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Civil Suit Meeting 2

Civil Suit Meeting 1

Uthaya: 'It's unfair, we are not Indian perkasa'

Media Event 17/8/11: PC on UK lawyer Suresh Grover’s conclusion on fact finding mission to Malaysia as part of the legal team taking up HINDRAF Civil Suit against British Government

 

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Press Conference 17/8/2011 (Wednesday)

Re: PC on UK lawyer Suresh Grover’s conclusion on fact finding mission to Malaysia as part of the legal team taking up HINDRAF Civil Suit against British Government


HINDRAF Lawyer Suresh Grover, N.Ganesan (HINDRAF Advisor) & W.Sambulingam (National Coordinator) would be present.
Date : 17/8/2011
Time : 11.00 am
Venue: as above.
Thank you.

“Rights not Mercy”
……………………………..
S. JAYATHAS
HINDRAF Information Coordinator
012-6362287

Hindraf collecting evidence against British gov't

(Malaysiakini) Suresh Grover, the attorney acting on behalf of outlawed Hindu rights group Hindraf, is making the rounds of Indian communities in Malaysia, 'to collect evidence' for its civil suit against the British government.

The suit, initiated and filed by Hindraf chief P Waythamoorthy (right) in 2007, prior to the group being outlawed and its leaders picked up under the Internal Security Act or forced to flee the country, has been in limbo since then.

"Because of the time limitation, we must go to trial before 30 August 2013," said Grover, explaining why his evidence gathering visit is of the utmost urgency.

He was speaking today to over 1,500 supporters of Hindraf and members of the Indian community at the Hokkien Assembly Hall, Klang.

Grover is scheduled to visit more locations around Malaysia to meet with more citizens of Indian descent to explain about the legal challenge, gather evidence and add more names to the list of claimants.

The civil suit which named the British Crown and government as the defendants, is to seek recompense for the alleged victimisation of Indians, whose forced relocation to then Malaya by the Empire, Hindraf claimed, had led to them a life of abject poverty.

Grover said that it is essential that he meet with as many Malaysians of Indian descent as soon as possible to include them in the list of claimants to the civil claim and to use evidence of their current life as a basis for their abject poverty argument.

However he assured those who may want to come forward that as provided under British law, their identity will be kept confidential in case of intimidation or possible reprisal by the Malaysian government.

'It will not stop here'

Grover also condemned the deportation of his fellow London based legal colleague Imran Khan.

"It does not make sense to exclude Mr Khan, when I am also going to do the same thing.

"They (the government) don't want the suit to succeed. They are afraid of you and your tenacity," claimed the London-based legal professional.

Khan (left) who is legal advisor to Waythamoorthy, was supposed to accompany Grover but was deported by Malaysian authorities yesterday for being a "prohibited immigrant.

Grover said that they will not stop there but will continue their fight for the case, including to challenge Khan's deportatation.

"Mr Khan will travel here again," said the lawyer.

The lawyer arrived at the packed hall to the cries of "Hindraf Vaalzhal!" by youths waving the orange flag of the outlawed organisation.

There was no obvious police presence throughout the event although there were individuals who could have been plainsclothes officers.

Prior to his arrival the sizeable crowd gave their rapt attention to videos and slideshow of photos featuring Waythamoorthy and other Hindraf leaders in heroic moments to the rousing 60s era Tamil songs.

Foreign lawyers not welcomed in M'sia (Malaysiakini)

'If the Malaysian government has nothing to fear, why deport foreign lawyers who are here in the country to meet their clients?'

British lawyer deported over Hindraf lawsuit

Dr Suresh Kumar: In my view, the deportation of British lawyer Imran Khan can be best concluded as a 'blessing in disguise' so to speak.

If the Malaysian government had nothing to hide, it would not have committed such a shameful and deplorable act against a human rights lawyer. As a matter of fact, the Malaysian government has breached the lawyer's right to meet his clients as well as the rights of his clients to meet their lawyer.

Now the British government can take cognisance of what this class-action suit is all about. This insane decision by the Malaysian government to deport Khan, who is allegedly a security threat, is totally ridiculous and shameful. It speaks volumes of the government's fear to face reality in today's borderless world.

No one, can stifle the voices of truth and justice. Not even the great Lord Shiva, who taught us that truth should be spoken, no matter who you face or what you may face. You cheat the weak and the defenseless, sooner or later you will pay a hefty price for it.

Hindraf/HRP need not have links with the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) as the government stupidly accused. They have brains and the power of the pen to take on Umno or any other political party, which may want to play political games with the lives of the Indian poor.

Anticommunalist: The deportation proves a lot of things. One, the Malaysian government has lot to hide from the world.

Two, the fact that British lawyer Imran Khan was deported shows that he is no ordinary lawyer and one that the government fears.

Hence, this is not some kind of a 'wayang kulit' show by Hindraf, but a serious attempt to get to the bottom of the root causes of discrimination against the minorities in this country by the racist Umno government since independence.

Rohan: Not many have the guts to do these things. Hindraf has proven time and again that they are fearless and would confront injustice head on.

Their lawyer is equally the same. He did not hide his reasons as to why he was coming to Malaysia. He was upfront but these Umno immigration had to take instructions from their masters. It is plainly clear that they fear Hindraf and their lawyer.

I believe Hindraf have thousands of documents to prove Umno's deceit from the time of independence.

Dood: If the Malaysian government has nothing to fear, why deport foreign lawyers who are here in the country to meet their clients? How shameful.

Solaris: It may seem to some that Hindraf is approaching the issue of Indian marginalisation incorrectly and that the only alternative is to vote for the opposition, but this is getting quite tiresome, irritating and passe.

To me, it looks like Hindraf is attempting to address the problem at its root cause and being quite rational and methodical in its approach. Otherwise, it would not have been called a "fact-finding mission".

As for Lover Boy, who said that "Malaysia has no bones with these people but it is the British who made the request that these chaps are to be deported," why then did the British Foreign office and its embassy in Kuala Lumpur try to intervene on behalf of Imran?

Anonymous: Hindraf took a calculated risks. The fact that Umno deported a lawyer shows they fear Hindraf and their class action. This case would truly open a whole lot of Umno rubbish and mind you, it would be known internationally.

Khairuddin Mohd Yusof: At least, Hindraf has shone the spotlight on the mistreatment of Indians at the hands of the powers-that-be.

Sadly, racism seems to be very much part of life in Malaysia. The excuse given by BN is 'ketuanan', while Pakatan Rakyat's multiracial approach means Chinese and Malays only.

Both show indifference towards the plight of the Indians. Sad situation indeed.

Anonymous2: In 2007, Hindraf went to the British High Commission to hand over a petition and they were attacked and hundreds arrested.

Now their lawyer, who came to meet them, was deported. What nonsense is this? I hope our opposition MPs would raise this gross human rights violations in Parliament.

