Friday, September 17, 2010

TUNKU’S PROJEK KETUANAN MELAYU. UMNO - THE NEO COLONIALIST.


http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/waytha-unesco2.jpg 

By Waythamoorthy,

After 53 years of achieving independence Indians in Malaysia have remained permanently colonised by the UMNO Government. My forefathers were part of that great day on 31st August 1957.

My people equally celebrated the day Malaysia was born, 16 Sept 1963, and through Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak as well. We had hope. We hoped to build a new generation and society in the new nation.

Alas, we were played out right from the beginning by  Tunku Abdul Rahman, followed by his successors.

One of the major concession for the non-Malays in Peninsular Malaysia agreeing to Article 153 was the granting of citizenship to all Malaysians born after Merdeka and the existing non-Malays who pledged their allegiance to Malaya  be given citizenship.

Never did our forefathers dream that we would be re colonised by the UMNO led government. Today, an estimated of 450,000 Malaysian Indians are stateless. This includes an estimated 150,000 stateless children. Pardon  me, these are estimates and the Government would most certainly refute these estimates. But they know the problem is real and exists.

Our forefathers bought the story of Tunku and Razak that by virtue of Article 8 and the second limb of Article 153 that the rights of the non-Malays would be protected as well. That Article 153 would be revisited after 15 years. Even the Conference of Malay Rulers provided guarantees to the British that after 15 years the non-Malays would be treated equally as citizens of this country. I sincerely belief the May 1969 riot was engineered by UMNO to divert from their promises to revisit Article 153.

Little did our forefathers realise that we were falling into the trap of a neo-colonialist UMNO.

UMNO took the role of the colonial masters and managed the country by a mandore system “employing” political parties, MCA and MIC as mandores to fulfil their racist, supremacist Malay agenda of Ketuanan Melayu.

Ketuanan Melayu is an insidious ideology, which was first planted by Malaysia’s founding father, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and further honed by his successors. The Hidden Agenda appears to be to enable the ruling elite to indulge in abuse of power and exercise absolute power to embark on runaway corruption at the expense of the nation.

The MCA and MIC leaders were dished out privileges, perks and positions in Government. They were used  as a front – window-dressing and tokenism -- to portray to the world at large that Malaysia is a truly multi-racial country where power-sharing among the races has created the success story of a new nation.

In turn these mandore political parties divert and indoctrinate their people to believe that they have been given an opportunity in this country for which they are grateful to their tuans (masters) UMNO.

On the other hand, UMNO portrays their political rival PAS as an extremist Muslim party which would turn the country into an Islamic state and therefore it was in the best interest of the Chinese and Indians to swear allegiance to them rather than run the risk of being converted by the sword, so to speak.

And so the Indians and Chinese were enslaved by UMNO, their new masters.

The Chinese controlled the economy and were the tax payers in the majority while the Indians were the backbone to the main export industry to the new nation Malaysia in the plantation industry. The Indians were cheap labourers to man the plantations, build roads and railway tracks (as well as maintaining them). The revenue that was contributed by the Chinese and Indians were usurped by UMNO in the name of Ketuanan Melayu. We were the hambas (slaves) of UMNO, the new tuans.

So are we people of a nation that had achieved independence?

UMNO refused to provide citizenships to tens of thousands of Indians particularly those who lived deep in the plantation areas. In those days driving out 10 miles away from KL means you were going into deep jungle into the wild and here and in other states hundreds of thousands of Indians served their new nation as plantation workers.

The country underwent rapid development from about 1970 onwards and plantation estates were gradually acquired by the Government in the name of development.

In a study conducted by the Centre for Public Policy Studies, an estimated 300,000 plantation workers were uprooted from their established plantation background between 1975-1995 and were displaced. In my meetings with United Nations officials in 2008 they confirmed that I could use the term “internally displaced people” (IDP).

These Internally displaced plantation workers were not given compensation, training opportunities, housing ect and they became the new urban poor and underclass who were neglected by the UMNO tuans.

