Praying for solution to conversion dilemma

( Malaysiakini) Two women seen in the eyes of the law as Muslims but who consider themselves as Hindus took part in the Timithi Vizla(annual fire walking ceremony) at the Sri Muthu Mariamman Kovil temple in Parit Buntar last Friday.

According to Parit Buntar district Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRP) chief M Sivakumar, S Banggarma (left), 28, (Muslim name Siti Hasnah Vangarama Abdullah) had carried the milk pot for a kilometre from Muneesuarar temple to the Sri Muthu Mariamman temple praying for a swift solution to her conversion dilemma.

Rani @ Jamillah Abdul Kadir, 46, also attended the temple function asking for the same favour.

At the religious function, the HRP also went on a signature campaign to highlight the plight of four women trapped in a religious twilight zone.

Besides Banggarma and Rani, M Indira Gandhi and Regina Mohd Zaini, are also attempting to seek royal intervention to solve their conversion dilemmas.

They have exhausted their legal avenues including the religious departments, courts, registration departments and the police.

Their last resort is to appeal for royal intervention from the Sultans of Perak, Johor and the Agong who are heads of Islamic matters in the country.

Their contention is that they have the right to freedom of religion as enshrined in Article 11 of the federal constitution.

Indira is from Ipoh and Banggarma is from Tanjong Piandang, while Rani is from Malacca and Regina from Johore.

According to Perak HRP chief P Ramesh, these four are members of his party, which has collected about 5,000 signatures in support of them.

HRP will present the first memorandum of appeal to Sultan Azlan Shah at Istana Kinta in Ipoh on Sunday at 11am.

They will then approach the Johor Sultan on the case of Regina, followed by the Agong for Rani as Malacca does not have a sultan.

Given away

According to HRP national information officer and Hindraf information chief S Jayathas, Rani's parents, due to financial difficulties, had given her away to their Hindu neighbour by the name of Kandasamy.

Her Muslim mother Aminnah Ahmadu had married her converted father Abdul Kadir @ Krishnan.

When Rani (right) was 16, she married her Hindu husband who was later forced to convert to Islam as Mustapha @ M Muniandy and they have four children - two daughters and two sons.

Their eldest daughter, 27, is named as Aishah bt Mustapha Muniandy in her birth certificate but the parents managed to change her name to Vijaya Letchumy A/P M Muniandy in her identity card.

However, the other three children, Abdul, 26, Hamzah, 24, and Citra Devi, 16, still carry their Muslim names in their identity cards.

According to Jayathas, Rani had made declarations before a commissioner of oaths that she wanted Abdul to be known by his Hindu name as Ganesan and Hamzah as Nagendran, but the registration department has allegedly refused to make the changes.

Application turned down 

As for Banggama's conversion case, on Aug 4 the Penang High Court had turned down her application for a court order that would nullify her conversion to Islam when she was seven.

Judicial Commissioner Yaacob Sam had found that Banggama is a Muslim since her parents had converted to Islam in 1983 together with their children and said the civil court has no jurisdiction to hear a case involving conversion to Islam.

Banggama is living in Tanjong Piandang with her fisherman husband, S Sockalingam and their two children Kanagaraj, eight, and Hisyanthini, two.

Banggama's contention is that she has always been a Hindu and will die one even after the High Court ruled against her.

Banggarma claimed that she was unwittingly converted by the state Islamic religious authorities at the age of seven while she was staying in a welfare home in Kepala Batas, Penang.

Banggarma's birth certificate revealed that she was born a Hindu on Aug 13, 1982, in Keratong, Pahang, to plantation workers B Subramaniam and Latchumy Ramadu.

She has practised Hinduism even though her identity card stipulated she is a Muslim.

Meanwhile Regina's father Mohd Zaini @ Krishnan, who had earlier married a Malay woman, had taken her Hindu mother as a second wife and they have three children - two daughters and a son.

The elder daughter was able to convert to Hinduism but not Regina and her younger brother who are still classified as Muslims.

The father died when Regina was four years old and her mother died about five years ago.

Regina had married a Hindu and her problem started when her son Thinas was born and she was unable to register his birth with the registration department.

