Monday, January 11, 2010

Churches attacked in Perak, Malacca and S'wak - Malaysiakini

More churches have come under attack in Sarawak, Perak and Malacca, revealed the authorities.

Since Friday, at least seven churches have been attacked with petrol bombs.

taiping arson attack all saint church frontIn Taiping, Molotov cocktails were hurled at two churches and the guard post of a school, SM Convent.

Perak police chief Zulkifli Abdullah said there was no damage to the All Saints Church, the oldest Anglican church in the country (left), while the school's guard post suffered only minor damage.

"There were black marks on the wall (at All Saints). We believed there was a small fire earlier but there was no damage as the wall was intact," Zulkifli told AFP.

According to Bernama, he said the church keeper realised the incident at 7.30am and reported the matter to the police.

Police, who went to the scene, found two black spots on the church wall and two broken bottles believed to have been used in the incident, he said when contacted.

taiping arson attack convent secondary schoolOn the incident at SM Convent (right), he said, the school's security guard realised the incident at about 3.30am.

He added that police believed the incidents were perpetrated by opportunist individuals out to take advantage of the current issue.

He said police had stepped up the monitoring of houses of worship in the state.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has appealed for calm.

"The public need not worry, and they must not be influenced by reports on the Internet or (rumours circulating) through SMS," he added.

Black paint splashed on Melaka church

taiping church arson attack molotov cocktailAccording to Malaysiakini correspondent Humayun Kabir, St Louis Church (below), which sits adjacent to SM Convent was also struck with a bottle containing flammable liquid but with little damage.

In Malacca, Chinese daily Nanyang Siang Pau sent out a news alert that the police have confirmed that the Melaka Baptist Church in Durian Daun was splashed with black paint.

In Miri, some windows were broken when stones were thrown at the Good Shepherd Church.

Miri OCPD said the police cannot ascertain whether this case is related to those that happened in the peninsular.

Hermen Shastri, secretary-general of the Council of Churches, said officials had stepped up security in the wake of the fresh attacks.

"The attacks show they are more just a prank as it does not appear to be a major (attack), someone is trying to send a signal that they are unhappy," he said.

taiping arson attack st louis churchOver the past two days, four churches in the Klang Valley were hit by petrol bombs.

The Metro Tabernacle Church in Desa Melawati, the Assumption Church and Life Chapel Church, both in Petaling Jaya were attacked by unknown assailants between midnight and the early hours of Friday morning.

Yesterday, it was reported that the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Petaling Jaya was also attacked.

The Metro Tabernacle Church was worst hit - the ground floor of its three-storey building was completely gutted, while the other three churches suffered minor damages.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Uthayakumar’s address in Pravasi Bharathiya Divas Meeting

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Uthayakumar Ponnusamy from Malaysia. The great Indian leaders, the Prime Minister, and the external Affairs Minister all spoke on business, social and cultural issues concerning the Indian Diasporas. We regret that the Human rights issues of Indians especially in Malaysia, where the Indians are being denied their birth certificate and the citizenship even for the fourth and fifth generation Malaysian Indians.

Hindu temples, Hindu crematorium and Indian Tradisional Villages indiscriminately demolished.

Deserving Indian students denied University entry or tertiary education scholarships and also denied skills training simply because they are Indians. 95% of deaths in police custody and shot dead by Malay Muslim police are Indians. 70% of Indians in Malaysia are categorized as poor or hardcore poor because they have been excluded from the mainstream development of Malaysia.

Further and better particulars of the discriminations of Malaysian Indians are as per our ‘Malaysian Indian Minority & Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2009 Malay-sia Truly Racist’

For next year’s Pravasi Barathiya Divas conference we propose a human rights segment. In the interim we ask the government of India to assign a senior human rights officer at Indian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur to monitor the above matter and report it to New Delhi and raise this matter with the Malaysian government the human rights violations as in our the-malaysian-indian-minority-human-rights-violations-annual-report-20091 by Hindraf and HRP

S.JAYATHAS

HRP Information Chief

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Kuala Lumpur Church Firebombed over Allah Issue

By Asia Sentinel,

Would a god by any other name smell as sweet?