Compare these loyal workers who contributed to this nation for almost 200 years and the felda LBJ in Negeri sembilan who were equally displaced. The Felda settlers were compensated up to RM3.5 million per family for a contribution of almost 30 years. It is plainly obvious the Indian workers were simply driven out of the estates and were no longer needed as they have been “sucked” for more than 200 years. The Government knew they had a responsibility for these people but deliberately ignored them. When these ex-plantation workers were ejected from the estates most did not have their citizenships and till date have remained so. Many are 4th and 5th generation Malaysians but are not recognised, not only as Malaysians but as HUMAN BEINGS.

They do not have birth certificates so they can never enrol their children (who in turn are denied BC’s) in schools (now urban areas). The child is denied education. He or she can never avail himself to a decent job. Even if he finds a job, there are no Socso or EPF contributions and he is paid even worse that the Bangladeshi worker. He can never obtain treatment in a government hospital. He can never get married legally. He can never obtain a motorcycle licence or any driving licence that would yield an income. Bank accounts are out of the question. Bidding or even purchasing a rumah murah (low cost house) is out of the question.

Hindraf paints bleak picture for reform agenda

By Joe Fernandez

KOTA KINABALU: Hindraf Makkal Sakthi, in a Malaysia Day message issued last evening, paints a bleak picture of the change and reform agenda promised by the opposition alliance. The ad hoc apolitical movement is using the past 53 years as a guide to venture that this will have a bearing on the country’s future.

Hindraf’s assessment is also based on the observation that “Malaysians are not ready to be a merdeka (independent) society”. This is a factor that the opposition alliance has not factored in its plans to seize the reins of power in Putrajaya at the next general election expected by 2013, and this is what worries Hindraf.

The possibility of political change in Malaysia comes apart in Sabah and Sarawak, according to P Waythamoorthy, Hindraf’s London-based chairperson.

“Here, the ruling Umno elite has indoctrinated the local Muslims into the naïve belief that if they don’t stand united with their Muslim brethren in Peninsular Malaysia, both states will secede from Malaysia and become Christian republics in Borneo.”

The Hindraf chair opines that the local Muslims in Sabah have since discovered that they are no longer the most important factor in keeping the ruling elite in Putrajaya in power.

“The local Muslims in Sabah have had to pay a heavy price for being proxies to the ruling elite in Putrajaya since 1963” said Waythamoorthy. “They have now been effectively disenfranchised as well with the continuing influx of illegal immigrants who have entered the electoral rolls with MyKads issued by the backdoor.”

Waythamoorthy predicts that the local Muslims in Sarawak will suffer the same fate as their brethren in Sabah to complete the permanent colonisation of the non-Malays in Sabah and Sarawak by the ruling Umno elite in Putrajaya.

“Malaysia Day will only have meaning if the people of Sabah and Sarawak stand united and work hand in hand with the forces of change in Peninsular Malaysia,” Waythamoorthy said in a telephone interview from London. “This has not been happening.”



He described the MIC and MCA as mandore (labour headman) parties for Umno. These, he said, helped portray – through window-dressing and tokenism – that “Malaysia is a truly multi-racial country where power-sharing among the races has created the success story of a new nation”.

'Umno using MIC, MCA'

The MIC and MCA, said Waythamoorthy, have also been used by Umno to scare away the non-Malays from PAS.

In turn, the leaders have been well looked after by their Umno masters who want to ram down the ideology of Ketuanan Melayu (Malay political supremacy) down the throats of all Malaysians, he added. “This is an ideology that only serves the interests of the ruling Umno elite and not the Malay masses.”

The Hindraf chair labelled Ketuanan Melayu as an insidious ideology which was first planted by Malaysia’s founding father, Tunku Abdul Rahman, and further honed by his successors. The “hidden agenda” appears to be to enable the ruling elite to indulge in abuse of power and exercise absolute power to embark on runaway corruption at the expense of the nation.