As for Indira, she had obtained an Ipoh High Court order on March 11, for the custody of her third child Prasana Diksa but is unable to enforce the ruling on her converted husband Mohd Riduan Abdullah @ K Pathmanathan who is hiding in Kelantan with the child.

On July 31, Indira had lodged a police report against her husband for criminal intimidation over using abusive words against her during a phone conversation on July 29 and for refusing to surrender the child to her according to the court order of March 11.

Malaysian Court of Appeal denies justice to Hindu widow whose husband’s body was snatched by Islamic extremist state.

 

And neither will this widow Kaliammal get justice in the Federal Court, Malay-sia’s highest Court.
The Court of Appeal held that only the Syariah Court can hear an alleged conversion to Islam of her husband which the widow has no knowledge. But in full knowledge that Madam Kaliammal and her non muslim lawyers are not even allowed to even step their foot in the Syariah Courts and no muslim lawyers will take up her case.
So much for Justice in One Malay-sia.
P.Uthayakumar

Manogaran to Muhyiddin: You are a hypocrite

By Zefry Dahalan - Free Malaysia Today,

TELUK INTAN: Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today was accused of putting on an act when he ordered the setting up of a task force to investigate allegations that a school principal had made racial slurs against her students. 

Teluk Intan MP M Manogaran slammed Muhyiddin for being hypocritcal and double-faced about the whole affair.

In the incident on Aug 12, SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra principal Siti Inshah Mansor allegedly uttered offensive remarks against non-Malay Muslim pupils during the launching of the school's national day celebrations.

Siti Inshah was reported to have said that "Chinese students should go back to China" and likened Indian students to "dogs".

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, ordered the setting up of the task force to be headed by ministry's deputy secretary-general (management) Rosli Mohamed.

Said Manogoran: “He (Muhyiddin) is merely play acting. He should know that the Biro Tata Negara (BTN or National Civics Bureau) emphasises racial hatred in its training modules.”

"Doesn't he know that principals, headmasters, teachers and civil servants sent to BTN for so-called self-motivational courses are indoctrinated to hate other races?”

"Principals or teachers should use common sense and be sensitive about other races. But I blame the government for this kind of incident.

"Where are we heading if the government stirs up racial sentiments with the Malays through BTN courses?”

Manogaran also said it was common to see Indians or Chinese being treated rudely when they deal with government departments.

He added that the BTN courses conducted by the Umno-BN government are merely aimed at making Malays hate non-Malays.

He said he doesn't have any confidence that Muhyiddin, the State Education Department or Public Service Department will take action against the principal.

"The most they will do is tranfer her to another school or give her a warning. This is just to appease the disgruntled parents,” he added.

Why fast during Ramadan if one is non-Muslim?

Sideways by Deborah Loh | The Nut Graph

Buka puasa! (© Amrufm | Flickr)

HOW many non-Muslims do you know who fast during Ramadan? And why would they?
So far, I’ve found two non-Muslims who are conscientiously fasting the whole of Ramadan. Of these two, one fasts the Muslim way, eating only at sahur and iftar in accordance with the Muslim prayer times. The other doesn’t follow the fasting timetable and does a partial fast of eating only one meal a day at dinner.
There were more I spoke to who said they fast but only for a day or two out of the entire month of Ramadan. For this, what I call the “casual” group, fasting usually means skipping lunch and only eating in the evening, usually because a buka puasa buffet feast with Muslim friends has been planned in advanced.
The reasons for non-Muslims fasting during Ramadan included a) wanting a personal challenge, b) to accompany Muslim friends or colleagues, or c) to show solidarity.
Showing solidarity. Er, but why?

(© zainiabdullahpjk@zakulaan | Flickr)