‘British let down the non-Malays’

A tin mining tycoon from Ipoh had warned the British that giving special rights to the Malays would create resentment among the non-Malays.

By  Athi Sankar - FMT
GEORGE TOWN: During the pre-independence talks, a Chinese tin mining tycoon from Perak warned the British that giving special rights to Malays would create resentment among the non-Malays.

Lau Pak Kuan in a memorandum submitted to the Reid Commission has argued that “the perpetuation of unjust and inequitable laws breeds distrust, jealousy, resentment and hatred, and must in the end give rise to disastrous repercussions”.

This was disclosed by Hindraf Makkal Sakti leader P Waythamoorthy who said that Lau has stated clearly to the colonial government that such provisions were undemocratic features in a democratic set-up.

The memorandum to the Reid Commission was submitted on July 20, 1956, by Lau as the president of Pan-Malayan Federation of Chinese Associations (PMFCA), a coalition representing 1,179 Chinese clans. The memorandum carried the signatures of leaders of these groups.

London-based Waythamoorthy said when the Federation of Malaya Bill was tabled in the United Kingdom Parliament, Lau had even gone on an international lobby to vehemently protest it.

Lau had gone to London, consulted the Queen’s counsel and lobbied British parliamentarians to object to the discriminatory and apartheid-like provisions in Article 153 of the Malaya constitutional draft.

In the memorandum, Waythamoorthy said Lau has cautioned that erecting barriers against non-Malays in the hope of improving the (lot of the) Malays was not a sure way of obtaining the desired effect.

“Lau correctly predicted it would create class divisions among citizens,” he said.

Dangerous breakdown

Despite the PMFCA memorandum and protests by several ethnic-Indian based organisations to the Reid Commission, Waythamoorthy said the British betrayed non-Malays and still went on to pass the bill.

The British colonial government and Umno led by the country’s first prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman later colluded to enact and legitimise the much-opposed Malaya Constitution.

“After more than half century, Lau’s prediction of disastrous repercussions and a dangerous breakdown in racial ties proved to be true.

“The visionary Lau was the first civil rights champion in the country. He fought social justice, equality and fairness for all under the independent Malayan umbrella,” claimed Waythamoorthy.

Waythamoorthy is scrutinising the pre-independence documents to prepare for his US$4 trillion class-action suit against the UK government.

He originally filed the class-action suit in London on Aug 31, 2007, the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence, to demand compensation for Indian Malaysians, whose ancestors were brought in by the colonial government as indentured labour.

However, the suit was stalled following the Malaysian government’s clampdown on Hindraf and the arrest of several lawyers under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The suit claimed that, after granting independence to Malaya, the British had left the Indians without representation and at the mercy of the Umno government.

Superior class

A two-man legal team from London will be in Malaysia today to meet local clients for consideration as co-claimants in the suit.

In the memorandum, Waythamoorthy said Lau had argued that the Federal Constitution was founded upon a policy of appeasement vis-à-vis Malay ultra nationalism.

“To grant favouritism to one community in preference to the others would be to create a superior class and an inferior class of citizens in the future Malaya.

“This would not make for inter-racial goodwill and harmony, without which Malays could not thrive.
“A multi racial society must depend on goodwill and harmony for its well-being,” Lau noted in the memorandum.

Lau contended that the Malays needed help not through legislation but through the co-operation of the more advanced communities.

While such legislation tended to make them a privileged class, he claimed that it also reduced them to a dependent and undignified community.

“Malays must not expect to be spoon-fed and be made to lose all senses of incentives. They must be trained the hard way to rely on their own efforts and initiatives for success,” Lau said in the memorandum.

Equal treatment

He said for the good of the country, all unequal and unjust laws should be scrapped and citizens of all races should be accorded equal and just treatment.

He said voluntary inter-racial co-operation and goodwill would ensure a new era of hope for Malaya.
The memorandum urged for the new constitution to be written before independence and all existing discriminatory and unjust laws be revoked.

“Equal treatment must be extended to all citizens without distinction as to race, colour or creed,” Lau said in the memorandum.

Lau was a founder-member of the Malayan Chinese Association (MCA) in 1949 together with Tan Cheng Lock, Leong Yew Koh and Lee Hau Shik.

The prominent businessman quit MCA following his unsuccessful London mission.

Born in 1894, Lau came to Malaya in 1912 when he was 18. He passed away on April 16, 1971 and is survived by three wives, six sons and three daughters.

In recognition of his dedication to the people of Ipoh, the council named a one-km stretch of road as Jalan Dato’ Lau Pak Kuan in Ipoh Garden.

In 1966, Lau became the first ethnic Chinese leader to be awarded the Datuk Seri title by the Perak Sultan.

Malaysia – Empty Gesture towards Malaysian Indian Congress

Guest Column by V. Suryanarayan
On July 30, 2011, in the annual session of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), the Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak made the surprising announcement that the Barisan Nasional will soon appoint MIC President Dato G. Palanivel as another Cabinet Minister, thus fulfilling one of the long pending demands of the Indian community. During the stewardship of Tunku Abdul Rahman, the first Prime Minister, the MIC had two cabinet posts, which were occupied by Sambanthan and Manickavasagam.

During the stewardship of Tun Abdul Razak, the Party’s representation in the Cabinet was reduced to one, but he allotted MIC additional positions of Ministers of State and Parliamentary Secretaries. There were two reasons for that decision. The Malay pre-eminence in the political life of Malaysia was getting further entrenched and, what is more, the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and the MIC were prepared to play second fiddle to Malay leadership. More relevant, the MIC Presidents – Manickavasagam and Sami Velu – were not very keen to have another cabinet colleague, lest he pose a challenge to their political supremacy.

While Najib Razak’s announcement was greeted with thunderous applause by MIC delegates, the overall reaction among Malaysian Indians was not very favourable. The first was question of political morality involved in appointing Palanivel as a cabinet minister. He lost the 2008 parliamentary elections. Is it proper to rehabilitate a defeated candidate through back door tactics? Second the timing of the announcement was inappropriate. The elections to Malaysian Parliament are due in 2013, very often the elections get pre – poned depending upon the political assessment of the Prime Minister.

With the Malay votes evenly split among UMNO, Partai Islam and Pakatan Rakyat, the Indian and Chinese votes play a crucial role in tilting the political balance. The Indians, during early years of independence, have voted for the candidates of the ruling alliance. Therefore, it is argued, with certain amount of justification, that the gesture was timed to attract the Indian voters back to MIC and ruling Barisan Nasional.  There is also a contrary feeling that if the Malaysian Government is genuinely committed to the welfare of the Indian community, instead of announcing another cabinet post for the MIC, the Prime Minister should have spelt out in detail what his government proposes to do to tackle the manifold problems facing the Indian community. While Malaysia has made substantial economic progress during recent years, the fruits of development have not percolated to the poorer sections of the Indian community. They remain impoverished and politically marginalized.

