Sunday, July 5, 2009

Open letter from P.Waythamoorthy to Lim Kit Siang

P.Waythamoorthy , Jul 05 2009

Dear Mr Lim Kit Siang,

As much as HINDRAF respects you as an elderly veteran statesman, I am surprised that
you are actually echoing similar statements of your son LGE in regards to the Kg
Buah Pala issue and continue to admonish HINDRAF when the core accountability issue
is still not solved.


HINDRAF is an ardent supporter of your party’s cause for competency, accountability
and transparency for all Malaysian but it cannot sit quietly and watch when the
state government in Penang has not done all that is necessary to safeguard the
interest of the Kg Buah Pala residents.

Sir, Kg Buah Pala is not a new issue, but that had been in existence prior to your
party’s governance. Yes, we are aware that the BN administration abetted by Koh Tsu
Koon had acted mala fide for its own interest against the interest of the public,
but, my question is why the current government didn’t do more than sit and wait
until the whole issue exploded this week with the involvement of HINDRAF.

Sir, Are you telling me that the state government could not have initiated an
investigation on the questionable sale and transfer that actually took effect after
your party came in power. Did the state government ever make a report to MACC? No!!!
What attempts did the state government conduct either through its executive and
legal power to support the residents in establishing the allegation of power abuse
and corruption that lead to the illegal sale & transfer of the land. None!!!

Sir, you ask us pursue after Koh Tsu Koon, but wouldn’t it be just and fair that
your party that currently holds the power in Penang should have been doing this from
the day you took over the helm as a segment of your state have been victimized. Did
LGE ever once raise the issue of Kg Buah Pala residents and the questionable land
transfer issue in Parliament? Not a chance.

The residents of Kg Buah Pala were left alone to fight their own battle against the
mighty corrupted machineries of the government. If only they would have had your
assistance and guidance through your resources then the whole transaction could have
been invalidated and those residents would not be living out of fear for losing what
is rightfully theirs. DAP fought tooth and nail in Perak for New Villages and Kg
Tersusun but Kg Buah Pala residents slipped through its radar.

A simple independent investigative journalism as seen here at
http://anilnetto.com/accountability/lifting-the-corporate-veil-on-nusmetro-ventures-part-1/
by a citizen cast a doubt on the affair of the sale and transfer of the land, yet
why did the state government fail to flex its muscle in the state of Penang to
assist these residents?

Sir, you talk about compensation and so forth when the issue here is not about that
but why did Penang state government fail to rise to the occasion and challenge the
fraudulent misappropriation of the land but rather watch the misery of these
residents from the sideline.

Sir, on humanity stance, you may realize that the generation of Kg Buah Pala goes
back to 200 years where they were even the first milk supplies to the Penang
hospital. They have grown from one generation to another and live as a family union
from the parents, children, brothers, sisters, grandchildren and great grand
children within their own respective land running and playing around their compound
along with the cows, goats and chickens. Those houses there were erected by
themselves to fit the enlarged family members with at least each joined family
owning close to 15,000 sq feet. Now the Developer steps in offers around 850 sq feet
flat for each house, not the household with meager compensation. Can you expect them
to buy a place similar to the quiet enjoyment that they had within their joined
family, notwithstanding the fact the said sum need to divided between the household
members. Where is the justice or fairness and can you consider this as
adequate & fair compensation. Why has the Penang state government not paid any
attention to these residents at least on the basis of humanity? I can understand if
the supercilious BN ruled as this things does not matter to them as long as the
nepotism, cronyism, corruption and inept system keeps them there, they will even
sell their soul but definitely not from DAP along with their Pakatan partners who
thrived on popular support to ensure a real change for the public.

The actual issue on the ground is more complex than what it appears in the media and
lip service politicians to exculpate themselves from responsibility and
accountability when all the residents seek is to continue the quiet enjoyment of
their live with their families.

It is very convenient to come out and picture HINDRAF in a bad light and side track
the whole issue but at the end of the day the truth is the consequences is faced by
the poor and defenseless residents against the might of the government and the
developer due to the failure of the Penang state government to protect its public in
Kg Buah Pala.

HINDRAF wages a battle for the truth to emerge for the poor and defenseless
irrespective of whichever is the governing party rather than doing what seems to be
politically right.

Thank you

HINDRAF

P.Waythamoorthy
Chairman

Hisham's lies leave Waytha fuming

Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy is furious with the continuous lies being perpetuated by the government that he had sought the support of terrorist organisations to back his own movement.

The latest false charge by the government came just last week when Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein had informed the Parliament that Waythamoorthy left Malaysia on Nov 28, 2007 to lobby international support and to make efforts to meet leaders of Tamil Tigers.

p waythamoorthy and police 231107"This is absolutely ridiculous. I challenge the minister to provide proof of this openly, if he has any," Waythamoorthy told Malaysiakini today.

He is presently in New Delhi, India and will be back to his base in London later this week.

He left Malaysia when the government started its crackdown on Hindraf at the end of 2007. Since then he has been leading the movement from London.

