Malaysian Chinese drop demands for equality

A Malaysian Chinese group has agreed to withdraw its controversial demands for the government to abolish special privileges for ethnic Malays.

The decision by the group, Suqiu , comes on the eve of a planned demonstration in the eastern Terengganu state by Malay students angered by the group's stance. Suqiu agreed to drop its demands after talks with the governing United Malays National Organisation. The deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told the Bernama news agency that the move was a victory for all Malaysian people who wanted to preserve racial co-existence.

The government introduced an affirmative action programme favouring Malays in 1971 after anti-Chinese race riots in 1969. But Suqiu's petition, issued last year, said it was time for Malaysia to move towards a meritocracy.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service