The Indians in Malaysia are the descendants of those who went to Malaya in the 19^th and 20^th centuries to provide the much needed labour for the development of rubber plantations. It was due to their sweat and toil that the plantation economy was developed and the export of rubber, as is well known, was one of the pillars in which the prosperity of the country was based.  

The plantation workers throughout the world, during the colonial era, was victimized and exploited; however, there was a rhythm in their lives, from birth to death, they depended upon the plantation management. They were like creepers around a tree. One significant fall out of Malaysia’s economic transformation is the disintegration of the plantations. During recent years, the plantations have been converted into housing estates, industrial parks, golf courses and luxury homes. And the poor Indian workers, without adequate compensation, migrated to urban areas and became urban squatters.

The changing nature of the plantations and the role of the Indians in the plantation economy are well described by Prof. Ravindra Jain, former Professor in Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. In early 1960’s Prof. Jain made an in depth study of the rubber plantation in Pal Melayu. Prof. Jain revisited the estate again in 1998-99 and his conclusions graphically portray the progressive deterioration of the Indian community.

First, change in the cropping pattern. In 1962-63, 95 per cent of the cultivated area was devoted to rubber, whereas in 1998-99, it was 13 per cent rubber and 87 per cent palm oil. Whereas in 1962, there were 541 labourers, it came down to 161, a reduction of 70 per cent. The ethnic composition of the workers had also undergone changes. Whereas in the earlier period, the work force was exclusively Indian, in 1999, 50 per cent was Indian, 41 per cent Indonesian and 8 per cent Bangladeshi. As mentioned earlier, thrown out of jobs in the plantations the Indians started migrating to urban areas.

The conditions of the urban squatters, to say the least, are deplorable. It should be a matter of serious concern to all Malaysians, especially, to Indian leadership. Lacking in education and deprived of proper employment, many young Indians are taking to crimes. Few years ago, the popular journal, Aliran, provided statistical details, which made alarming reading. 40 per cent of serious crimes in Malaysia are committed by Indians; there are 38 Indian based gangs with 1,500 active members; during last few years there had been a hundred per cent increase in the number of Indian gangsters; Indians recorded the highest number of those detained under Emergency Regulations and banished to Simpang Rengamm prison. In the field of social woes, 14 per cent of the squatters are Indians; they have the highest suicide rates; 41 per cent of the vagrants and beggars are Indians; 20 per cent of the child abusers are Indians and also 14 per cent of the juvenile delinquents. Few years ago, Samy Velu, then President of the Malaysian Indian Congress, deplored the plight of thousands of estate workers “living in squalor in slums, in dozens of long houses and squatter settlements all over Selangor”.

While the Indian middle classes are faring well in professional jobs – teaching, law, medicine etc – the poorer sections are getting impoverished and marginalized. Compounding the situation, many of them do not have citizenship papers and identity cards; several are drop outs from schools and do menial jobs.

What is more, destruction of Hindu places of worship has become a common phenomenon, which galvanized the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) to step into the scene. The spontaneous protests and demonstrations organized by the HINDRAF hit newspaper headlines few years ago. Equally relevant, the educated Indians are also rallying behind BERSIH, which is protesting against many undemocratic practices of the Malaysian Government like the notorious Internal Security Act (ISA). In the 1998 parliamentary elections, there was a political tsunami, the Indians voted overwhelmingly against the ruling alliance, important leaders of the MIC, including Samy Velu and Palanivel, were defeated. The Prime Minister’s announcement of another cabinet position for the MIC and the MIC President’s assurance that the Party will be able to mobilize Indian votes for the ruling alliance have to be viewed in this perspective.

To what extent has the MIC been able to protect and foster the interests of the Indian community? Ask this question to any Malaysian Indian, invariably the answer will be in the negative. Factional struggle and disunity had been the greatest bane of Indian community in Malaysia. Fight for power, politicking and mud slinging have characterized intra-party affairs. The rivalry between Devaser and Sambanthan, Sambanthan and Manickavasagam, Manickavasagam and Samy Velu, and during the long spell of Samy Velu, among Samy Velu, Subramaniam and Pandithan does credit neither to the MIC nor to the Indian community.

Disenchanted with the policies and programmes of the MIC, the younger generation is joining opposition parties like the Democratic Action Party, Gerakan, Peoples Progressive Party and the Pakatan Rakyat.  It must be pointed out that there are more Indian members of Parliament from opposition parties than from the MIC.

The Samy Velu era was the wasted years of the MIC. It was tragic because when he became President, after the demise of Manickavasagam, he had tremendous good will both among the Indian community and the Malaysian national leadership. Many self-help projects initiated by the MIC for the upliftment of the community, during this period, turned out to be colossal failures.

The Malaysian Indian community is at the cross roads today. A disenchanted and frustrated Indian community can turn out to be serious ailment for Malaysia. It should be pointed out that one reason for the rapid improvement of the status of the Malays, the indigenous community in Malaysia in the post-independence era, had been the vigorous implementation of affirmative action in favour of Malays followed by successive central and state governments. The Indian community in Malaysia is the most disadvantaged community in Malaysia today. It requires sympathetic attention of the Malaysian Government.

Those who are below poverty line should be brought under the purview of affirmative action, in the field of education, award of scholarships and recruitment to government jobs. The words of Dr. Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution, comes to my mind, “if a mother has four children, and one among them is handicapped, the handicapped child, should be given greater care and attention”. Perfect equality in societies, where there are handicapped, will only perpetuate inequality.

(Dr. V. Suryanarayan, former Senior Professor and Director, Centre for South and Southeast Asian Studies, University of Madras is currently Senior Research Fellow in the Center for Asia Studies, Chennai. His e mail address: suryageeth@sify.com)

Racist and vindictive UMNO A.G. Gani Patail nyaya Indian poor A. Muthusamy (37) for 12 long years: HRP rescues him as amicus curies.

This morning Muthusamy Arumugam (37) a driver was seen wondering helplessly at the Selayang Magistrets Court with no help from the Court Interpreter, police or the Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP).

It was the whole Malay-sian state versus the one Indian poor man, Muthusamy. Muthusamy telling the Court Interpreter that he cannot afford a lawyer.

Feeling sorry for him P. Uthayakumar who appeared for the Hindraf 5 anti Interlok and anti UMNO racist Rally on 27/02/2011 activists asked Muthusamy what he was charged for. Muthusamy said that he was racially discriminated by his capitalist Chinese his boss at his work place argued but he was charged for punching him after which he was immediately sacked.

Immediately after the Hindraf case was adjourned Muthusamy’s case was called up and he refused to plead guilty. The DPP Chin Kian Chun informed Magistret Puan Nurul Hafizah binti Kamaluddin that this is a  year 2000 case, the Investigating Officer was present but the complainant was not present.