Youths on motorcycles firebombed an Assemblies of God church in Kuala Lumpur last night, gutting its administrative offices, and threw a Molotov cocktail at a Catholic church in the Petaling Jaya suburb as tensions continue to rise over a decision by a High Court justice that the Catholic Church could use the word "Allah" to represent the Christian god in the Malay version of its news publication, The Herald.

Police later reported that two more churches were attacked as well although at one the Molotov cocktail failed to ignite. Police stationed police cars at churches throughout the city as demonstrations were scheduled at mosques across the country during the Friday Muslim prayer hours. Officials from the United Malays National Organization and Parti Islam se-Malasia, the two ethnic Malay political parties, condemned the attacks and called for calm. By Friday evening, at least 150,000 protesters have signed onto a Facebook protest, with the numbers continuing to grow.

The ruling by Justice Lau Bee Lan was stayed on Jan 6. at the request of Abdlu Gani Patail, Malaysia's attorney general. Lau's decision has generated massive protest across Malaysia, much of it fomented by UMNO, according to critics. Catholic Church officials agreed to the stay out of national security concerns.
There are increasing concerns that the matter could get out of hand. Musa Hassan, the inspector general of police, warned groups planning to stage rallies that they had better cancel or they could face action. Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has also called for calm although he also said protesters have the right to rally within the confines of mosques.

"We cannot stop them, as long as it is confined within the mosque area," he told a press conference.

The Muslim youth movement Abim and the National Association of Muslim Students were expected to hold nationwide rallies today against Justice Lau's decision.
Kuala Lumpur is also bracing for rising Malay protest in advance of the trial of 12 so-called "cow's head" protesters who are expected to go to court on April 12 for sedition for an incident that happened last August when they were arrested for carrying a cow's head to the Selangor state government headquarters in protest of a plan to relocate a 150-year-old Hindu temple in what was regarded as an ethnic Malay area. Cows are sacred to ethnic Hindus.

The 12 have hardly backed away from their pugnacious stance. On Dec. 8, shouting "Jangan Memperbodohkan Orang Melayu (Do not hoodwink the Malays'), the 12, accompanied by about 20 more, marched down a busy street carrying a banner depicting leaders of the Democratic Action Party with cows bodies and horns. They threw the banner to the ground and started stepping on it.

Between the two issues, and other accumulated strains in the society, Najib's "1Malaysia" campaign to try to ameliorate the racial tensions that have been rising since March 2008 elections that gave the opposition solid gains faces a rocky time. Najib has assiduously attempted to woo back disaffected minority Chinese and Indian voters who deserted the scandal-ridden Malaysian Chinese Association and Malaysian Indian Congress but has faced continued tension.

Ethnic Malays charge that the minorities, who play a major role in the opposition led by Anwar Ibrahim, are demanding too much in a country where ketuanan Melayu, or Malay superiority, has been a fixture for three decades. The minorities believe that UMNO is behind the rising racial tension in an effort to solidify the Malay vote. Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, an elder UMNO statesman, told local media that the party was "bent on fanning communal sentiment and digging itself into an intolerant hardline position with no parallel in the Muslim world."

"I think the danger level is going to rise," said a well-placed ethnic Malay source in Kuala Lumpur. "Many protests and demonstrations are in motion across the country. I think this whole saga plus the protests planned basically means that the Muslim Malay community is fighting back. It's not just Allah, but the culmination of lots of issues."
The Herald, which is printed in four languages, was refused a printing permit two years ago for using the word "Allah" as a translation for "God" in its Malay-language section. It had previously done so in copies circulated in Sabah and Sarawak, which have many more Christian converts than does Peninsular Malaysia, which is predominantly Malay and Muslim.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim condemned the stay and charged UMNO with "politicizing the issue and pandering to its conservative base...to deflect attention from its own political vulnerabilities." In a press release, the opposition coalition said it "has gained popularity by touting a vision of a secular country in which all religions have equal rights. Even the opposition's Islamic partner, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party—which hasn't always supported liberal ideas—issued a statement Monday saying that the Herald's use of 'Allah' is its constitutional right.

Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad also joined the fray, writing a Malay-language statement in his blog "Chedet" saying that the issue over the use of the word Allah "cannot be referred to or resolved by the courts. Laws cannot take into account sensitivities and issues that could trigger tension and chaos amongst religious peoples and of different faiths.

"I hope the government is very careful over this issue so that this multi faith country does not fall into disarray," he wrote.

Bonded Indian labourers in bahau - Latest case(Malaysiakini)

Teens escape the clutches of tyranny (Malaysiakini)
Teens escape the clutches of tyranny

Nineteen-year-old R Priya, given a new lease on life after being a slave for 14 years, is still apprehensive about her future.

Priya and her younger brother Guna, 16, who were entrusted to their guardians by their single parent, were put to hard labour when they were five and three respectively.

Their now deceased mother, unable to care for them, had little choice but to given them away at a tender age.

In an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini, the siblings related the story of their “escape” from the clutches of their guardians in Bahau, Negeri Sembilan.

They were rescued by DAP member D Kamache from a friend’s home in Karak, Pahang where they had been taking refuge.

“Fourteen years ago my mother had left me with the couple and my nightmare had not ended since that day,” said Priya, when asked to describe her life with her guardians.

bahau child abuse 060110 priya Priya (right) was given daily household chores and when she became more capable was put to work at a small-scale glove factory owned by her guardians.”In the mornings we had to finish work at the factory and in the evenings, I had to finish the chores at home. Only then was I allowed to eat anything.

“From young I was forced to do housework all day long and beaten up if I refused to do as I was told,” she said, adding that both of them were not paid.

Priya and her brother Guna are illiterate and only able to converse in Tamil.

“My brother and I did not go school and although I asked them, I was not allowed to attend school,” said Priya.

Unable to hold back her tears, Priya blurted out that all she ever wanted was care and love from her caretakers.

Neighbours would sometimes reprimand her caretakers for beating and using abusive language on them, but that’s as far as they would go as Priya claimed that her guardians were ‘influential’ people.

“Last year, when I attempted to run away, I was caught. Once we got back to the house I was tied up in the bathroom and beaten with rattan cane,” she said.

She suffered a bloody head injury on that occasion, and instead of taking her to the hospital for treatment, her guardian placed coffee powder on the wound.

Priya said that she was never let out of their sight after the incident and kept confined to the home ever since.

Took rat-poison to escape torture

“I could not take it any more and I attempted suicide by consuming rat-poison to escape their torture,” she said tearfully.

However, Priya said she was forbidden to relate the incident to the doctors who had treated her and was forced to say that she had accidently consumed the lethal chemical.

bahau child abuse 060110 gunaHer brother Guna (left) was more fortunate. He escaped on Dec 11 with the help of a friend by hitch-hiking on a lorry travelling from Bahau to Bentong.

Guna, then with some help from some locals found his way to Kamache and recounted the torture both the siblings had undergone.

Kamache immediately lodged a police report in Bahau and Priya was brought to the police station with their guardians on Dec 28.

“When she came in and the cops were questioning her (Priya), she said everything was all right and their were well cared for by their guardians but it didn’t look like she was telling the truth,” said Kamache.

“I insisted that the police interrogate her in another room and assured her that she did not have to fear them and that she will not be sent back with them if she told the truth,” she said.

Only then did Priya relate her 14-year misery to the cops, according to Kamache. The guardian was then remanded for alleged child abuse and for not paying their wages.

A check with the police station in Bahau, revealed that the guardian had been released on police bail pending investigations.

According to the investigating officer, the police are still taking statements from Priya and Guna, as well as their custodians and neighbours.

Both teenagers are currently in the custody of Kamache as they have refused to be placed in the Welfare Department.

Priya, is now employed by a furniture outlet and is under the care of a family in Karak.

bahau child abuse 060110 kamacheMeanwhile, Kamache (right) has identified a foster home for Guna and is awaiting clearance from the Welfare Department.

“I want what is best for them… after the cruelty they have undergone, I just want to ensure that they are given a good life from now on,” said Kamache.