The failure of MIC, said Waythamoorthy, can be seen in the emergence of 450,000 stateless people among the Indian community in Peninsular Malaysia.

“This is a figure that Umno will dispute but we are not far off the mark,” said Waythamoorthy. “Their woes have been further compounded by the fragmentation of the plantation sector. This has sent them fleeing to the shanty towns in the urban areas as a permanent underclass.”

The Hindraf chair disclosed that he has since taken up the case of the Indian underclass, the stateless, with the United Nations which has confirmed that they could be termed “internally displaced persons” (IDP), that is, refugees within their own country. The Indian underclass has become “invisible people” – non-existent in law – and even more exploited than the foreign labour who at least have some papers on them.

The Indian underclass, without any personal documents, evidently lives in a world of their own without access to many of the things that Malaysians take for granted, for example EPF, Socso, legal marriages – which would make their children legitimate – education and travel outside the country, among others.

“If the Indian underclass has its woes, other Malaysians of Indian origin fare no better,” said Waythamoorthy. “Their children are denied scholarships and places in government-run universities even if they score A in all their subjects.”

He referred to the numerous demonstrations staged by deserving Malaysian students of Indian origin, and their parents, in recent months and described these as “solid proof”.

Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, to be reviewed after 15 years of independence, and Article 8, are not being applied as they should, said Waythamoorthy. “Umno and its leaders right from Tunku (Abdul Rahman) to Najib (Tun Razak) are master manipulators and neo-colonialists.”

He does not see the Indians, Chinese, Dayak, Dusuns, Muruts, Bajau, Suluk, the ordinary Malay masses and others ever enjoying the fruits of being in a truly independent country.

“If we are truly free, there would be respect for the rule of law, equality and freedom of religion,” said Waythamoorthy. “These are just some of the basic things to start with.”

A Tribute to Kg Buah Pala - The Last Indian Heritage of Penang

By Muralitharan Ramachandran - http://malaysianminorityindians.blogspot.com/

While many Malaysians were thrilled to cheer the so called Malaysia Day on 16th September 2010, here in the island well known as Pearl of the Orient, a group of Indian villagers were in tears to remember this date which reminds them of an awful memory. This day symbols their 1st year where their entire village which was also popularly known as The High Chaparral of Penang, demolished by a developer with the help of DAP steered State Government. Despite many pleas and cries by the Indian villagers to save their land which is a century old, this DAP lead state government merely refused to lend their ears.

This is an exclusive case where a traditional Indian parish was ROBBED by the Gerakan lead state government and handed it over to UMNO owned cooperative, who then sold it to a Chinese developer for a share of earnings. That was when DAP government entered the scene after the result of a political tsunami where Pakatan Rakyat achieved victory in 4 states on the 8th of March 2008 12th general election. This was actually an end result of a ‘snow ball’ thrown by Hindraf on 25th November 2007 where by the opposition alliance should never deny it.
(Before)
During election campaigns at this particular village, all top guns of the opposition party promised to retrieve the said land from the hands of the racism UMNO government and a pledge by these leaders to secure an individual land title for each and every family. These villagers were ecstatic by the promises of these top guns and proved their genuineness in the ballot box. The DAP took over officially the state government after the 8th of March 2008 polls with Lim Guan Eng leading the administration.

Instead of protecting the interest of these poor Indian villagers, this DAP lead state government took side of the developer by again giving them empty promises and false hopes. These poor Indian villagers who are generally live stock breeders where their land was the only survival ground and home to their families were left high and dry with their hopes and dreams. Lim Guan Eng as the administrator was more in favour of the developer than to villagers. Although after a few sequence of dialogues, discussion and pleas, nothing could be done to save the village. The village was finally demolished completely on the 16th of September 2009, the day every other Malaysian celebrating to signify the formation of Malaysia.

(present)
To date, the villagers are still waiting anxiously for their cries to be heard. This exactly proves the discrimination of the politically powerless Indians. This merciless betrayal by the Pakatan Rakyat will not be forgotten by Indians in this nation.