The 95% Malay Muslim Malay-sian Judiciary together with the DPP, court Policeman and Indian mandarin Court Interpreter were about to “squeeze” Muthusamy into pleading guilty when P. Uthayakumar stood up and said that he was appearing as amicus curie, la friend of the court.

Uthayakumar submitted that as this is a 2000 matter and is 12 years ongoing. And the accused has been punished enough as he had already attended court on 10 occasions. Justice delayed is justice denied. Uthayakumar briefly also addressed the Court that as the complaint was not present in Court, he is not interested and the prosecution can always re-charge the accused when they are ready. The case against Muthusamy was discharged not amounting to an acquittal (DNAA) ie he was set free to go. Muthusamy’s misery was instantly relieved. But he initially could not believe it.

Rightly the racist and powerful UMNO Attorney General should have had the decency to gracefully withdraw the charge. But this graceful culture does not exist in civil society One Malay-sia.

This case of Muthusamy is just the tip of the iceberg of the racist UMNO Judiciary and system of law and order against the helpless and soft target Indian poor.

Almost 99% of the Indian poor similarly are forced to plead guilty simply because they are poor and have no money for bail and cannot afford to pay for a lawyer. And the RM 5 million P.M. Najib’s Razak’s wayang kulit Legal Aid at RM 0.17 average per Malaysian is a mere joke!

This is among the main reasons why the crime rate among the Indians is reported to be 45% when they form a mere 8% of the population.

Give any Indian equality, equal vocational and career opportunities, equal business opportunities and the crime rate among the Indian poor will be reduced by 95%. No Indian wants to be a criminal when they are granted equality in self employment, licenses, business opportunities etc.

Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

‘Non-Malays saved Malaya from ruin’

If not for the economic contributions of the Chinese and Indians, Hindraf leader P Waythamoorthy says, the newly-born nation would have gone bankrupt.

GEORGE TOWN: The Federation of Malaya would have gone bankrupt if ethnic Indians and Chinese had not adopted the fledgling independent nation as their home, said Hindraf Makkal Sakti chief P Waythamoorthy.

“We should be grateful to Indians and Chinese who sacrificed their rights to save the newly-born Malaya from economic ruin,” he said when revealing findings of his research into thousands of documents pertaining to Malaya’s pre-independence talks.

He said the then auditor-general HM Watson’s report on the accounts of Federation of Malaya as of Dec 31, 1957 revealed that rubber and tin export constituted the top two contributors of export duty for the country.

Rubber contributions made up 68% of tax revenue at $124.4 million in 1957 and $143.9 in 1956. Tin contributions came in second at 28%, generating tax revenue of $54.2 million in 1957 and $60.2 million in 1956.

The workers in the rubber industry were predominantly Indians while the Chinese dominated tin mining.
“If the British deported the Indians and Chinese out of the Federation following independence, obviously Malaya would be bankrupt instantly,” he said.

His studies also revealed that Malaya would not have survived if the Straits Settlements of Penang and Malacca stayed out of an independent Malaya and remained British crown states.

He said Penangites and Malaccans were British subjects then entitled to United Kingdom citizenships and the Malay rulers had no powers over these two states.

“But the non-Malays sacrificed their rights to make Malaya their home,” he disclosed.

He said ethnic Indians and Chinese were dominant communities in the Straits Settlements then, numbering some 1.3 million. The difference in population and property ownership between the two communities was razor thin.

The total population of both Malays and non-Malays in the other states was about four million then.

‘Special position only for 15 years’

During constitutional talks and submissions to the Reid commission, Waythamoorthy said document revealed that the Tunku Abdul Rahman-led Umno delegation wanted the Straits Settlements to be part of the federation in return for citizenship and equality for non-Malays.

At the same time, Waythamoorthy said Tunku and Abdul Razak Hussein requested and assured the Reid Commission that the Malay special position would be implemented “only for 15 years, between 1957 and 1972, and after that all citizens shall be treated with equal status.”

He claimed that Umno later manipulated and colluded with the British to make the provisions in Article 153, which governs the Malay special position, a permanent feature against their submissions and undertakings to the Reid Commission.

Based on his findings, Waythamoorthy said the notion that Indians and Chinese were immigrants and should be thankful for the opportunity given to prosper here “should stop once and for all.”

“The country would have been impoverished should the Indians and Chinese decided to stay out of the Federation while Penang and Malacca remained as British colonies.


“Should the two states have remained under the British, the ethnic Indian and Chinese populations would be entitled to equality under the British laws. They would have prospered.

“It would have encouraged Indians and Chinese in other states to migrate to the Crown Straits Settlements and they would not be subjected to a racist system and be treated as second-class citizens like today,” argued the London-based Hindraf chairman.

Waythamoorthy is scrutinising the pre-independence documents to prepare for his US$4 trillion class action suit against the former colonial master, the British government.

He originally filed the class action suit in London on Aug 31, 2007, the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence, to demand compensation for Indian Malaysians, whose ancestors were brought in by the colonial government as indentured labour.

However, the suit was stalled following the Malaysian government’s clampdown on Hindraf and arrest of several lawyers under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

The suit claimed that, after granting independence to Malaya, the British had left the Indians without representation and at the mercy of the Umno government.

Hindraf’s London-based lawyers would be in Malaysia for several days from Thursday onwards to meet potential ethnic Indian clients to become co-claimants in the suit.

‘Built on their sweat, blood and tears’

Waythamoorthy said his findings proved that the newly-born Malaya was “over-dependent” on the economic contributions of the Indian and Chinese communities.

He said the rubber and tin industries generated other parallel revenues and development for the country such as infrastructure, transport and taxes.

He believes that the socio-economic factor compelled the British to keep the Indians and Chinese in Malaya.

He said the British wanted to protect the interests of their business and that of Malay rulers, who were direct beneficiaries of the contributions of the so-called “pendatangs”.

“Non-Malays adopted Malaya as their new home as they were encouraged and welcomed by the British and Malay Rulers then. Truth is, this country was built on the blood, sweat and tears of ethnic Indians and Chinese,” he said. - FMT

About 14th Aug 2011 from Mr. Ramesh - Perak State HRP Leader

By Viki Logan, 

Mr. Ramesh and HRP supporters in Perak feel that Malaysian Indians are not given their legitimate rights that are stated in the constitution i.e. educational rights, business opportunities and also job opportunities. All grass root supporters are direct or indirectly victims of marginalisation.

He adds that the people have actually approached other Indian parties for aid or assistance, however as usual, empty promises are given. Indians in general are aware that they have been pratically sidelined by government in terms of educational rights, job and business opportunities.