She also urged that the police complete their investigation soon as possible as there are other children under the custody of the same people.

Friday, January 8, 2010

Malaysian Indian Minority & Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2009

This is the second report issued at the Pravasi Conference in New Delhi.
The first was issued last year. This is an annual report. Please read it, you will find that this is a tremendous piece of work on the problems of the Indian poor in Malaysia and all the Human and Minority Rights abuses faced by them in particular and by Indians in general, arranged in 15 categories of abuse..
Malaysian Indians Annual Human Rights Report 2009

Estate workers homes: PKR S’gor mandore pushes buck to NUPW (refer MN 9/12/09 page 18).

Only the “Tuan” Selangor Menteri Besar of Selangor has the powers further to Section 76 of the National Land Code to acquire and allocate land for the housing needs of the poor and not the National Union of Plantation Workers (NUPW). Another of this PKR Indian Exco Mandore’s wayang kulit politics through the Tamil media. This mandore has become so gross maybe even having surpassed the previous Selangor State MIC Exco Mandore by even pushing the buck to NUPW which has no powers at all to grant land for estate workers.

Editor.

estate-workers1

Beban perbelanjaan persekolahan pada awal tahun

Para ibu tunggal dilanda kerisauan

KLANG, 6, Januari - Bagi ibu bapa yang berpendapatan rendah, perbelanjaaan persekolahan anak-anak mereka menjadi beban pada setiap permulaan tahun. Terutamanya para ibu tunggal yang berpendapatan amat rendah menghadapi kesukaran sebab tidak mampu membiayai perbelanjaan persekolahan anak-anak mereka. M. Janaki, 49 tahun, yang tinggal di Jalan Tepi Sungai telah mendedahkan kepada Persatuan Pengguna Klang tentang kesusahannya yang tidak mampu membiaya perbelanjaan persekolahan tiga orang anaknya.

Akibat didera oleh suami, Janaki telah berpisah dengan suaminya yang ketagih minuman keras empat tahun lalu. Kini dia bekerja sebagai pembersih (cleaner) dengan pendapatan RM600 sebulan. “Namun duit tersebut hanya bertahan selama 10 hari selepas membayar sewa rumah, bil air dan elektrik, tambang bas sekolah, perbelanjaan harian, duit saku anak- anak serta kos pangangkutan”, kata Janaki yang hanya mempunyai kad pengenalan merah sambil mengesat air matanya.

Beliau tidak pernah mendapat sebarang pekerjaan yang tetap kerana kad pengenalan berwarna merah. Beliau amat bimbang akan masa depan anak-anaknya S.Rajendran (13 tahun), S.Selvi (11 tahun) dan S. Yogisha (9 tahun). Pendapatannya tidak cukup untuk makan dan minum dan terpaksa berhutang untuk menampung perbelanjaan asas.

janaki1

PPP Mandore’s Hampers and School Bags

PPP Indian mandore’s hamper and school bag paper politics for 200 poor Indians as reported in UM 22/12/09 at page 22). Indians need land allocations for schools, temples, cemeteries and crematoriums as well as permits, licenses and business loans and opportunities, and not hampers. These hampers are an eyewash to hamper the communities real problems.

Why is UMNO and BN parties not getting to the point and granting licenses, small business opportunities loans and other upward mobility opportunities for the long term welfare of these 200 poor Indians in this case?

P. Uthayakumar

ppp

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

DAP makes overture to Hindraf - Malaysiakini

DAP is prepared to make the first move to mend ties with brothers P Waythamoorthy and Uthayakumar, who lead the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

National labour bureau chief A Sivanesan said DAP is prepared to meet Waythamoorthy in Singapore, as the latter faces the threat of detention should he return to Malaysia from London where he is living in self-imposed exile.

Sivanesan is confident that the unity talks can succeed if the Hindraf duo can be persuaded to cooperate in this direction.

"I don't mind going the extra mile if we can reunite the Indian (Malaysian) community to form a formidable force," he said.

DAP's change of heart was triggered after its Kota Alam Shah assemblyperson M Manoharan (below) - who is on good terms with the individuals concerned - proposed mediating between three sets of leaders.

NONEThey comprise DAP leaders P Ramasamy, Sivanesan and M Kulasegaran; the Hindraf duo; and former Hindraf leaders V Ganabatirau (now with DAP) and K Vasanthakumar (PKR).

Waythamoorthy and Uthayakumar have crossed swords with Ramasamy and Sivanesan over a number of issues, including the demolition of Kampung Buah Pala in Penang, where the DAP leads the Pakatan Rakyat government.

In turn, both DAP leaders had challenged the brothers to declare the accounts for public donations collected in the name of Hindraf.

The movement, which came to prominence after a massive street rally in November 2007, was banned by the government in October 2008. Five of its leaders - including Ganabatirau and Vasanthakumar - were detained under the Internal Security Act, but were released last year.

On Dec 31 last year, Waythamoorth filed a RM100 million defamation suit in the Kuala Lumpur High Court against Ramasamy, Sivanesan, Ganabatirau, Vasanthakumar and six media organisations.

Just yesterday, Sivanesan had dared Waythamoorthy to return home to face cross-examination during the proceedings, rather than 'hide' in London.

Today, he said this is a separat

Tiada meja dan kerusi

LUNAS, 4, Januari - Kekurangan meja dan kerusi di Sekolah Tamil Lunas (Wellesly) yang mempunyai 3 tingkat serta 16 bilik darjah yang telah siap dibina selepas ditangguhkan semenjak 2007 telah menyebabkan rasa tidak puas hati dalam kalangan segelintir ibu bapa. Mereka yang diketuai S.Nilamogan, ahli Parti Kongres India, telah mengadakan satu perhimpunan dengan membawa sepanduk.

Mereka kecewa kerana sempena hari pertama persekolahan bangunan baru sekolah tersebut tidak dibuka. Malah mereka juga menyuarakan masalah kekurangan meja dan kerusi di samping kelewatan pembinaan bangunan baru sekolah tersebut.

Nilamegam menyatakan bahawa Sekolah Tamil ialah masalah kaum India. Jadi masalah sekolah ini harus dilihat sebagai masalah kita semua. Setiap kali Sekolah Tamil menghadapi masalah sebegini Kerajaan tidak harus berat sebelah. Kebanyakan sekolah yang belum siap dibina telah mendapat bekalan meja dan kerusi yang secukupnya tetapi Sekolah Tamil Lunas (Wellesly) yang telah siap dibina pada 19/09/09 masih kekurangan bekalan meja dan kerusi.

“Pada 30/12/2009, Setiausaha Bahagian Pembangunan, Menteri Pelajaran telah berjanji untuk memberikan RM230,000 menerusi telefon dan ia mungkin akan didapati dalam dua minggu lagi”, kata Encik Paramasivam, Ketua PIBG sekolah tersebut.

Menurut Paramasivam dan juga ahli Lembaga PIBG S.Ramasivam, perjanjian pembinaan bangunan baru hanya memberi peruntukan untuk pembinaan bangunan baru sahaja. Menurut dia lagi PIBG telah menyediakan 150 meja dan kerusi dengan perbelanjaan PIBG sendiri sebanyak RM13 ribu. Turut dijelaskan bahawa bekalan meja dan kerusi untuk sekolah ini telah dipohon sejak tahun 2008 lagi.

article-of-tiada-kerusi-and-meja

Di manakah tanah untuk Sekolah Tamil Paya Besar?

LUNAS, 13, Disember – Sekumpulan ahli MIC dan wakil-wakil daripada pertubuhan bukan kerajaan (NGO) telah mengadakan demonstrasi secara aman dan meminta Ahli Parlimen Gopala Krishnan agar menunjukkan lokasi tapak untuk sekolah Tamil baru Paya Besar.

Mereka telah berhimpun di hadapan pejabat Gopala Krishnan. Pehimpunan itu telah disertai oleh 50 orang dan diketuai oleh S. Ananthan, Pengerusi MIC negeri Kedah. Beliau mengatakan bahawa Gopala Krishnan seharusnya menunujukkan tapak tanah bagi sekolah tersebut kepada mereka dan bukannya mengeluarkan notis bagi mencabar Pengerusi MIC kebangsaan, Dato Seri Samy Velu.

Beliau juga ingin tahu sama ada Kerajaan Negeri Kedah sememangnya telah memberikan tanah secara percuma untuk sekolah ini. Semalam Gopala Krishnan telah berjanji akan menunjukkan lokasi tanah yang diperuntukkan untuk Sekolah Tamil Paya Besar. Menurut ahli Lembaga MIC Kedah S.Stalin, Gopala Krishnan telah mungkir janji dan tidak menghiraukan mereka. Dia harus mendapatkan tanah secara percuma buat sekolah ini. “Malah beliau juga harus menunujukkan lokasi tapak tanah buat sekolah ini,” kata L.Thiagarajan Ketua Pemuda MIC Kedah dan Ketua- ketua Pemuda Bahagian S.P Saravanan dan M.A. Ramasami.

“Kami tidak akan berdiam diri sehingga sekolah ini mendapat tanah!”, kata Ko.V.Thiagarajan dari Makkal Murasu. “Tiada sesiapa yang harus mencari keuntungan dari segi politik dalam hal ini.”

paya-besar

Kelewatan pembinaan bangunan baru untuk 2 Sekolah Tamil Laporan akan dibuat kepada Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR) hari ini.

Kuala Lumpur, 4 Januari - Walaupun diberi tanah dan peruntukan untuk dua buah sekolah di daerah Kemanyan Pahang, isu kelewatan dalam memulakan kerja pembinaan bangunan baru sekolah tersebut akan dilaporkan kepada Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR), kata Mu. Varatharaasu, Ketua Penasihat Persatuan Pengguna Kebangsaan.

Menurutnya lagi, “Saya tidak akan mengundurkan diri atas sebarang ugutan berkaitan dengan isu ini. Kerja pembinaan bagi Sekolah Tamil Ladang Menteri telah dikatakan akan bermula pada 3hb November tahun lepas. Namun sehingga hari ini tidak ada sebarang kerja yang telah dimulakan.

Tapak pembinaan tersebut telah ditumbuhi semak. Selama 29 tahun sekolah ini tidak mempunyai bangunan tersendiri dan yang lebih menyedihkan lagi ialah sekolah ini beroperasi di salah sebuah Sekolah Cina dengan bilangan murid sebanyak 124 orang.

Apakah langkah yang telah diambil oleh pihak yang bertanggungjawab selama ini? Badan Pencegah Rasuah harus menyoal selidik apa yang berlaku ke atas peruntukan yang diberi oleh Kerajaan Negeri untuk sekolah ini.

bpr4

Monday, January 4, 2010

Non Inclusion of Indians in Felda Schemes and Opportunities

Felda settlers children (malay muslims) to have their own homes. But the pre-existing plantation Indians have almost completely been excluded from these Felda 10 acre land ownership schemes or an opportunity for their children to own their own houses.

P. Uthayakumar

Protem Sec-Gen, Human Rights Party

felda

DAP Penang - No to Indian squatters’ flats.


The Indians under the UMNO Gerakan regime in Penang suffered for 52 long years. And now under the DAP regime not very much different; it seems to have changed. The DAP Penang destroyed Kg. Buah Pala, the last Indian traditional village in Penang, and now the Mak Madin Rumah Hijau long-houses and many many more.

P. Uthayakumar

Protem Sec-Gen, Human Rights Party

dap-penang

Saturday, January 2, 2010

220,000 Indian hardcore poor desperately needing rice help to survive on day to day basis.

In the Kota Raja Parliamentary constituency alone 1,000 Indian families swarmed to register for the government’s Welfare Department and the national rice subsidy programme (NST 2/1/2010 at page 8).

Based on this 1,000 x 222 Parlimentary constituencies = 220,000 Indian hardcore poor desperately needing even rice help for their basic day to day diet.

This is happening even after 52 years of Independence under UMNO’s Malay-sian government.

P.Uthayakumar

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