It’s “to show solidarity” which intrigues me the most. I’ve found that overall, among non-Muslims who’ve fasted during Ramadan whether conscientiously or casually, “solidarity” was the first thing off the top of their heads when I asked why they did it.
And yet, just what does “showing solidarity” mean in our context where Muslims and Malay Malaysians are the majority? And where non-Muslims have to abide, not by choice but by decree, to various directives such as a ban on new non-Muslim clubs in schools and a ban on using the word “Allah” when it isn’t exclusive to Islam?
Or where non-Muslims have no say in the unilateral conversion of children if one’s spouse converts to Islam, and have to give up burial rightsover a deceased Muslim family member’s body? Why should solidarity be shown with the majority if such are the circumstances for the minority?
Unpacking solidarity
Maybe I am totally wrong in looking at solidarity this way. Maybe I am taking politics too personally. But I think, after awhile, even the toughest of cynics cannot help but feel disheartened and resentful of the frequent labelling of non-Malay Malaysians, and by extension, non-Muslims, as “pendatang”, as ingrates, and as plotters who will one day take over the country.
As if to reinforce the position of non-Muslim citizens in Malaysia, the cow-head protestors were merely fined RM1,000 for illegal assembly, no charges were pressed against the Al-Islam magazine reporters, and a police report has now been lodged against a church for staging a play during Ramadan.
How do I not let such insults and disrespect eat into me? One could say that it’s all just political posturing or media spin. And yes, that may be true but only some of the time.

Ahmad Ismail (source: Oriental Daily), against a map of Malaya (public domain. Source: wikipedia.org)

What about the times lesser-known figures like Datuk Ahmad Ismail, Datuk Nasir Safar, and most recently, a school principal in Kulaijaya, Johor, said similar things about non-Malay and non-Muslim Malaysians? These incidents suggest that it isn’t always just politics; that such views do have currency on the ground. Maybe Utusan Malaysia is merely reinforcing is subscribers’ perceptions.  Maybe Perkasa is just echoing the voice of its 200,000 members.

Confused, I asked two non-Muslims who fast during Ramadan why they do it and what they get out of it. It’s best to let their own words speak for themselves.
Tricia Yeoh, Selangor state government researcher:
“I observe the full fast timetable, waking up for sahur at dawn and breaking fast at iftar in the evening.
“Despite the fact that we [in Malaysia] are so exposed to different communities, many of us either can’t be bothered or don’t have the initiative to truly take the effort to understand the other.
“I don’t think [the question of solidarity with the majority or minority] matters. As a human being, my commitment and my responsibility is to do what I can to understand people and the environment around me.

Tricia Yeoh (pic courtesy of Tricia Yeoh)

“I want to know what makes people tick. And in order to do that, you have to enter into their world. Obviously [Ramadan] will not mean the same thing for me as it does for them because I lack the spiritual element which Muslims apply to it, but the physical fast is the extent to which I can enter into their world.
“[Disciplining the body also] makes you question whether there are other excesses I don’t need. It gets you focused on what’s important in life and often that comes back to the communal aspect of coming together as a family or as a people. I wake up for sahur alone in my house as I’m the only one in my family doing it, but knowing that there are hundreds of thousands of families all doing the same thing at the same time is special. As much as possible, I try to break fast with others who are Muslims.
“The communal experience is a beautiful thing that we sometimes lose in an increasingly individualistic society. But if we were to think bigger, then communal also means looking out for the nation’s best interests. Those who are fasting should be reminded that there’s a greater purpose out there and the borders between races ought to thin. It’s all the more essential for everyone to step into the shoes of the ‘other’ in this time and age. We all have to make these efforts, these baby steps.”
Dr Ong Kian Ming, political analyst and USCI lecturer:
“I don’t follow the fasting timetable strictly. I fast in the sense that I eat only one meal a day at dinner. It’s to stand in solidarity with Muslims and it is also good discipline for me. It’s about learning to control my physical appetite and is the part of Ramadan I find attractive — learning to mengawal nafsu, or controlling one’s desires.

Ong Kian Ming

“Showing solidarity is basically about just trying to understand my Muslim friends better. I’ve always been inspired by the book To Kill a Mockingbird, about standing in somebody’s shoes and seeing life from their point of view. It’s something we should all do, to understand and sensitise ourselves to others.
“Extending these ideas about controlling desires and understanding the other to a national level, I think we ought to fast from the desire to be accusatory of each other and instead try to see things from each other’s perspective.
“I also have a personal dimension to fasting and I’m fasting for Sarawak because of several issues — state elections might be held soon, the bumiputera rural population there have been severely neglected, and I’m fasting as a way of hoping that change will come for these people. I try to accompany my fast with prayer and to give to charity whatever money I save from not eating.”
Pockets of hope
I’m still not fully convinced about the need to show solidarity if that is the reason for participating in a Ramadan fast as a non-Muslim. Maybe I am selfish and want some kind of reciprocation in understanding, or I unnecessarily attach too much political baggage to the idea of adopting aspects of the dominant culture and religion.
I do agree, however, that it is important to step into the shoes of the other. And maybe the value of fasting and breaking fast with Muslim friends is to at least remember that despite the prevailing national rhetoric, there are still pockets of hope where genuine interfaith friendships exist.