In terms of publicising the upcoming 14th August event, Mr. Ramesh and HRP Supporters in Perak have been distributing flyers and have held mini forums to educate and explain to people on what this event is all about.

Generally Indians are aware that they have been sidelined for years. However, Mr. Ramesh does feel that HRP needs to do more in educating Indians of their deserving rights.

About 14th Aug 2011 from Mr. Mohan (JB State HRP Leader)

By Viki Logan,

Our Constitution states that there is equality for every single Malaysia Citizen. However , Mr.Mohan and HRP Supporters in JB are not satisfied  as they feels that is it just a mere saying.

Indian have been denied their rights for many years and are still being denied to their rights to higher education, business opportunities, job opportunities, etc. All grass roots supporters are directly or indirectly victims of marginalisation.

According to Mr. Mohan, the people JB generally approached HRP for help and support. They did not approach other indian parties.

With regards to the upcoming 14th August event, publicity of the event was done through flyers, brochures as well as small gatherings.

Generally the people in JB are aware that they have been sidelined. HRP is getting very strong support for the people of JB and positive feedback with regards to the  upcoming forum.

UK lawyers to meet clients for Hindraf suit

The movement's London-based lawyers will be down to meet potential clients for the class action suit against the British government.

By Athi Sankar - FMT,

GEORGE TOWN: Hindraf Makkal Sakti’s London-based lawyers, who will be here starting Thursday, want to meet potential co-clients for the class action suit against the British government.

In a statement to FMT, Hindraf counsel Imran Khan said he would be in Malaysia for several days to accept instructions from ethnic Indians as their legal representative in order to consider including them as co-claimants in the suit.

The two-man delegation would also engage in a fact-finding mission to obtain first-hand information on the perceived injustices meted out on ethnic Indians.
Hindraf would be organising a public forum on this at the Hokkien Hall in Klang on Aug 14.

Imran said the suit was initiated by Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy due to the former colonial master’s failure to protect the ethnic Indian community’s rights, interests and benefits under the Malaya Federal Constitution.
He said his client saw the legal action as a class action on behalf of current ethnic Malaysian Indians, whose forefathers were transported as labourers under the indentured labour system.
He pointed out that Waythmoorthy’s own great grandfather was forcibly abducted and transported to Malaya as a labourer.

The indentured labour system was devised by the British colonial office to address the acute labour shortage in Malaya. Most ethnic Indians were brought in to work in rubber plantations.

Waythamoorthy’s research of British records on Malaya revealed that rubber export was undisputedly the number one revenue earner for the country for decades, even after independence.

He originally filed the class action suit on Aug 31, 2007, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence, in London seeking US$4 trillion as compensation for Indian Malaysians.

However, the suit was stalled following the Malaysian government’s clampdown on Hindraf and arrest of several lawyers, including Waythamoorthy’s brother and the movement’s legal adviser P Uthayakumar, under the Internal Security Act.

Among others, the suit claimed that after granting independence to Malaya, the British had left the Indians without representation and at the mercy of Malay extremism practiced by the Umno government.

Suit to be re-filed

Following Waythamoorthy’s instruction in 2009 to re-file the stalled class action, Imran had the opportunity to consider several documents pertaining to the independence of Malaya.

After a perusal of the documents, Imran and Waythamoorthy had a conference on issues of relevance with a senior Queen’s Counsel in June, 2010.

“Due to client confidentiality, I am not able to reveal the outcome of the conference,” said Imran.
Acting on the QC’s advice, Imran wrote to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in London to request the release of all documents pertaining to Malaya’s independence.

The documents kept under the British Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2000 were mostly from the period between 1945 and1957.

Imran said FCO recently confirmed that some documents in its possession remained classified.
Access to those documents would not be possible until FCO consulted relevant departments before deciding on whether to declassify the documents.

As of now, the FCO had used its discretionary powers vested under the FoI to deny Hindraf access to the documents.

Following this, Imran took legal steps under the recommended appeal procedure to challenge the FCO decision.

Hindraf: Stop the wayang kulit politics!

Indians have been taken for ride with empty promises made by successive prime ministers to uplift the community, says Hindraf chief Waythamoorthy.

By Athi Sankar - FMT
GEORGE TOWN: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should stop the wayang kulit politics of making empty promises to the Indian community at MIC’s annual general assembly, said Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy.

He said marginalised ethnic Indians, especially the 70% working class segment, were fed up and disgusted with the Umno-sponsored prime time zero political show.

He said ethnic Indians were weary of this show given that their plight and grievances have hardly been addressed by the BN government for 54 years.

“Enough is enough on this political sandiwara. Indians are fed up of this nonsense,” said Waythamoorthy.
He called on Najib, the country’s 6th prime minister, to discontinue the wayang kulit political tradition when he officially opens MIC’s 65th AGA tomorrow.

He noted that each year, the premier as Barisan Nasional chairman, would make various promises in his keynote address at the MIC annual summit.

“He will earn grandstand applause from delegates at the end of the speech. However, all those promises will be forgotten once he leaves the hall. They have never been fulfilled.

“This is what has been happening for past 54 years,” said the London-based Hindraf supremo.
He criticised both Umno and MIC elites of having a concealed social contract to hoodwink and deceive the Indian community since independence until today.

MIC complicit in short changing Indians

He hit out at MIC elites for being subservient to Umno and compromising Indians’ constitutional rights merely to protect and fulfill their own self interests.

In turn, he said Umno would always take care of these MIC elites’ needs just to keep them as political mandores.

During pre-independent talks, said Waythamoorthy, the MIC leadership had tacitly supported Umno and British political manipulation to permanently uphold Malay special position under Article 153 of the Federal Constitution.

In his research into the Malaya’s pre-independence talks to facilitate his US$4 trillion class action suit against the British, he found that all safety measures proposed as permanent constitutional features to protect minority rights in the imminent Malay majority rule were dismantled.

He said these proposals were all omitted from the final draft of the Malaya Federal Constitution with the support of MIC and MCA, which were supposed to protect minority rights and interests.

“This had allowed Umno to misuse and manipulate Article 153 until today,” said Waythamoorthy.

Lawyers visit E-poster

 

Click the picture above for a bigger view

Hindraf's UK Lawyers to visit Malaysia - civil action against UK Government for colonial injustices/negligence.

Click the picture for a bigger view

Barn like Tamil school in Batu Kawan Estate

Pay up RM210 or no MyKad

A grandmother waited patiently for 39 years for her MyKad but when she finally went to collect her card she was told she had to pay for it.

By Athi Sankar,
PERMATANG PAUH:  A 51-year- old grandmother had waited patiently for 39 years for her identity card.Earlier, this week she thought her long wait was over, when she received a call from the Penang office of National Registration Department (NRD)  to come and collect her MyKad.

But when M Menachi went to collect her MyKad on Wednesday , she was in for a rude a shock. She was told she had to pay RM210 ro collect her card.