"For the government to keep repeating that I have sought the support of terrorist groups is baseless and unfounded. And last week Hishammuddin had said the same based on information apparently obtained from intelligence reports.

"I find it strange for the government to keep repeating this same old accusation but without giving any evidence. If they have proof, why not just release it," he asked.

He said that that he was ready to return home and urged Hishammuddin to charge him in court with treason over the alleged contacts with Tamil Tigers.

Waythamoorthy also urged the Home Ministry to issue him a fresh passport so that he can return to Malaysia.

His passport has been revoked by the government and he is presently travelling using a special United Nations travel document which was given after he was granted a political asylum by the British government.

Baseless accusation

He added that the seeds of Hindraf's links with terrorist organisations, especially with the Tamil Tigers, were first publicly planted by Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail on Dec 5, 2007, and this was further cemented by the Inspector General of Police Musa Hassan on Dec 13, 2007.

This was also a justification used to arrest five Hindraf leaders under the Internal Security Act in December 2007. They were released in May this year.

Waythamoorthy said that until today no one in the government could back up their claims of the alleged Tamil Tigers link.

"Charge me in court on the terrorist links and that will give me an opportunity to prove that this government had no evidence whatsoever," he said.

Hindraf became the main public enemy after the movement had highlighted cases of temple demolitions in the country in 2007.

The movement's public rallies became hugely popular, emanating in a mass rally in Kuala Lumpur in November 2007 where almost 30,000 people had taken part.

After that the government started its crackdown by arresting the main leaders, culminating in the ISA arrests, and during which time Waythamoorthy had left for the UK to continue the movement from there. The government banned Hindraf last October.

Hishamuddin's latest response on Waythamoorthy's alleged links with terrorists came in the form of a written answer to PKR's Kapar member of parliament S Manikavasagam.

Uthayakumar keeps us guessing - Malaysiakini

Though only making some eight percent of the Malaysian population, political representation for the small Indian community is an increasingly crowded house.

Currently, Barisan Nasional coalition partners MIC and PPP, along with BN-friendly Indian Progressive Front (IPF), are the biggest players.

They are joined by newly formed Indian-based parties - the Malaysian Indian United Party (MIUP) in 2007 and this year, Malaysian Indian Democratic Action Front (Mindraf) and the Malaysian Makkal Sakhti Party (MMSP).

The newer parties were established without much fanfare but come July 19, a grand welcoming of yet another Indian-based political party is on the cards.

uthayakumar penang waterfall temple hindraf event 160609 02This is because the new party is supposed to be helmed by lawyer P Uthayakumar, leader of the banned, yet highly influential, Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

When Malaysiakini caught up with Uthayakumar yesterday, he refused to confirm what was being planned on July 19, but revealed that there would be a mass gathering at the Hokkien Hall in Klang.

Hints of a new party are obvious. To a question, Uthayakumar said despite the saturated playing field, he believed there was still room for a new Indian-based political party.

“The other Indian parties – MIC, PPP, IPF – are all linked to Barisan in one way or another... meanwhile on the opposition's front there isn't really a strong Indian-based party,” he said.

An independent party?


Without a strong Indian-based opposition party, Uthayakumar alluded that this had resulted in Pakatan Rakyat's inability to address the interest of the Indian community.

uthayakumar in kampung buah pala penang 150609 13“Take for instance the Kampung Buah Pala crisis, PKR or DAP MPs could have pushed for a emergency motion in Parliament to debate on the allegedly fraudulent land transaction... but did they?

“Let's say a developer wants to buy over the Weld Quay in Penang, you think they (the Penang government) is going to keep quiet? Definitely not. This is simply because the residents in Kampung Buah Pala are Indians whereas the residents Weld Quay are Chinese,” he added.

“DAP claims it is multi-racial, but when a Hindu temple was demolished in Kedah, they did not threaten to leave Pakatan, but when a pig abattoir was demolished they did... what does this show, pigs are more valuable than human beings,” he added.

Such is the predicament of the Indian community, said Uthayakumar, adding that it had no political clout.

“Therefore, I believe I have the solution that is neither linked to BN or Pakatan Rakyat... but wait for my announcement on July 19,” said Uthayakumar.

No split among Indians


In November 2007, Hindraf made its mark when it rallied tens of thousands of Indians in Kuala Lumpur to protest against discrimination and marginalisation by the government.

A month later, Uthayakumar and four others were incarcerated without trial under the Internal Security Act until April this year.

uthayakumar in kampung buah pala penang 150609 07Uthayakumar argued that the spirit of Hindraf has not fizzled out, and despite the burgeoning number of Indian-based political parties, neither does he view them as enemies.

“(When we started off) everyone was already from different political parties... we just got under the Hindraf banner,” he said, in reference to other Hindraf figure heads such as DAP's M Manoharan and V Ganabatirau as well as PKR's S Jayathas and S Manikavasagam.

He brushed off suggestions that the Indian community was now seriously split along political lines and that this was a scenario created by the ruling Umno-led BN coalition.

“This is their trap to cause confusion and for us to fight among ourselves,” he said.