MCCBCHST CALLS FOR A CHORUS OF DISAPPROVAL

Rev. Dr. Thomas Philips
President
MCCBCHST
21 August 2010
In the light of the latest, in an increasing line of provocative racist remarks, this time by a principal of a school in the state of Johor, MCCBCHST calls upon the authorities to take prompt, and appropriate action to demonstrate that such dastardly acts and words perpetrated by government servants regardless of their rank is not and will not be tolerated in Malaysia.

The Johor school incident occurring as it did in the runup to the coming National Day celebrations casts a sombre shadow over the nation’s commitment to a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society where all citizens can be guaranteed a shared destiny in Malaysia as Malaysians based on peace and justice.

The time has passed whereby mere platitudes and words from the national leadership and enforcement authorities in themselves will be enough. The nation needs just and fair actions rather than just words.

MCCBCHST calls for its component religious communities and all other Malaysians regardless of ethnic or religious affiliation to join together to pray that the sitting government will take responsibility to take appropriate action to stop blatant racist acts and utterances.

At the same time, let all peace-loving, fair-minded Malaysians join together to raise an unignorable chorus of disapproval against racism in all its forms.

LET US STOP RACISM BEFORE RACISM STOPS OUR NATION

Another 'racist' principal in Kedah

(Malaysiakini) Just barely a week after accusations of a secondary school principal in Johor hurling racial slurs, another is being denounced for having uttered similar derogatory remarks - this time…

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(Malaysiakini) Just barely a week after accusations of a secondary school principal in Johor hurling racial slurs, another is being denounced for having uttered similar derogatory remarks - this time in Kedah.

Several Chinese vernacular newspapers gave prominence this morning to the report of a Sungai Petani secondary school principal accusing non-Muslim students of "disrespecting" the fasting month of Ramadan.

According to the report the school cafeteria had closed for the fasting month, and non-Muslim students were left to their own devices to find food.

But the sight of a group of them having breakfast at the canteen - a common area - had apparently raised the principal's ire.

Later, at the school assembly, the principal was alleged to have said that the Chinese student -comprising 10 percent of the student population of 780 - had been disrespectful and that "they should go back to China".

It was claimed that when the assembly was over, another teacher had approached the Chinese students to say sarcastically that they should take an AirAsia flight, since the fares are cheap now.

Brickbats from BN politicians

The whole affair had several Barisan Nasional leaders up in arms.

MCA Youth chief Wee Ka Siong (right) - also the deputy education minister - said that it is unbecoming and wrong for the school headmaster to make such a remark and that he will leave it to the education director-general Alimuddin Mohd Dom to resolve the matter.

"The DG should remind principals to be racially-sensitive. No more such incidents!" he exclaimed in his public Twitter account.

However, he also agreed that non-Muslim students in secondary schools should be sensitive during Ramadan and that they should respect their fasting Muslim schoolmates.

"Regarding the place to eat for non-Muslims, the school principal should make proper arrangements to prevent any misunderstanding," he said.

Head must face disciplinary action

In the meantime, Kedah Gerakan had called for the principal's head, urging the government to take "stern action" against him.

"If it is true that the principal had made the racist utterances, then the person should face disciplinary action," said state chief Cheah Soon Hai in a statement.

He said the government should be strict as schools are places for learning and such degrading and disparaging words from a principal should not be condoned at all.

Cheah - also Derga state assemblyperson - said the people should know from history that Malaysia gained independence because of the genuine efforts of all races.

"While acknowledging the fact that non-Muslim should be more sensitive towards Muslims uring fasting time, the principal's statement has clearly gone overboard. Making statements such as passengers (penumpang) of the country are totally unwarranted," he added.

'Racist' worms creep out of woodwork

Just earlier this week, the nation was shocked after a police report was lodged against the principal of a secondary school in Kulai for allegedly asking the "Chinese students to go back to China", and likening the Hindu prayer bracelet to a dog leash.