“The person at the counter told me that I can’t collect my MyKad without paying,” said Menachi.
The poor kitchen helper did not have money and had to go home without her MyKad.

Menachi informed the human rights NGO, Hindraf Makkal Sakti advisor N Ganesan who called up NRD office to inquire about the payment.

He was told by a women officer, known as Junaidah, that Menachi had not been required to pay RM210.
Instead, the officer claimed that Menachi was merely told to bring a support letter from her village head when collecting the MyKad.

“The counter officer asked for money, not penghulu’s letter.It was a lie,” insisted Menachi, a Hindu widow to a Muslim husband, Jamal, who passed away in 2009.

This is not the first time that Menachi had a run in with the authorities.

“It’s a curse to be  stateless poor Indians in this country,” she told  FMT.
The late Jamal and Menachi have three sons and two daughters, now aged 20 to 30.

Her three boys, Kamal, Aziz and Jasmin, did not face any difficulty obtaining  birth certificates and identity cards because they were carrying Muslim names.

However, her two Hindu daughters, Santi and Mala, were not issued citizenship documents.

According to Menachi, NRD officers have always insisted that she and her daughters convert to Islam to enable them to btain the documents without anymore constraints.

“NRD denied our legitimate rights simply because we refused to convert to Islam,” she said.
Because of the conversion issue, Santi, 30, could not even legally register her marriage with construction worker, V Shivamoorthy, 34 in Aug 2004.

Subsequently Santi’s three children – Nisantini,6, Karthikesan, 5, and Eswaran, 4, were also denied birth certificates initially.

She first sought help of local MIC leaders. But she claimed instead of helping her, the so-called community leaders  ‘advised’ her to convert to solve all her problems.

Menachi then sought the help of Hindraf ground volunteers, who then re-submitted official applications supported by some legal documents, to obtain the citizen documents for her and her children.

Finally a month ago, Santi and Mala received their birth certificates and MyKads.

Santi’s children too obtained their birth certificates, leaving Menachi the only one without her MyKad.
Ganesan has donated  RM210  for Menachi’s  MyKad and she will go to the NRD office next week hoping to collect her card.

Citing Menachi case as mere a tip of the iceberg, Ganesan said the government’s MyDaftar campaign, which was supposedly to resolve ethnic Indians stateless problems is not working at all.

He described the campaign as mere wayang kulit (shadow play) .   He blamed UMNO’s for the plight of the stateless Indians

He said UMNO agenda was to treat ethnic Indians as “immigrants” and deny them, especially the poor, any citizenship rights .

Malaysian Indian poor has zero village safety net. 607 New Villages for Chinese poor, thousands for Malay, Asli, Iban & Kadazan villages for poor.

In any part of the world the social safety net for any community is their ancestral and traditional villages. In these villages they get to engage in at least agriculture  and lifestock farming for their livelihood. Thus their social safety net beyond which they would not fall. And in these villages they live as a community.

Unlike the example of the lone Indian poor ageing lady in her hut and living in worst off conditions than the Orang Asli (see photo).The most misfortunate, disabled, old and orphans are taken care of by the village community.

Even the dishwasher from Tamil Nadu a working in Brickfields may be better of than the 5th and 6th generation Malaysian born. Indian poor in the event of any misfortunate, disability or old age, always has a village social safety net to go back to in India. But this is not so for the Malaysian Indian poor. There are almost zero Indian poor villages in One Malay-sia as their social safety net.

The few and far in between Kg Muniandi, Kg Ghandi, Kg Kanchang Puteh, kg Chikadee, Kg DBI, Kg Buah Pala, Kg Bengali, etc have denied permanent land titles and have been “ethnically cleansed” or waiting  for their day to be ethnically  cleansed. Even if there are the few Indian villages, their existence is temporary. As is the temporary solution for the Indian poor across  the board in One Malay-sia.

Land settled by the Indian poor are deemed squatters and bulldozed or waiting to be bulldozed but land settled by the Malays, Chinese and the Orang Asli Kadazan, Iban are recognized by the  State and granted permanent land titles.

Even the pre existing poor and landless Indian plantation workers were denied the 442,000 (112,635 Felda) (UM 21/4/10 at page 28), 28,235 Risda and 95,000 Felcra – BH  25/2/2010 at page 4).

We are only aware of some of Indians in the Felda schemes in Bahau, LBJ and Trolak and that too granted in the very early years in the 1960s. And never thereafter the ten acre land ownership schemes in Felda, Felcra and Risda schemes, 99% of which have been granted to the Malay muslims. We estimate over one million such ten acre land ownership schemes nationwide including those granted by Mardi, Fama, Agropolition and by the similar 13 State government ten acre land ownership schemes like Kejora, Kemubu, Kedara, Ketengah, etc where zero Indian poor have been granted land.

Even the Pakatan Rakyat State governments of Perak and Selangor within one month of they coming to power in Perak and Selangor granted:-
1) 110,000 land titles in 349 land titles in 349 Rancangan Kampung Tersusun for Malay muslims in Perak (UM 1/1/2009)
2)   102,000 land titles in 134 Chinese New  Villages in Perak. (NST 10/10/3 at page 23)
3)    2,500 acres to 9 Chinese Independent schools in Perak . (NST 31/8/8 at page 38).
4)    10 acres to each and every Orang asli in Perak (NST 9/3/9 at page 8).
5)    1,000 acres of land and RM100 Million for pig farming in Sepang Selangor. (NST 11/4/08 and
26/8/8).And today’s New Straits Times 22/7/11 at page 2, reported that there are 607 (Chinese) New Villages nationwide with 1.2 million villagers. To top it up no less than the Deputy Prime Minister grants RM 100 million to uplift the lives in these New Villages.

The UMNO government’s billions to uplift the lives of the Malay muslims, Orang Asli, Kadazan and Iban poor through various government programs goes without saying.

But to start off with there is almost zero permanent Indian villages, let alone the millions or billions of ringgit Malaysia to be given to them.

The tip of the iceberg case of the Indian poor without the social safety net is that of M. Krishnan (37) who was killed at the Bukit Jallil police lock up. Krishnan’s widow P. Revathi (37) had called over to our office in March 2011 told us that her husband was the sole bread winner who fed his family of six young aged between 8 to 17 years.  His pregnant wife can’t even go to work as she has to care for her three toddlers and cannot afford a baby sitter.


Even the UMNO Welfare Department refused to grant any emergency or other financial help. At best we know of some similar Indian poor families who were granted a maximum of RM 300 per month and that too for a mere three months and thereafter they have to go begging on their knees for the further RM 300. This RM 300.00 would not even be enough to pay her rentals in Sentul. This RM 300 Welfare help would go a long way if P. Revathi had the village safety net to fall back on. There was zero Indian village she could go back to or go to. The Felda, Felcra, Risda etc ten acre landownership schemes  would never take her in. What do we do; we have no answer for P. Revathi.