To Pakatan Rakyat…there is this physics theory to be remembered by the leaders; ‘For Every Action, There Will Be an Equal Reaction’.

See you all in the next polls.

Judiciary fails to protect minority rights: Sri Ram

(Malaysiakini) Former Federal Court judge Gopal Sri Ram said today that the judiciary has failed in its duty to defend minority rights.

Since the executive branch is elected by the majority, and as such it represents the rights of the majority, Sri Ram argued that the judicial branch has the duty to protect the rights of the minority.

"It is the judiciary which must fulfill this task,” said the former judge in his speech at the National Conference on Integrity in Kuala Lumpur today.

gopal sri ramSri Ram told the 350-strong audience that if the question was asked on whether the judiciary has performed its duty, the answer he said would be an “emphatic no!".

According to him, this was because the judiciary has become so "executive-minded" that the judges have become creatures of the government.

"The judiciary is so anxious to help the executive... And when you bend the law to help the executive, this results in ridiculous decisions," contended Sri Ram.

He cited examples of the courts reversing decisions through the Federal Court to accommodate the wishes of the federal government.

Sri Ram believed that such interference by the executive was clearly a breach of the doctrine of separation of powers.

The powers to convict and sentence are exclusive to the judiciary and Sri Ram said this role should not be usurped by the executive.

1988 judicial crisis
But more worryingly, Sri Ram contends, is that this failure to protect the rights of the minorities bodes more future ill for Malaysia for the judiciary also holds another higher duty.

"It is up to the judiciary to preserve our constitution," he said.

"And when and if it fails in that function, then the state has failed," warned Sri Ram, who retired from the judiciary in February this year.


He indicated that the failure of Malaysia as a state may indeed be imminent given the deteriorating condition of the judiciary since the 1988 crisis, which saw the sacking of a number of Malaysia's top judges. 
Sri Ram had the distinction of being plucked from private law practice and appointed straight into the Court of Appeals.

He however was stuck in the appellate court for 15 years, with a number of judges who are more junior than him being promoted to Federal Court.
It wasn't until 2009, months before he was due to retired, that he was named a Federal Court judge.

Mother of missing toddler believes daughter held captive

MENTAKAB: The mother of missing two-year-old Nisha Chandramohan (pic) still believes that the girl is alive and being held captive somewhere in the country.
Wong Lai Lan, 21, said she and her husband had steadfastly held to this belief since their daughter’s disappearance in early June.

“We pray daily for her wellbeing and go to church every Sunday, hoping for a miracle someday,” she said in an interview.

Wong said that despite the wide publicity by the media and assistance from RHB Group, the MIC and Lanchang assemblyman Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin, there was still no news of Nisha’s whereabouts.

“As her mother, I have an instinct that she is still alive. I can only pray that whoever is keeping Nisha is being kind to her, and knows that she needs medication for epilepsy,” she said.
Eternal hope: A worried and anxious Wong pining for her daughter in Mentakab in this file picture.
Wong said she and her husband have been driving around during their days off with posters of Nisha, hoping to get new leads.

She also revealed that some people had played pranks by asking for their cellphones to be topped up in exchange for information. ”
 
A man contacted us last Sunday, saying he had seen Nisha but I sensed that he was not truthful.
“We have already suffered enough. Please do not add to our misery,” she pleaded.
Those with information can contact Wong at 016-9323803 or state MIC Youth chief K. Sivakumar at 012-391 3039.

One Lady Sabahan's Open letter to the Malaysian Prime Minister

An open letter to the Prime Minister of Malaysia

Dear Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak,

I write to you as a deeply concerned and saddened citizen of Malaysia. For most of the 45 years of my life, I have been proud to be Malaysian. Recently, I have become heartbroken to be Malaysian.

I am profoundly grateful to write this with the support of both my local communities in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo and California, U.S.A., and a larger world community. That said, I take full ownership of and sole responsibility for the views articulated in this letter; I express them from my stand as a mother, an earth citizen and a leader.

