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.

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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.

Poked on the forehead with a pen for not doing classwork

A kindergarten operator alleges that a teacher poked her son's forehead with a pen and left a scar and also refused to apologise to her.

PETALING JAYA: A teacher who could not control his anger poked the forehead of a pupil with a pen because he did not complete his classwork, the boy’s parent alleged today.

Relating the incident which happened on Monday, SA Bibi Yanem, 45, said her son, S Timothy Deeran, and his classmates in Year 4 Semangat, Sekolah Kebangsaan Puchong Jaya, were told to copy a dictation by their Malay language teacher, Islahuddin Ibrahim.

“However, my son missed a few words from the dictation and could not complete his work,” said Bibi Yanem, a kindergarten operator.

Unable to pass up the work when instructed by the teacher, Bibi Yanem said her son was then called up to the front of the class by Islahuddin .

“When he checked my son’s work and saw it incomplete, Islahuddin took his pen and poked and scratched my son’s forehead,” claimed Bibi Yanem.

Bibi Yanem also alleged that this left a scar on his forehead.

Angered by the incident,  Bibi Yanem and her husband M Shegar then went to the school at about 8am yesterday and reported the matter to the school principal, Abdul Rahman Mansor.

After hearing her grievances, Rahman then called her son and Islahuddin to his office to get to the bottom of the matter.

In the meeting, Bibi Yanem claimed Islahuddin said that he was unable to control his rage when he saw Timothy’s work was not done.

“But I told him if you have no patience, then you should not be a teacher,” she said.

Islahuddin then promised the parents that he would issue a written letter of apology to them in a few hours time.

However, when Bibi Yanem went back to the school at  about 11am, Islahuddin refused to give her the letter.

“Islahuddin arrogantly told me in the staff room  that it was against his ethics to write such a letter. He even challenged me to take action against him,” she said.

Bibi Yanem told Rahman what had transpired but claimed the principal merely kept mum on the matter.

“He didn’t object when I told him that I will take this matter to the media,” said Bibi Yanem.

On whether she had reported the incident to the district education office, Bibi Yanem said she had not done so yet but had lodged a report at the Puchong Jaya police station.

When contacted, the school administration was unable to comment on the matter as Rahman had left his office.

Media Event 21/7/11: Teacher injures standard four student Shegar (10) with ball pen and nearly poking his right eye for not writing out Karangan in time.

No.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel : 03-2282 5241
Fax : 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245
Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com E-mail: info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com
Your Reference:
In Reply :
Date : 20/7/2011

Media Event 21st July 2011 (Thursday)

Re : Teacher injures standard four student Shegar (10) with ball pen and nearly poking his right eye for not writing out Karangan in time. Accelerating racism in Secondary schools. Letter to DPM and Education Minister.
Date : 21/7/2011 (Thursday)
Time : 2.00 p.m
Venue: HRP HQ as above.
Note : The mother and student would be present.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully,
S. Jayathas
(Information Chief)
012-6362287

13 A Indian student to garbage picker

4 days Remand/Jail for mere traffic offence by Polis Raja Di Malay-sia & A.G. Gani Patail.

Last night at about 12.00 a.m we received  an SOS call from Kuppan Nagappen, a lorry transport operator that the JPJ had wanted to confiscate his lorry as he had employed an Indian national as the driver. His son argued with the JPJ officer and was immediately handcuffed by police. Kuppan came by and he and a total of 7 Indians were arrested and locked up.

This morning P. Uthayakumar called the Section 9 Police station’s Inspector Helmi (013-5544945) and told him to wait as Uthayakumar intended to oppose the remand application. But in the typical police style, Inspector Helmi instead got a 5 days remand order up to 16/7/11 without waiting for Uthayakumar who had arrived at the Shah Alam court at 12.20 p.m.

Khairul Nizar, the Remand Clerk had informed P. Uthayakumar of this.
Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

HINDRAF British suit- Not even RM1 promised

Why Hindraf opted out of Bersih (FreeMalaysiaToday)

Uthayakumar explains why the organisation chose not to take to the streets on July 9 in support of the Bersih 2.0 rally.
COMMENT
By P Uthayakumar

Bersih 2.0 alias Pakatan Rakyat refuses to even engage the Human Rights Party (HRP) and Hindraf Makkal Sakti because of the Indian poor political baggage. But they want Indian support and Indian votes for free.

Hindraf and HRP can trace back their origins to at least 1990, even before the birth and rise of PKR. We came into existence because there were no takers for the Indian poor problem in the 54 years since the nation gained its independence.

And in all these 22 years, we have been forced to go almost solo as neither even the pseudo multi-racial PKR, DAP and PAS nor the supposed bi-racial NGOs and civil society really cared about the Indian poor, even up to this day.

They see the Indian poor problem as a “political liability” and “political baggage”. They prefer to play to the sentiments of the Malay Muslims, Chinese and natives which earn them greater political mileage.
Even during the Nov 25, 2007 Hindraf rally, we never had the support of PKR, DAP, PAS, NGOs and the civil society. We went almost solo with the Indian poor backing us up. And we paid the heavy price solo as well.

It was the Indian poor who literally bailed us out right up to the Hindraf lawyers release from ISA detention without trial after 514 days. And till now, especially during the Hindraf Anti-Interlok/ Anti Umno Racism Rally on Feb 27 this year – which saw 54 Hindraf activists maliciously arrested and prosecuted – we had to fight on our own.

But PKR, DAP and PAS made use of the 2007 Hindraf wave, and unprecedentedly denied Barisan Nasional its two-thirds Parliamentary majority and won five west coast states including winning 10 out of the 11 parliamentary seats in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. And like Umno/BN thereafter dumped Hindraf and the Indian poor like sucked oranges.

Using the power of money and the powerful Umno government machinery including that of the police Special Branch E3M, Umno destroyed Hindraf to a significant extent under Ops Padam Hindraf. But we are now rebuilding and regaining lost ground knowing that Hindraf still lives on in the hearts and minds of the Indian poor.

We were not invited

We have had been questioned on our non-participation in the July 9, 2011 Bersih rally.

Our reply was that we were never invited in the first place while 62 other NGOs were invited. We were not invited as we carry with us the Indian poor political baggage which Pakatan Rakyat sees as a political liability. And we refuse to be the blind followers or “cari makan” Indian mandores for the Tuans and Towkays in Pakatan, what more being one in BN.

Our position is that ending the Indian poor problem and ending the 54 years of continuous Umno rule must be fought along parallel lines and not “only after Pakatan Rakyat has got to Putrajaya”.

Especially so when PKR, DAP and PAS were already in the “Putrajaya” of Selangor, Penang and Kedah and refused to resolve even the most elementary Indian poor problems. For this and other obvious reasons, we are not prepared to give Pakatan a blank cheque to Putrajaya or to take a rain cheque for that matter. We want to be Pakatan’s internal check and balance.

Why should any democracy or those battling for free and fair elections have problems welcoming this healthy internal check and balance?

And Bersih 2.0′s free and fair elections also refused to include the de-gerrymandering of Indian majority seats like Sungai Petani, Padang Serai, Batu Kawan, Ipoh Barat, Sungai Siput, Bagan Datoh, Teluk Intan, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Kota Raja, Klang, Teluk Kemang, Cameron Highlands etc.

Of course if Pakatan leaders had also championed the cause of the Indian poor as done for minorities in the western civil societies, western democracies and western free and fair elections standards, we would be the first to concede that our position now would stand superfluous. In fact, we would not want to contest at all in the general election as we prefer the majoritarian Malay Muslim, Chinese and native top leaders and their MPs to champion the cause of the Indian poor.

It should have made sense also to Bersih 2.0 that despite there being almost one million Indian voters in Malaysia, (715,099 Indian voters in the 2008 electoral roll) there is not even one Indian majority seat in all of the 222 Parliament and 576 state assembly seats. But we suppose this does not fall within the ambit of free and fair elections of Bersih alias Pakatan. We do not need even one Indian majority seat if and only Pakatan’s top leaders, their 75 MPs’ including their 11 Indian mandore MPs’ do not sidestep the pressing Indian poor problem vis-a-vis Umno racism.

We are a different breed

But Pakatan is not even prepared to engage HRP and Hindraf as we consciously and uncompromisingly choose not to abandon the cause of the Indian poor vis-a-vis Hindraf’s 18-point demand which Pakatan sees as a political liability.

To Pakatan, we wish to state that Hindraf and HRP are not the easily excitable Malaysian Indians they have been so used to seeing or dealing with including during their ex-Umno days.

And neither are we prepared to assume the role of the much sought after by Umno/BN and now Pakatan i.e. the “cari makan” Indian mandores. We are a different breed. We are a different lot. We are a different kettle of fish. We are racing against time. We stand for equality and equal opportunities as guaranteed by Article 8 of the Federal Constitution especially for the Indian poor in both the government, GLCs and the private sectors.

For this, our detractors branded us as the Indian Perkasa, racists and extremists. But when we ask them to point out to one instance of we ever having asked for Ketuanan India (like what Perkasa does), they have no answer. The truth is they use this Perkasa label on us as a shrewd strategy in completely sidestepping especially the pressing Indian poor problem.

In conclusion, Bersih = Pakatan Rakyat, Umno = Kotor and HRP = Hindraf’s 18-point demand.
If we are forced to go solo again, so be it. Assuming even if we lose 100% of HRP’s 15/38 seats because Pakatan won’t make way for us, we have already won as a political pressure group against both Umno/BN and Pakatan’s racism against the Indian poor as evidenced by our daily postings inwww.humanrightspartymalaysia.com.

Be that as it may, the Bersih rally was a success and we congratulate them. If invited, we would consider attending the next Bersih rally as it is also our main objective to end Umno’s rule, which is the main main cause for the predicament faced by even the sixth generation of Malaysian born Indian poor.

P Uthayakumar was arrested under the ISA in 2007 for leading the Indian cause through Hindraf. He is Hindraf’s legal advisor and the pro-tem secretary-general of Human Rights Party.

Bersih @ Pakatan refuses to even engage HRP & Hindraf because of Indian poor “political baggage”. But they want Indian support & Indian votes and want it for free.

What Hindraf & HRP is today can trace back it’s origins to way back to at least 1990, even before the birth and rise of PKR. We came into existence because there were no takers for the Indian poor problems in the 54 years of the nation’s independence especially so as it is an uphill battle. And in all these 22 years, we have been forced to go almost solo vis a vis the Indian poor problems as neither even the pseudo multi-racial PKR, DAP & PAS or the supposed bi-racial One Malay-sian NGOs’ and civil society really care about the Indian poor, even right up to this day. They see the Indian poor problems as a “political liability” and “political baggage” and instead choose and prefer playing to the 92% Malay muslim, Chinese and natives majoritarian political gallery which earns them far greater “political capital and political mileage”.

Even during the height of the 25^th November 2007 100,000 Hindraf Rally, we never had the support of PKR, DAP, PAS, NGOs’ and the civil society. We went on almost solo merely with the Indian poor masses backing us up. And we paid the heavy and dear price also solo. It was the Indian poor who literally bailed us out including right up to the Hindraf lawyers release from ISA detention without trial after 514 days. And right up to date, especially during the Hindraf Anti Interlok/ Anti UMNO Racism Rally on 27/2/11, after which 54 Hindraf activists were unlawfully and maliciously arrested and prosecuted, for merely being a member of a human and minority rights NGO, we had to also fight it out, all on our own- Solo. (Note: this prosecution has never been done before in any part of the world ever except in absolute monarchy Saudi Arabia)

But PKR, DAP and PAS made use of the 2007 Hindraf wave, unprecedentedly denied BN their two thirds Parliamentary majority and won five west coast states including winning in ten out of the eleven Parliamentary seats in the Wilayah Persekutuan of Kuala Lumpur and like UMNO/BN thereafter dumped Hindraf and the Indian poor like sucked oranges.

Using money power, and the powerful UMNO government machinery including that of the police Special Branch E3M, UMNO destroyed Hindraf to a significant extent under Ops Padam Hindraf. But we are now rebuilding and regaining lost ground knowing that Hindraf still lives on in the hearts and minds of the Indian poor. And in preparation for the 13^th General Elections vis a vis HRPs’ Project 15/38.

We have had enquiries on our non participation in the 9^th July 2011 Bersih Rally. Our reply was that we were never invited in the first place in the backdrop of 62 other NGOs’ being cordially invited. We were not invited as we carry with us the Indian poor “political baggage” which Pakatan Rakyat sees as a “political liability”. And we refuse to be the blind followers or the “cari makan” Indian mandores for the Tuans and Towkays in Pakatan. What more being one in B.N which in any event has never been or will never be in our dictionary.

Our position is that ending the Indian poor problems and ending the 54 years of continuous UMNO rule of bi racial One Malay-sia has to be fought along parallel lines and not “only after Pakatan Rakyat has got to Putrajaya”. Especially so when PKR, DAP and PAS are already in the Putrajaya of Selangor, Penang and Kedah and have refused to resolve even the most elementary Indian poor problems. For this and other obvious reasons we are not prepared to give Pakatan a blank cheque to Putrajaya or to take a rain cheque for that matter. We want to be Pakatan Rakyat’s internal check and balance.

Why should any Democracy or Free and Fair Elections have no problems welcoming this healthy internal check and balance!

And Bersih’s Free Fair Elections refused to also include the de jerrymandering of Indian majority seats like Sg Petani, Padang Serai, Batu Kawan, Ipoh Barat, Sg Siput, Bagan Datoh, Teluk Intan, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Kota Raja, Klang, Teluk Kemang, Cameron Highlands etc. Of course if the Pakatan Rakyat leaders had also championed the cause of the Indian poor as done for minorities in the Western Civil Societies and Western Democracies and Western Free and Fair Elections standards, we would be the first to concede that this our position would stand superfluous. In fact we would not want to contest at all in the general elections as we prefer the majoritarian Malay muslim, Chinese and Native top leaders and their MPs’ championing the cause of the Indian poor (which has never happened!). 

It should have made sense also to Bersih that despite there being almost One Million Indian voters in Malaysia, (715,099 Indian voters as at the 2008 Electoral Roll) there is not even one Indian majority seat in all of the 222 Parliament and 576 State Assembly seats. But we suppose this does not fall within the ambit of Free and Fair Elections of Bersih @ Pakatan Rakyat. We do not need even one Indian majority seat if and only if the Pakatan Rakyat top leaders, their 75 MPs’ including their 11 Indian mandore MPs’ do not sidestep especially the pressing Indian poor problems vis a vis UMNO racism. 

But Bersih @ Pakatan Rakyat is not even prepared to engage HRP & Hindraf as we consciously and uncompromisingly choose not to abandon the cause of the Indian poor vis a vis Hindrafs’ 18 point demands which Pakatan Rakyat sees as “political baggage” cum “political liability”.

To Pakatan we wish to state that Hindraf & HRP are not the easily excitable Malaysian Indians they have been so used to seeing and/or dealing with including during their ex UMNO days. And neither are we prepared to assume the role of the much sought after by UMNO/BN and now Pakatan Rakyat ie the “cari makan” Indian mandores. We are a different breed. We are a different lot. We are a different cattle of fish. We are racing against time. We stand for equality and equal opportunities as is guaranteed by Article 8 of the Federal Constitution including for especially the Indian poor in both the government, GLC and the private sectors. 

For this our stand, our detractors have branded us as the Indian Perkasa, racist and extremists. But when we ask them to point out to one instance of we ever having asked for Ketuanan India (like what Perkasa does), they have no answer. The truth is they use this Perkasa label on us as a shrewd strategy in completely side stepping especially the pressing Indian poor problems. Pakatan Rakyat also conveniently use this Perkasa excuse as a means to sidestep from voicing against UMNO racism on the Indian poor and similar racism in the GLC and private sectors vis a vis excluding the Indian poor from the national mainstream development of bi-racial One Malay-sia.

In conclusion Bersih = Pakatan Rakyat. UMNO = Kotor. HRP = Hindraf 18 point demands.

Bersih @ Pakatan Rakyat wants the Indian support and Indian votes but wants it for free of charge!

If we are forced into going solo, so be it. Assuming even if we lose 100% of HRPs’ 15/38 seats because Pakatan Rakyat won’t make way for us for a one on one contest with UMNO/BN, we have already won as a political pressure group against both UMNO/BN and Pakatan Rakyat racism against the Indian poor as is evidenced by our daily postings in www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com. 

Be that as it may, the Bersih Rally was a success and we congratulate Bersih @ Pakatan Rakyat. If invited, we would consider attending the next Bersih Rally as it is also our main objective and thrust in ending the 54 years of UMNO s’ continuous rule of Putrajaya which is the main cause and effect for the current critical predicament of the even sixth generation Malaysian born Indian poor.

P.Uthayakumar

11/7/11

Hindu minority rights in Islamic countries Advocate/Lawyer from India on Malaysian fact finding mission visits HRP HQ.

Mr. RP. Mudholkar B.Sc, LLB, an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Mumbai and a human rights lawyer today visited the HRP HQ.

He was briefed for four hours on the UMNO state sponsored racial and religious discrimination of Hindus and Indians in Malaysia by P.Uthayakumar for four hours. P.Uthayakumar also presented to MR. R.P.Mudholkar the following books and reports by Hindraf & HRP:-

1) Malaysia Indian Minority & Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2009

2) Malaysia Indian Minority & Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2010

3) Nov 25 Hindraf Rally 2007

4) 1^st National Hindraf Makkal Sakthi Convention 2010

5) Malaysian Indian political empowerment strategy the way forward

After hearing our briefing, Mr.Mudholkar agreed to work on a five member Indian Lok Sabha Members of Parliament fact finding mission to Malaysia to investigate and report on the UMNO state and government sponsored racism and religious supremacy targeted against the Malaysian Indians also to the Government of India, U.N, European Human Rights Commission/ Council, the World Court & International Criminal Court.

Mr Mudholkar also extended HRP and Hindraf an invitation to present papers at the International Conference on Minorities in Islamic countries in Mumbai later this year.

HRP then arranged for an itenary for Mr.Mudholkar to visit the Setapak PPR Hindu temple that was about to be demolished by DBKL in May 2011, the Sentul Hindu temple and it’s 100 over year old Banyamam tree to be demolished by DBKL and Sentul Raya Bhd, the Kg Medan tragedy site, Kg Lindungan Hindu temple relocated next to a sewerage pond and the high tension electric wire built over the Subang Jaya hindu temple by the Selangor PKR state government. A visit to Rani and her family in Malacca who was forced to be converted to Islam and her hindu husband arrested by the Jabatan Ugama Islam authorities and forcibly circumcised overnight and forced to convert to Islam and the other programmes would be hosted by S.Jayathas tomorrow.

Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

     

Bersih can stop but Hindraf will not stop unless UMNO stops 54 years of racism and religious extremism targeted against Indian poor.

In the prelude to the 25th November 2007 Hindraf Rally, there was tremendous pressure on P. Uthayakumar and P. Waythamoorthy from the UMNO led government, Malay  radical groups, Tiga Line Pekida gangsters and the Police Special Branch. There was a series of arrests and rearrests of the Hindraf lawyers and particularly targeting Uthayakumar who raised charges of ethnic cleansing. The sedition charge is still ongoing right to this date. During the one month in November and December 2007 alone Uthayakumar was arrested on three occasions with the fourth being his detention without trial under the ISA for 514 days.

We were monitored and followed by the police round the clock and towards  the end by fully tinted and unmarked police vehicles. 1,000 Hindraf activists were arrested and some 111 prosecuted for illegal assembly.

The same albeit on far lesser scale took place again at the Hindraf Rally No. 2 against Interlok and UMNO racism on 27/2/11. One hundred over Hindraf activists were arrested right from Kedah, Penang, Perak, Selangor, K.L and N. Sembilan.

In March 2011 alone 54 Hindraf activists were prosecuted at the Ipoh, Selayang, K.L and Seremban Courts for merely being a member of Hindraf, the first of it’s kind. Besides the absolute monarchy Saudi Arabia, no world citizen has ever been prosecuted for being a member of an NGO. This is according to Front Line Defenders of Dublin.

The ruthless and fascist UMNO regime abused the police force, the office of the Attorney General and the Judiciary to oppress and subjugate these Hindraf activists not to question their almost absolute rule and authority.

We do not rely on the pseudo “multi-racial” PKR, DAP, PAS or the bi-racial Malay-sian civil society for support in championing the cause of the Malaysian Indian poor which they all have abandoned, unlike in the Western Civil Societies, as the Indian poor draws none or very little political mileage irrespective of the degree of their pain and sufferings resulting from the acts of UMNO racism and religious supremacy.
And today we are prepared to go for broke and to go solo as our struggle does not go by the political mileage and/or the Malay muslim, natives and Chinese “majoritarian gallery” votes or whether we do or do not get the votes but will continue being the focus group championing the cause of the Indian poor.

Unlike Bersih, Hindraf cannot and will not stop because of the 54 long years of the racist and religious supremacist UMNO segregating and excluding the Indian poor from the national mainstream development of Malaysia from womb to tomb.

From being denied Birth Certificates to the “ethnic cleansing of Hindu cemeteries.

Rights Not Mercy
Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

Hindraf slams EO detention

The movement takes the government and Umno to task for 'violating' the rights of the citizens as enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

GEORGE TOWN: Hindraf Makkal Sakti has condemned the re-arrest of six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members under the Emergency Ordinance and the police crackdown on Bersih 2.0 ahead of its July 9 rally.

Hindraf demanded that the authorities release all the detainees unconditionally.

The movement’s adviser N Ganesan said Umno’s gloves were coming off and the federal government was again showing its real self.

Citing the police clampdown on Hindraf after the Nov 25 rally in 2007, he said Umno, with the police’s help, was repeating it on Bersih and PSM.

The PSM six, including Sungai Siput MP Dr D Michael Jeyakumar, were re-arrested Saturday under Section 3(1) of the EO on suspicion of causing civil unrest by any means.

They were among 30 PSM leaders and members arrested by the police at the Sungai Dua toll plaza along the North-South Expressway on June 25.

They were originally remanded for a week to be investigated under Section 122 of the Penal Code for allegedly waging war against the King.

The six were released from the charge on Saturday, only to be re-arrested immediately under the EO, which is normally used to detain suspected hardcore criminals for 60 days without trial.

This was the first time the draconian law had been used against political party members, especially against a sitting MP.

‘Umno is not above the law’

“July 2, 2011 is just another black day like Dec 13, 2007 when Hindraf lawyers were detained under the draconian Internal Security Act,” said Ganesan.

He slammed the Umno government for contravening the citizens’ rights guaranteed in the Federal Constitution and the Universal Declarations of Human Rights.

He pointed out that the Federal Constitution unequivocally states that every citizen had the right to freedom of speech and expression; all citizens had the right to assemble peaceably and without arms; and all citizens had the right to form associations.

“However, Umno has mocked these rights granted and guaranteed by the Constitution,” stressed the Hindraf leader.

He said Malaysia was increasingly being run against the will of the people.

Ganesan alleged that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Inspector-General of Police Ismail Omar acted in complicity in this and many other blatant violations of the Federal Constitution against the wishes of the people.

“Brute force is being applied to simply promote and protect the interests of Umno,” he said, adding that more repressive action would be employed in the coming days.

Ganesan reminded the Umno government that it was not above the law, and should always abide by all the provisions in the Federal Constitution.

“If Umno does not take heed of this call, Umno bears responsibility for making Malaysia a lawless nation,” he said.

HRP: Anti-Bersih protest at PAS HQ 'not Hindraf'

(Malaysiakini) HRP's S Jayathas has denied a news report that their supporters were behind the 30 youths reported to have demonstrated in front of the PAS headquarters in Kuala Lumpur against the Bersih 2.0 rally.

Bernama had reported that the youths “claiming to be Hindraf supporters” showed up at the opposition party's HQ at Jalan Raja Laut at about 11.20am bearing banners 'Datuk Ambiga Jangan Buat Kecoh Di Malaysia' (Ambiga Don't Create Disorder in Malaysia) and 'Jangan Ikut Nik Aziz' (Don't Follow Nik Aziz).

“However, they were seen fleeing the area in several cars about 10 minutes later when the police arrived,” reported the national news agency.

Jayathas when contacted told Malaysiakini, “Hindraf has nothing to do with it, it's not our style to run away from police.”

“We are waiting for the 18 points of demand over constitutional right to be endorsed by the Pakatan (Rakyat)... if they give the green light, we will be in the frontline of the Bersih 2.0 rally,” said Jayathas.

Hindraf and Bersih: Last chance to unite

Perhaps, if the Hindraf movement will not join the rally, then hopefully, individual Hindraf members will participate in their personal capacities.

 

 COMMENT

One name stands out in the Bersih 2.0 rally: Hindraf. In a communiqué issued on June 15, Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar said that Hindraf would not participate in the march because Pakatan Rakyat had reneged on its promise to Hindraf after the 2008 general election.
Uthayakumar said, “We are not participating because Pakatan failed to endorse our 18-point demand made in 2007.”

Might Hindraf be persuaded to reconsider its earlier decision to stay away?

When would we be given another golden opportunity to show unity among the various communities in Malaysia? In another 54 years perhaps?

People of various ages, faiths, races and backgrounds would be coming together on July 9 in a show of strength.

The message to the Barisan Nasional-led coalition is that we would not tolerate lip service anymore, that electoral reforms are necessary and that human rights abuses cannot be ignored.

It is also a deliberate snub to the Election Commission because its offer to talk and engage with us has only come at the last minute.

Back in 2007, the first Bersih march on Nov 10 and the subsequent Hindraf rally on Nov 25 were instrumental in forcing a change in people’s attitude towards BN.

There is no denying that Hindraf’s leaders were successful in galvanising the movement to stand behind Pakatan. Also without the support of the Hindraf movement, whose members turned out in the tens of thousands, the outcome of the 2008 general election might have been different.

These two marches in 2007 contributed towards the significant opposition gains in the 2008 polls.


Using the element of fear

It is obvious that all the parties and individuals who are opposed to the “Walk for Democracy” are using the fear element to cow the public into staying at home.

Fear is what makes Umno-BN and its cronies try their best to stop the march because a mobilised rakyat demanding urgent democratic and electoral reforms is a dangerous beast.

Fear is what drove MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek to warn his party members against joining the march, saying that it was politically motivated and illegal: “We cannot accept the objective of this illegal rally.”
Fear and shame drove the EC deputy chairman Wan Ahmad Wan Omar to declare that Bersih was merely a front for Pakatan to increase its bid for Putrajaya.

He said, “There was (a 2007) demonstration and as result, a momentum was built and in the 2008 election (the opposition) won big… now, the rumour is that snap polls will be called and history will be repeated.
“(They think) let us have Bersih 2.0 with more supporters, the momentum will grow and possibly win Putrajaya.”

Wan Ahmad told S Ambiga, the Bersih chairman, to be apolitical: “If Bersih separates itself from political parties, then we can meet Bersih as a member of civil society as its agenda is for the good of all.”

However, Wan Ahmad forgets that if he had not been a lame chairman of the EC and discharged his duties professionally, then Malaysia might not have been lumped into such a quagmire.

In another attempt to blacken the Bersih organisers, Umno sympathisers have said that the EC was efficient, that elections in Malaysia were fair, otherwise, the opposition would not have been able to win five states in the last general election.

Have these people considered that if the elections had been truly clean, fair and free, and the EC did not collude with Umno, the opposition might not have won just five states but would have scored outright victories throughout Malaysia?

Last February, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak claimed that Hindraf did not need to represent the Indian community because the government was capable of looking after the interests of the Indians.

He said, “We have taken action on the question of Indian community interests, meaning that they don’t need Hindraf, they only need BN.
”
After 54 years of BN, what improvements in living standards or educational and work opportunities have the Indians to show for BN’s supposed concern?

Time to be magnanimous

But BN alone is not to blame; Uthayakumar of Hindraf is still seething from being let down by Pakatan after the 2008 general election.

True. It is frustrating and a serious point of grievance.

Hindraf leaders have striven so hard for the Indians but have achieved very little because they have been let down by politicians. They have been used, as every political party uses us, the rakyat, for their own means and to fulfil their own agendas.

There are almost 850,000 Indian voters, yet there is not a single constituency with an Indian majority.
In 2007, Hindraf was said to be linked with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam but none of the politicians or any social activist defended Hindraf.

Hindraf was accused of having overseas links and plots to overthrow the government but again no one spoke up for them. When Hindraf’s Orange T-shirts were banned because they threatened national security, or when Hindraf’s supporters’ children were arrested, again no one came to their defence.

When Hindraf organised a demonstration against racism in February, no opposition politician supported them.

When hundreds of Hindraf supporters were arrested and 54 were charged in court, one Hindraf supporter commented: “Not a single word from civil societies. Their silence is deafening.”

Perhaps Pakatan’s arrogance has cost them dearly. Equally, is Hindraf cutting off its nose to spite its face?
We respect Hindraf’s decision to stay away, but this is not Pakatan’s march. This march is also not a misguided attempt to overthrow the government or cause civil unrest.

The July 9 rally is possibly the rakyat’s last chance to make a difference, to set aside political and personal differences and to stand as one against those who make a mockery of democracy and clean elections.

Many of us are angry with politicians, from both sides of the political divide. They make use of us when it suits them. Then they spit us out like orange pips after they have sucked all the juicy orange segments.
What would it take for more Malays to speak up? Liberal-minded Malays can collectively make a difference.

One Hindraf supporter who would be joining the rally said, “Human rights do not belong to the privileged few.”

Perhaps, if the Hindraf movement would not join the rally, then hopefully, individual Hindraf members would participate in their personal capacities.

There is a Tamil saying, “It does not matter whether its Rama or Ravana who reigns as it wouldn’t make a difference to me.”

So has Umno-BN already won, if we cannot even join hands in a common cause? It is never too late for Hindraf to join the Bersih rally to show solidarity against Umno-BN.

Now is the time to be magnanimous and to set aside petty squabbles. Hindraf has more to gain but the real champions would be the rakyat.

Mariam Mokhtar is a local political observer. She is an FMT columnist.