P. Revathi had asked us “What do I do now”? We had no answer we could just watch her cry silently. We do not know what ever happened to Revathi thereafter and we were helpless in the face of the bi-racial One Malay-sian political and economic reality.

P. Revathi told us that she is left with no other choice but to contemplate suicide. Tears swelled in the corner of our eyes and we took our sight out of the harsh reality she was undergoing to divert our mind. But we had and till today have no answers.

Had she been a Malay muslim the, Lembaga Urus, Zakat, Baitumal, Tabung Haji, Perkim, Yayasan, etc would have bailed her out.

Had she been a Chinese some Towkay would have bailed her out as they have been recipients of government largess for decades. Or she could have gone to one of the aforesaid 617 Chinese Villages. Some 50% of the Malay-sian economy controlling Chinese community will somehow care of their poor.

And we have the Jabatan Orang Asli, Yayasan Sabah and Sarawak, 25 and 31 Sabah and Sarawak native MPs and hundreds of ADUNs (minus the few Chinese MPs’ & ADUNS) and the whole of the Sabah and Sarawak State governments vis a vis the political power balance they wield, especially now in the post 2008 general elections scenario to care for the Kadazan, Iban, Orang Ulu, Murut poor.

But who cared for the Indian poor in bi racial One Malay-sia? There is no Yayasan or Jabatan. UMNO? BN? MIC? Pseudo multi-racial PKR, DAP, PAS, NGO?

And when we point out this level of unacceptable and shameful racism and religious supremacy, never seen in any other part of the world, we are in turn are very shrewdly branded as racist by our detractors as a very “clever” means to divert away from this the pressing Indian problems and which this mere 8% Indian community has almost zero political or economic power.

This is just the tip of the iceberg one off story of the Indian poor and landless. Many such instances are reported in www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com.

Tens of thousands of even the 5th and 6th generation Indian poor and landless nationwide cry in silence every day. Because bi-racial One Malay-sia does not care for them because they are the Indian poor. In bi-racial One Malaysia any issue that concerns the Malays or the Chinese is a ‘national’ issue andaddressed. Policies and programs are only designed to feed these two communities.

Only in bi racial One Malay-sian poor and landless their ethnicity matters.
Rights not Mercy.
P. Uthayakumar

The UMNO Government does not have the will to solve the statelessness problem among the Indian poor.

Menachi 51 of Kampung Bagan Serai,  a widow, unemployed (or should I say unemployable) has for the last 51 years lived a completely faceless and nameless existence. The Malaysian Government has denied her, her basic right, that of statehood, for one meaningless reason or another. Last year Hindraf activists helped cut through the myriad of documents, procedures and hurdles of the UMNO government and managed to submit her application for the IC. Now, almost after a year since the submission, she is called to the IC office. On presenting herself at the counter they ask her for RM210 so she can take her IC. She could not get RM 5 that day to go to the IC office. 210 Ringgits?? She was devastated. She returned empty handed, disappointed one more time, nothing new to her. This is the curse of the poor.  There are approximately 400,000 such people.

She asks now, if she cannot get the 210 Ringgits, will she remain stateless? 

 This episode raises some very fundamental questions?

• Will there ever be a permanent solution to this problem?
• Does this Government have the will and/or the ability to solve this problem?
• Whose responsibility is it anyway, to resolve problems such as these?
• Are the poor Indians to be faulted for this problem?
• What is the role of history in all this?
• Will any alternative ensuing government have it high on its priority to solve this problem?

Given the racist agenda of UMNO it is Hindraf’s clear position that UMNO can never solve this problem. I think we have had enough game playing and destroying generations of  lives of the poor. The UMNO government has to now own up to the fact that it is incapable of solving the problem. Not to make matters worse UMNO should please stop its spins – “wayangs”.

Take this specific Wayang – the most recent one – from the Special Implementattion Task Force for Indian affairs.

On 19^th Feb 2011

The Campaign organized by the Taskforce (PM Dept) with the cooperation of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Registration and Department of Information is a major National campaign organized by the Federal Government

It starts today on Feb 19 till 26, 2011. The Department of National Registration has provided utmost cooperation by opening up 80 offices in 9 states in Malaysia. This is the largest and comprehensive campaign organized so far.

This is a major effort to identify all the undocumented Malaysian Indians so that through this campaign they

·                 Can be identified especially those with out birth certificates or identification cards

·                 Can be assisted to fill the relevant forms

·                 Can be assisted to secure supporting information and details on origin and birth

·                 Can be successful as people who can eventually secure all the legal documents and thereby enjoy their rights as Malaysian citizens

On 1^st  March 2011

SITF Chairman Datuk Dr Subramaniam announced yesterday (March 1, 2011) that a total of 14, 882 Malaysian Indians have submitted the relevant citizenship forms during the My Daftar campaign held from Feb 19 to 26, 2011.

Total               14, 8882

            Break Down of figures

·                 Birth certificate:                3,546

·                 Identification cards        2,569

·                 Citizenship                    7,486

·                 Others                          1,281

For the next six months ‘SITF My Daftar special unit’ headed by Dato Siva Subramaniam will focus on case solutions ensuring that the 14,882 are approved, encourage the 10,000 who took the forms to fill them, make their submissions and monitor their solutions.

On 18^th July 2011

SITF Chairman Datuk Dr Subramaniam has asked the Government to set up units in several departments to resolve the problems of the Indian community. He said this was necessary as the Government's delivery mechanism was too slow in coping with the increasing problems of the community.

What is clear from this statement is that after 5 months of this latest wayang there is little or nothing to show for results. They said all 14,482 or so of the cases will be resolved in March. What probably has happened is that UMNO’s racist bureaucracy has once again effectively killed any possibility of that. Of course they will have their reasons for the poor showing and it will be all about the poor Indians. What a wonderful escape clause. but those reasons will only confirm our position. The setting up of special units is just more wayang. This UMNO government will never be able to solve the problems of the poor Indians.It is Hindraf’s clear position that this UMNO Government does not want to solve this problem. It is also Hindraf’s position that the root cause of this problem is UMNO’s continuing implicit position that the Indians in the country are all “Pendatangs” after 150 years of living here and therefore are not entitled to any rights of an average citizen.

This is so visible, take the Tamil Schools issue, take the Interlok issue, take this statelessness issue, take the criminalization issue – take any issue that is longstanding and chronic and it is abundantly clear that unless racism is first booted out of our political landscape nothing of substance will change in the lives of the poor.. You have to be poor and you have to be Indian – then you will know exactly what this means.

