who later submitted a memorandum for Prisons director-general Zulkifli Omar.

The memorandum was received by a prison representative.

When contacted, Indra (left) said her husband was still being placed in a "dark room" for his complaints of rights abuse in prison.

"He has to sleep on the floor without any blankets and his reading materials have been taken away," she said.

Uthayakumar had also complained of an alleged attempt to harm him in prison.

Uthayakumar was on June 5, 2013, sentenced to 30 months in prison under the Sedition Act 1948 by the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for claiming ethnic cleansing against the Indian community.

His appeal against the sentencing at the Kuala Lumpur High Court was dismissed on Feb 18 this year and the case is now with the Court of Appeal.

Obama: It doesn't mean we don't care about Anwar

US President Barack Obama said his decision to not meeting opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim during the former's trip to Kuala Lumpur does not indicate that the US is not concerned about the latter's situation.

In a joint press conference with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today, Obama said this when asked why he had not made any comment on Anwar's sodomy conviction, which the US had once claimed was politically motivated.

"The fact that I haven't met with Mr Anwar is not indicative of a lack of concern, given the fact that there are a lot of people I don’t meet with and opposition leaders that I don’t meet with and that doesn’t mean that I’m not concerned about them," he said, according to the White House transcript.

Malaysiakini was not invited to the press conference.

Previously, PKR leaders had said that Obama should meet Anwar in recognition of the fact that Pakatan Rakyat obtained 52 percent of the popular vote during the last general election and that the Sodomy II conviction was politically motivated.

Although Obama has snubbed Anwar, US national security adviser Susan Rice is expected to meet Anwar soon.

Najib and Obama leaders held the joint press conference after bilateral talks in Putrajaya this morning.

Najib: It's not the government vs Anwar

On the subject of human rights in Malaysia, Obama said: "Malaysia still has some work to do on human rights issues, just like the US does... I commit to ensuring issues raised in constructive way."

He added that he had shared with Najib his "core belief" that societies that respect civil rights will be more successful in the 21st century.

Obama is on a two day visit in Malaysia following stops in Japan and South Korea. He is headed for the Philippines next.

During the same press conference, Najib stressed that Anwar's sodomy conviction was not a case of "the government against him".

"It is an action taken by an individual, who happens to be his former employee, who has taken up a case against him.

"Under the eyes of the law. even if you are a small man or a big man you have equal justice. We believe in that principle.

"Now that the matter is before the courts, it is not right for me to comment anything more than that," he said.

Obama: Malaysia won't succeed if minorities are oppressed

Malaysia cannot succeed unless equal opportunity given to non-Muslims, says Obama - TMI

Obama pointing to a student for a question during the Young Southeast Asian Leadership Initiative town hall meeting at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur today. - Reuters pic, April 27, 2014.
 Malaysia must ensure non-Muslims in the country also have equal opportunites as its Muslim majority if the Southeast Asian nation wanted to continue prospering, United States President Barack Obama said today of his landmark visit, 48 years after the last American president paid a visit.

"Malaysia won't succeed if the non-Muslims do not have the same opportunity,” Obama said in a townhall meeting for Asean youths at Dewan Tunku Cancelor in University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur today.

Obama said non-Muslims in Malaysia are currently facing hostility, and some have felt oppressed.

"There shouldn't be reason to discriminate, and you have to make sure that you are speaking out against this in daily life.

And as you emerge as leaders, you should be on the side of politics that brings people together rather than drive them apart," Obama said to cheers from the crowd.

Obama said this today when answering a question from a Myanmar youth on factors of cooperation that can bring Asean together given its diversity.

He pointed out that the biggest source of conflict and war and hardship throughout the world was due to people treating those who were not like them differently.

He said the situation in Myanmar right now was that the country was going through a transition after decades of oppressive government, and it was now trying to open things up, which he said is to be lauded.

"However, the danger now that they are democratising, is that there will be groups inside Myanmar that might organise themselves politically around religious or ethnic identities instead of principles of justice or rule of law and democracy.

And you can actually see conflict that would move Myanmar in a bad direction," he said, adding that one of the problems in Myanmar was that the rights of its minority Muslim community were not protected.

Obama then added that the situation was not unique to Myanmar, and that in Malaysia, which had a majority Muslim population, there were instances where those who were not Muslims found themselves experiencing hostility.

He also said that even in the US, historically, the biggest conflicts arose around race, but over the course of generations the situation had improved, to the point that he could be elected as a president.

"All of us have within us biasness and prejudices against people who are not like us or people who are not raised in the same faith or come from different backgrounds, but the world is shrinking and getting smaller.

"You could think that way when living separately in villages and tribes and did not have contact with each other.

“But with the internet and smartphones, cultures all colliding, no country is going to succeed if part of its population is sidelined and being discriminated against," he added.

He then went on to say that similarly, Malaysia would also not succeed if non-Muslims were not given the opportunity, while the same would happen in Myanmar if the Muslim population was oppressed.

"Malaysia won't succeed if non-muslims don't have equal opportunity, Myanmar won’t succeed if the muslim population is oppressed.

"No society is going to succeed if half your population made up of women are not getting the same education and employment opportunities as men too," he added.

As such, he called on youths to embrace culture and be proud of who they were, while also appreciating differences in languages, food and how differently one worshipped God, adding that these were things to be proud of and not a tool to look down on a person.

He also called on the new generation to stand in "other people's shoes and look at things through their eyes".

Obama said that almost every religion teaches the basic principle of "do unto others as you want others to do unto you" and to "treat people the way you want to be treated".

"And if you are not doing that, then we are going backwards instead of going forward and this is true for all over the world," he told the 700-strong crowd of youths and civil society representatives. – April 27, 2014.