I founded and lead a public charity and non profit organization both in Malaysia and in the U.S., to bridge between worlds and build partnerships for ecological conservation. I have been at the front lines of the founding and mobilization of Green SURF (Sabah Unite to RePower the Future), the civil society movement opposing the construction of the 300 megawatt coal-fired power plant in Lahad Datu, Sabah, on the edge of the Coral Triangle, one of three of the world's most bio-diverse ecosystems. You know. You signed the 6-nation declaration between Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, East Timor and Solomon Islands to collectively protect this 1.6 billion acres of ocean. You also know of course of your pledge at Copenhagen to reduce carbon emission intensity by up to 40% by 2020. You likely also know that the plant will displace fishing communities who have been there for a long time - irreparably contaminating their livelihoods forever. And if you listened, you would also know that they do not want the "development" that your government is imposing on them.

One of the priorities of Green SURF was to study clean energy alternatives to the coal-plant, and propose them to the government. We collectively invested tremendous time and resources to identify and commission the expertise of Professor Daniel Kammen at Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory of University of California, Berkeley to conduct the Clean Energy Options for Sabah report. We had no notion of the outcome of the study, and results showed that Sabah is in an exceptional position to shift towards clean energy due to the availability of natural resources. We are in fact in an opportune position to lead the nation and the region in clean energy - the kind of leadership the world so urgently needs now. I wonder if you know that Sabah is the last coal power-free frontier of Borneo. FYI, the 5 core NGOs in Green SURF are amongst the largest, oldest and most recognized conservation groups in Sabah and Malaysia - collectively responsible for most of the conservation work in the nation, with partnerships that span the world.

We have tried every avenue available to communicate to you the results of our findings and to engage in discussion about the future of energy for Sabah. After months of unsuccessful attempts to meet with you, I can only conclude that you do not want to meet with us. This confuses and disturbs me. Your words in public are about listening to the rakyat (people) and hearing their views. A sizeable portion of the rakyat of Sabah has been doing everything within their power to be heard by you. To no avail. We have given you the benefit of the doubt that word is not getting to you, and yet we have met with those around you who promised they would convey our message to you. Many months, memos, reports, letters, faxes, emails and phone calls later, and we have not received a single response from you or any member of your administration. We also did our best at state level government, and have huge support from within the government but ultimately the message is that this is untouchable because "ini Najib mau" (Najib wants this).

Sir, my most consistent experience of your administration is stone walls, arrogance and insincerity. I am shocked by the behavior of the leadership of my nation. I find it patronizing, archaic, oppressive, blatantly and self-righteously elitist and top-down. I do not experience your administration as democratic, transparent, open, accountable or responsible. There is a deep incongruence between what you are projecting externally and what we have experienced internally. I can only surmise that you intentionally run your administration in this manner. Otherwise, it would mean that your leadership is incompetent and ineffective.

I am angry, and I am not willing to accept systemic disempowerment of our people. I am writing this open letter as a last resort. Sabahans are speaking up because we are deeply troubled and scared about the fate of our ecological and cultural legacy, and what we will be able to hand down to our future generations. Please show true leadership and listen. You and your administration have much to do to regain a modicum of respect amongst many Sabahans. If 1Malaysia is more than a PR campaign and is truly intended "to provide a free and open forum to discuss the things that matter deeply to us as a Nation", please walk your talk.

Yours sincerely, for the children,

Cynthia Clare Ong Gaik Suan

IC# 650423 12 5708


c.c. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon

United Nations General Assembly

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Human Rights Watch

Amnesty International

The Parliament of Malaysia

Suhakam - Human Rights Commission of Malaysia

Professor Daniel Kammen, Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, U.S.A.

FaceBook, Twitter, blogs and websites

Local, national and international mainstream and alternative media

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights(passed by United Nations General Assembly, 1948)Article 21.

* (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the government of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. * (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. * (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures.