Urgent Request to Government of Malaysia on the Crackdown and possible violence by United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) sponsored underworld “3 Line”, Pekida and Extremist Perkasa on Human Rights Advocates
Dear Sir/Madam,
I write to you with the utmost urgency for your attention on the above matter.
HINDRAF is a Human Rights organisation that advocates the rights of the marginalized Indian community in Malaysia. Although the Government of Malaysia has banned this movement without well-founded reasons, it has continued to organise various activities affecting human rights issues nationwide and as of late 2007, the movement has been operating from London.
Recently, the Malaysian government took a decision to approve the use of a novel entitled “Interlok” as part of compulsory curriculum material for 5th Form pupils in selected areas in Malaysia but the ethnic Indian community and HINDRAF take exception to the use of the novel because it contains racially insensitive, degrading, humiliating, and disrespectful use of adjectives that is extreme racist nature and on behalf of the Indian community HINDRAF has called for a total ban of the novel. The government has chosen to ignore our compliant but insist that the material will go into circulation once amendments to the material are passed sometime next month.
In response to the recalcitrant attitude of the government, HINDRAF passed a motion to stage a Solidarity March against Racism on 27th February 2011 and in furtherance to the said event, we also organised various road shows, forums, car drive campaigns and such like at national level. We have managed to amass a total of more than 200 Hindraf Human Rights campaigners to carry out grassroots campaigns including distribution of posters and fliers regarding our intention.
However since 10th February 2011, the Government began a crackdown on HINDRAF Human Rights campaigners using harassment, threat of violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment including the demand that female activists remove their Orange Hindraf T-Shirts in public.
On 13th March 2011, a total of 59 Hindraf leaders and volunteers were arrested nationwide for taking part in an Anti Racism (car drive campaign). Police subjected one volunteer to inhumane ill treatment by placing him in a dark room for almost 19 out of 26 hours he was under arrest and detention. More than 120 other volunteers were prevented from continuing their campaigns nationwide.
The Police harassment continued from 13th February with:
a) Intimidation used against venue owners for allowing us to use their halls to conduct our forums;
b) Threatening venue owners with arbitrary arrest;
c) Threatening HINDRAF volunteers with arrests if they were to continue with forum discussions nationwide;
d) Placing HINDRAF volunteers under surveillance and making unannounced visits to their work places to intimidate and put pressure on employers to terminate HINDRAF volunteers from their jobs;
e) Road blocks at strategic points leading to venues of our nationwide forums thus preventing these forums from taking place.
f) Using the Police Federal Reserve Units (PFRU) in full riot gear to carry out a “baton charge” at a function Hall in Penang thus endangering the safety and security of vulnerable individuals such as the elderly, women and children at the anti racism forums.
g) Further arrests of 16 Hindraf leaders and volunteers also took place on 20th February 2011.
The Government of Malaysia is fearful that our road shows and ground campaigns over the last 3 weeks is likely to draw a large crowd for the Solidarity March on 27th February and is thus threatening us with the possible arrests under the draconian Internal security Act which may be a repeat of similar arrests which took place in 2007.
Despite the threats from the Government, we are undeterred as we are committed in our pursuit to continue with our peaceful Solidarity March scheduled on 27th February 2011. We have made an application for a Police permit; although we do not require one under the Federal Constitution, which guarantees Freedom of speech and assembly. We however anticipate that it is very unlikely that the Police would approve our requests for Police permits.
The March on 27th February 2011 would begin at KLCC and terminate at the Jalan Dang Wangi Police Station where more than 1000 people would lodge reports against the current Government which has been ruling for 54 years and its Primer Minister for practising Institutionalised racism in Malaysia.
We write to urge you to make an urgent representation to the Government of Malaysia to respect the citizens’ universal standards of Human rights, as well as the right to assemble and express feelings of discontentment and allow us to proceed with the March peacefully.
We fear the UMNO led Government would engage its agent provocateurs namely, the notorious 3 LINE and Pekida underworld gangs and its outsourced far right extremist wing such as the Perkasa to cause trouble on the said day.
We attach herewith our letters to the Inspector General of Police seeking his protection and co-operation (which thus far has been ignored) and a copy of the Memorandum of Complaint to the Human Rights Commission Malaysia, which is self-explanatory.
Your kind indulgence and urgent action is very much appreciated.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully
P.Waytha Moorthy
Chair
HINDRAF
+447502289313 (Mobile)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
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Hindraf : Six more HRP members charged in Ipoh
(see Malaysiakini.com)
Six more Human Rights Party (HRP) members were charged in the Ipoh magistrate’s court today with participating in an illegal organisation.
The six are Perak HRP chief P Ramesh, vice-president S Nagroon, Taiping coordinator K Sivakumar, and three other members, R Mohan, S Jayakumar and V Lingam.
They are alleged to have committed the offence under Section 43 of the Societies Act 1996 while partipating in an HRP-organised convoy at Jelapang, Ipoh on Feb 13.
The six accused were represented by lawyer Augustine Anthony.
Yesterday, five HRP leaders and members were also charged with the same offence at the Selayang magistrate’s court, but they refused to post bail set at RM2,500.
The five are HRP vice-president K Tamil Selvam, information chief S Jayathas, K Navakrishna, T Periasamy and S Loshna Rau.
When contacted by Malaysiakini, HRP secretary-general P Uthayakumar said that all the six charged in Ipoh were released on RM2,000 bail each.
Uthayakumar (left) further said that he was disappointed with the arrests and charges against HRP members.He claimed that at 6.30am this morning, several police officers were waiting outside Lingam’s house in Ipoh. “This is a form of intimidation and harassment by them (the police),” he claimed.
Uthayakumar also mentioned that lawyers’ fees and bail charges are being paid from the HRP’s funds.
“We received contributions of close to RM100,000 from members of the public who supported the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), back in 2007. So we will be using those funds to clear up these bills,” he added.
On Feb 13, 59 HRP members and supporters in Selangor, Perak and Kuala Lumpur were arrested as police came down hard on their nationwide convoys to protest against the novel ‘Interlok‘, which is used in secondary schools.
A controversy arose following the ministry’s decision to use the novel, written by national laureate Abdullah Hussein, as a literature textbook, with several parties claiming that it contains words deemed sensitive to the Indian community.
Indian NGOs decry the book’s description of Indians in Malaysia as being from the lower caste, among other racial stereotypes.
Bully victim: Cops ignoring report
A polytechnic student claims that five classmates nearly circumcised him by force.
KUALA LUMPUR: Five bullies held down one of their classmates and threatened to circumcise him, but police have refused to act on a report of the incident, according to the alleged victim.R Rajiv Singham, a 20-year-old student at Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS) in Behrang, Perak, said Special Branch officers interviewed him and his mother and one of them advised the latter to forgive the five, saying he did not want the issue to turn racial.
Rajiv’s mother, R Sharimala, said she had since found out that the father of one of the assailants is a police officer in Bukit Aman.
The mother and son, who live in Pantai Dalam, spoke about the issue today in an interview with FMT.
Here is their story:
On the night of Feb 24, Rajiv went to a room occupied by a classmate named Hairil for help to complete his assignment. Another classmate, Fizrin, was already there. Shortly afterwards, three others—classmates Nazrul Faiz and Asyraf and “another guy”—entered the room.
Asyraf started a conversation about circumcision and soon started shouting “Sunat, sunat.” (“Sunat” is Malay for “circumcise”.)
One of the boys pressed down Rajiv’s thighs and another held his arms. Another boy produced a pair of scissors and tried to remove his track bottoms. Nazrul made a video recording of the entire episode.
They released him after about five minutes of struggle. Nazrul then played the video recording and threatened to post it on Facebook.
(It was not clear what they wanted from Rajiv, but Sharimala told FMT: “I believe that they were going to sodomise my son.”)
The following day, Rajiv’s class monitor, Iman, told him that he had seen the video. Rajiv then decided to lodge a report with principal Izatul Marini.
Izatul told Rajiv the polytechnic would take action after a discussion with the director of the polytechnic. She also said she wanted to discuss the matter with Rajiv’s family and advised him against lodging a police report.
The principal then held a meeting with Rajiv and three of the bullies. Asyraf, Hairil and Nazrul gave their statements to the principal. The video recording was found in Hairil’s computer. The principal made a copy to keep as evidence.
No action by school
Sharimala lodged a police report at the Brickfields police station on the night of Feb 25, and Asyraf, Hairil and Nazrul were arrested the following day.
One Inspector Teynmoli from the Slim River police station subsequently called her and said the police report against the five should be withdrawn.
Mother and son then went to Slim River, where he told police officers that he was also bullied in the first and second weeks of February.
In Slim River, Special Branch officers interviewed the two separately. Officer Manimaran interviewed Rajiv and Officer Ishak interviewed his mother.
“Ishak told me to forgive the five so I asked whether it was because they were Malays,” Sharimala told FMT.
She said the police officer told her he did not want the issue to become a racial problem. She declined to withdraw the report.
Sharimala also said she subsequently met the PSAS principal and several teachers but was told that the polytechnic could not take any action because a police report had been lodged.
[Image used is a file photo]
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