Any alternative ensuing government will only make sense to the Indian poor if they give due attention to problems such as this. It does not bode well when Anwar Ibrahim himself said in one of the interviews in January 2010 when he visited the UK that he could not be expected to solve the socio-economic woes of the Indians.  Hindraf  will not rest till solutions are forthcoming. The people are not going to accept wayangs and or empty promises. The people want results. Hindraf will confront these issues with whoever holds the reins of power unless there are just solutions forthcoming.

N. Ganesan

National Advisor to Hindraf

21^st July 2011

Teacher pokes pupil to bleed

A teacher allegedly poked a student in his forehead with a ball pen for not been able to copy down an essay on time.

The incident took place at SK Puchong Jaya on Monday, which allegedly caused the forehead of standard four student, Timothy Deeran Shegar, to bleed. It is claimed that he was given no first aid until school was over.

‘Bigger wave needed to crush Umno’

Hindraf wants all like-minded forces to come together to unleash a neo-democratic revolution to end Umno's reign.
 
PETALING JAYA: Hindraf Makkal Sakthi wants all like-minded forces to come together to unleash a new wave of people’s power against Umno, which the movement considers an “iron-fisted evil regime”.
The movement’s leader in exile P Waythamoorthy told FMT that there is a need to move beyond the wave generated by Bersih 2.0 on July 9.

“Bersih 2.0 is all about free and fair elections. It’s good for a start but we need to find something bigger to move the masses like in Egypt.

“We definitely need to move beyond Bersih or else there is a risk we will degenerate into tame re-runs like Bersih 3.0 and so forth,” added the lawyer, who is currently in London.

Waythamoorthy was elaborating on a statement he circulated via e-mail yesterday to thousands of supporters, sympathisers and others listed in his movement’s address book.

He said Hindraf will urge all like-minded forces to join hands and help ferment a “neo-democratic revolution” by changing the mindset of the people.

“If Malaysians can be awakened from within and if they realise that democracy is their birth right, not the privilege of a few, then a neo-revolution of people’s power can be a reality,” he added.

The people, he said, will need to be convinced on exactly what they will receive out of their neo-democratic revolution.

Mere rhetoric about change, he warned, will not be enough and may in fact be nothing more than ventilating ignorance while mouthing empty slogans that lead nowhere in the end.
“Bersih alone cannot do magic!” he stressed.

Nine core challenges

Delving into specifics, Waythamoorthy opined that the people will generally appreciate a renewed focus on nine core challenges.

He reckons equality, in the truest sense of the word, as the mother of all challenges.

Elsewhere, he cites respect for human dignity, individual rights and civil liberties; religious freedom in accordance with universal principles; dismantling of all racist polices; complete overhaul of the judiciary, the police and smashing of the nexus between the force and the underworld.

However, the Hindraf chief does not see any prospects of the neo-democratic revolution on the immediate horizon unless there is a complete overhaul, to begin with, in the mindset of opposition leaders.

PAS, he said, will never entertain the prospect of equality among all religions, a stand that PKR is expected to endorse, and both Malay parties are expected to remain silent on Article 153 being observed by Umno in the breach.

The business-centric Chinese community and the elite Indians, as evident during Bersih 2.0, will never leave their comfort zone and take to the streets like Hindraf and others, said Waythamoorthy in painting a partial picture of gloom and doom in the outer urban areas and suburbs for the forces of change and reform.

Hindraf’s stand on the opposition, he added, is not a bundle of contradictions “but merely a case of facing the hard realities and urging the adoption of the difficult choices necessary in triggering the neo-democratic revolution”.

Ultimately, he thinks, that the people can be expected to decide but this will mean not allowing the politicians to continue holding them to ransom as in the past.

“All Malaysians are fair-minded, caring and potentially given very much to sharing and sharing alike. Never underestimate them. They can be easily awakened so long as there are enough politicians who are sincere and truly desire change and reform,” he said. -FMT

Alcoholism in our society

By Susan Luees David

On May 23rd the NST have published that Malaysia ranked world’s 10th largest consumer of alcohol. This is something to be proud of my friends? I’m not saying this is solely contributed by the Indian and Chinese community only but ALL, I repeat ALL. I would like change this negative achievement of us therefore I want to start from home which is my community. Here I would like to share the effects of Alcoholism. There are many and varied. Let us consider them by the various people and groups of people they can affect:

Individuals:-

Emotionally – alcoholism numbs the feelings we have and makes it so that we self-medicate any time we start to get sad, angry, or scared in any way. We stunt any emotional growth or progress that might be made were we to be sober instead.

Socially – alcoholism fixed my anxiety at first, but eventually I drank in isolation–afraid to venture out into public because I was such a madman. I could only seek out other hard core alcoholics and drug addicts that consumed like I did.
Spiritually – alcoholism is like trying to find God while running on a hamster wheel. We live in fear and abandon our hopes and prayers we might have once had.

Physically - The physical effects of alcoholism are well documented and there is a high morbidity rate. Most say that the average alcoholic that continues to drink will die something like 22 to 36 years ahead of their time (depending on which data you look at). This is complicated because most alcoholics also smoke cigarettes and some abuse other substances as well, which also affect their health. Those who do recover from alcoholism will sometimes quit smoking, or continue to smoke, so mortality rates can become very confusing when trying to look at things like this.

Mentally - “water on the brain.” Yes, a lifetime of drinking does in fact turn your brain into mush eventually. This is well documented as well.

Families:-

Alienates children – kids take it the hardest, because they don’t know if the “switch has been flipped or not” with their alcoholic parent. Living this way has a negative effect on grades, social skills, and just about every other aspect of a child’s life.

Perpetuates abuse – well known and well documented. What might be understated is the amount of verbal abuse that is simply “put up with.”

Divorce!!!!

Worse than divorce in some cases – the family holds together despite the dysfunction and potentially passes the disease on to others. Consider that children of an alcoholic parent are 4 times more likely to become alcoholics themselves.

For young addicts and alcoholics, they have proven that group therapy is worse than no therapy at all, but family therapy has shown some degree of promise. These points to the fact that addiction is a family disease and needs to be treated as such in most cases.

Society as whole:-

WILL LOOK DOWN ON YOU & CHASE YOU OUT OF THE SOCIETY AS A DIRT

In general, my dear Indian wife, how are you going to save your husband from the above?

Here kicks in our famous “patti vaithiyam” cook super extra thick dhal curry which means you need to add extra “parupu” to your dhal, it shouldn’t be watery at all but must be as thick as possible. This dhal curry need to be served with well fermented idli or thosai. 

“Fermentation” in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. A more restricted definition of fermentation is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol.
Fermentation usually implies that the action of microorganisms is desirable, and the process is used to produce alcoholic beverages such as wine, beer, and cider. Fermentation is also employed in the leavening of bread, and for preservation techniques to create lactic acid in sour foods such as sauerkraut, dry sausages, kimchi and yogurt, or vinegar (acetic acid) for use in pickling foods.