In a speech during the launch of the school's National Day celebration, she had also "reminded" the non-Malay students of their place in the country.

She had also allegedly given the example of owning a Proton Saga and then letting 'Munusamy' and 'Chong' in as passengers.

"Munusamy and Chong are only passengers. They cannot claim any right to the car. This is the same as Malaysia in which the non-Malay students are passengers," alleged a 16-year-old student in his police report on what she had said.

HINDRAF & HRP meets NRD on Indians no BC & IC

Perak won't acquire Indian heritage land

By G Vinod - Free Malaysia Today

IPOH: A piece of heritage land in Sitiawan was on the radar screen of the Perak government for quite sometime. Last month, the…

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By G Vinod - Free Malaysia Today

IPOH: A piece of heritage land in Sitiawan was on the radar screen of the Perak government for quite sometime. Last month, the state acted and gazetted it with the intention of acquiring the 2.2-hectare plot.

But the move came in for a lot of flak from the Indian community, especially from its Dindings Indian Association (DIA) and the DAP. The land belongs to the association.

Then on Tuesday, the state government made an abrupt about-turn: Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir announced that the state will not acquire the land.

Since land is a state matter, the federal government yesterday said it too would not acquire the land if the menteri besar felt the acquisition could not be done.

Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran was delighted when he heard the announcement. He was at the forefront of the opposition against the acquisition. However, he is not letting down his guard.

“I want to get an official notice of the withdrawal,” he said.

Kulasegaran is well-versed in the history of the land. The piece of land had been collectively bought with contributions from pioneer Indian rubber tappers from the 35 estates in and around Sitiawan in the 1930s.

“My grandparents too contributed,” said Kulasegaran.

'Insensitive and unjust'

The problem arose when the state government last month proposed to gazette and acquire the land for the Education Ministry to redevelop  Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Simpang Empat located on the land.

The move was vehemently opposed by the DIA and Kulasegaran, who claimed the land is an Indian heritage land.

“We don't mind if the Education Ministry wants to redevelop the school, but we are against the state acquiring the whole land just for that purpose,” said the DAP vice-chairman.

The DAP veteran said the move to acquire the land was insensitive and unjust as the plot was bought by the Indian rubber tappers during the colonial days.

“They parted two Straits Settlement dollars from the 12 Straits Settlement dollars they earned monthly,” said Kulasegaran.

He said the Simpang Empat English School (as it was then known) was built on the land to educate the estate children.

He also questioned the state government's motive in acquiring the plot, saying that there are other lands available nearby.

“Just half a kilometre away from the DIA's land, there is an oil palm estate known as Sg Wangi Estate belonging to Sime Darby.

“Fifteen years ago, the Defence Ministry acquired some 150ha out of the 2,500ha (of the oil palm estate) to build an airport. Why didn't the state government acquire some hectares there too if land was what it was seeking?”

A state matter

For Kulasegaran, the dispute has not ended. He said he will still attend the Sitiawan land office hearing on Aug 25 and get an official notice over the state's withdrawal.

“We will continue asking the public to attend the hearing. We will also continue distributing pamphlets on the acquisition move from house to house,” he added.

Meanwhile, Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam said the Cabinet decided yesterday that the federal government will not acquire the plot of land belonging to DIA.

The MIC vice-president said the decision was taken after he raised the matter at the Cabinet meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the Education Minister.

“Since land is a state matter, the Cabinet and the deputy prime minister decided that if the Perak menteri besar felt that it cannot be done (the acquisition), then we (the federal government) will not go ahead,” he said in a statement.

Subramaniam said the decision was taken to respect the sentimental values held by the Indian community towards the DIA and the land.

“It is a historical piece of land and close to the hearts of the Indian community. We decided to convey to the Perak menteri besar the decision of the Cabinet as land is a state matter, and only the state government can decide,” he said.

BN Youth wants ‘racist’ school principal punished

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 – The Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth today demanded the government punish Johor school principal Siti Inshah Mansor if allegations that she made racist remarks were…

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KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 – The Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth today demanded the government punish Johor school principal Siti Inshah Mansor if allegations that she made racist remarks were proven true.

Their call came after angry parents lodged 17 police reports against the SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra principal, whose remarks the Education Director-General Tan Sri Alimuddin Mohd Dom dismissed as a mere misunderstanding which has been resolved. But the parents now say it has not been resolved and described Alimuddin’s statement as a “cover-up”.

“BN Youth calls for the government not to take this matter lightly,” said its chief Khairy Jamaluddin in a statement today.

“If it is true that it happened, she should be charged with a severe punishment under Section 504 of the Penal Code or the like as our multi-racial country cannot accept this at all,” added Khairy, who is also the Umno Youth chief.

The police are currently investigating the case under section 504 of the Penal Code for provocation which carries a maximum imprisonment of two years, a fine or both.

Siti Inshah allegedly likened Indian students wearing prayer threads to dogs and ordered dissatisfied ethnic Chinese and Indian students to “return to China or India”.

The principal reportedly made the derogatory remarks during the launch of the school’s Merdeka celebrations last Thursday.

“Did she (Siti Inshah) not consider the students’ feelings, especially the Chinese and Indians, by making comments that appear to insult and chase them out of the country while they were singing “Negaraku, tanah tumpahnya darahku?” asked the Rembau MP.

BN Youth’s censure against the school principal joins a chorus of condemnation against Siti Inshah since MIC central working committee member S. Murugessan has called on the government to mete out the “heaviest punishment” while DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang has demanded for her dismissal.

“Her remarks… are very disgusting and shows her ignorance in citizenship issues and religious rituals in this country. If it is true that it happened, then a severe punishment must be meted out as a lesson and a strong signal that any actions which are not in line with the 1 Malaysia concept, which fosters national unity, must be handled and acted upon accordingly,” said Khairy.

He pointed out that this incident which involved a school head, coupled with another earlier incident which involved the prime minister’s special officer, showed that racial tension was a growing systemic problem in the country.

Datuk Nasir Safar, the prime minister’s former special officer, allegedly said in February this year at a 1 Malaysia event that the “Indians came to Malaysia as beggars and Chinese, especially women, came to sell their bodies”.

He was later asked to resign as the prime minister’s aide and no further action was taken against him. In Parliament, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said that this was because it was difficult to prove if Nasir’s words had any tendency to be seditious.

Another civil servant accused of making racial slurs was a schoolteacher who purportedly made racist remarks but was let off with just a transfer.

Schoolteacher Rusita Abu Hassan who taught in SMK Telok Panglima Garang in Banting had in 2008 allegedly used derogatory remarks on a certain ethnic group in order to “test their level of patience”.

She was later transferred from the school but the punishment was viewed as more of a promotion for she was given a post in a smart school located near to her home.

Parents claimed that Siti Inshah has also made racist remarks in her previous school SMK Kelapa Sawit, where she called Indians Nigerians.

Another student alleged that Siti Inshah gave an example of owning a Proton Saga where a Chinese and Indian are passengers in the car and cannot claim any right to the car, likening it to Malaysia where non-Malay students are mere passengers. - The Malaysian Insider

Sorry no cure for bigotry, says Samy

By FMT Staff

KUALA LUMPUR: It is this very mentality that drove Indians to vote for the opposition in the last general election, said MIC president S Samy Vellu.

Therefore,…

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By FMT Staff

KUALA LUMPUR: It is this very mentality that drove Indians to vote for the opposition in the last general election, said MIC president S Samy Vellu.

Therefore, the veteran politician suggested that those who play with the fire of racism, must have their fingers burnt.

He cautioned the Education Ministry against allowing a principal, who had allegedly uttered disparaging remarks against her Chinese and Indian students, to be let off with a slap on the wrist.

In a statement today, the MIC president urged the ministry to take serious and appropriate action against Siti Inshah Mansor if she was found guilty.

He said although the ministry appeared to have resolved the case, MIC wanted to ensure that the  principal was punished accordingly.

“The punishment must commensurate with the offence,” he said, adding that the alleged remarks had insulted and degraded the Indian and Chinese communities.

“Statements of this nature made before the March 2008 general election made the Indians feel hurt and alienated from the government. It caused Indians to drift away from Barisan Nasional.

“To say the least, these remarks are insulting and offensive to Indians and had created doubts in their minds and is against the true meaning of 1Malaysia,” he said, adding that an apology from the  principal would not be enough.

Siti Insah courted infamy when her Chinese and Indian students claimed that she had insulted them during a Mederka celebration at the secondary school, located in Kulai, Johor.

The principal had allegedly told the Chinese students to go back to China and likened Indian students to dogs.

Enraged parents subsequently filed a litany of police reports and Siti Insah, who is currently on leave, is being investigated under the Penal Code.

At the onset of the controversy, Samy Vellu had called for the principal to be charged with sedition for her “shameless and senseless” act.

CWC upholds Mugilan's sacking
In another development, the MIC central working committee (CWC) today upheld the sacking of former deputy Youth chief V Mugilan.

Since Mugilan failed to attend the hearing at the CWC meeting, his expulsion from the party was endorsed by the committee.

“The CWC decision is final,” said Samy Vellu.

On the fate of another sacked member G Kumar Aamaan, the president said the former CWC member had requested for another opportunity to be heard as he was unable to make it for today’s meeting.

“His (Kumar’s) case is still pending until further notice. He wants an opportunity to make his appeal to the CWC,” the MIC chief said.

Samy Vellu and his deputy G Palanivel did not attend the hearing of Mugilan and Kumar's cases this morning. The meeting was chaired by vice-president Dr S Subramaniam.

Mugilan and Kumar along with former CWC member, K P Samy and a MIC division leader, V Subramaniam or better known as Bharath Maniam, were expelled from the MIC early this year by the president for “working against the interest of the party”.

Last month, the CWC upheld the decision.

Mugilan's sacking had come hot on the heels of his statement urging Samy Vellu to step down with immediate effect while KP Samy and Kumar had openly backed the call.

The trio then went on to start the “Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu” (GAS) campaign, and have since accused the veteran president of numerous misdeeds.

Declare all 523 Tamil schools fully financially aided government schools on this 53rd Merdeka day on 31/8/2010.

 

No.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245 Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Your Reference :

In Reply :

Date : 18/8/2010

YAB. Dato…

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No.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245 Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Your Reference :

In Reply :

Date : 18/8/2010

YAB. Dato Seri Najib Razak Prime Minister of Malaysia,

Block Utama Bangunan Perdana Putra,

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,

Fax : 03-8888 3444 62502 Putrajaya. E-Mail : najib@pmo.gov.my


Y.A.B Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin

Minister of Education Malaysia, Pejabat Menteri Pelajaran,

Aras 10, Block E8, Complex Kerajaan Parcal E,

Fax : 03-8889 5846 62604 Putrajaya. E-Mail : khairulam@moe.gov.my



Re: Declare all 523 Tamil schools fully financially aided government schools on this 53rd Merdeka day on 31/8/2010.

Tun V.T. Sambanthan, one of the three Malaysia’s 1957 Independence signatories and founding fathers  

would have dreamt about a truly One Malaysia, living in harmony non state discrimination, equality and equal opportunities for all including for the Indian poor. Tun Sambanthan certainly would not have imagined the remaining 523 Tamil schools in Malaysia remaining in near cow shed like conditions some fifty- three years later in 2010. What more when the very same Tamil school that carries Tun Sambanthan’s name ie the Tun Sambanthan Tamil school, Pajam, N.Sembilan not only is remaining like a near cow shed but it’s roof was 3easily blown away by winds which could have injured or even killed the students therein.

It is plain and obvious that the UMNO controlled Malay-sian government has no regards for even Tun Sambanthan let alone all the 523 Tamil schools nationwide in Malay-sia.


This does not happen to any Malay, Chinese, orang asli, kadazan or Iban schools. Only to Tamil schools. Why?


The NST 15/8/10 at page 6 published a picture of the Sekolah Kebangsaan Muhammad Jabar in 1932 with an attap structure and cow shed like structure (see picture). But this and almost all Malay, Chinese, Kadazan, Iban and orang asli schools are nowhere like this anymore and have today evolved to emerge more like the Penang Free School building pictured in the NST 18/8/10 at page 12 and the King Edward VII Primary school in the NST 18/8/2010 at page 13. (see pictures) But in direct contrast the Tun Sambanthan Tamil School in Pajam and almost all the 523 Tamil schools in Malaysia have been refused to be converted into fully financially aided government schools despite 53 years of Independence and are still in near cow shed like wooden structures! Why? Because the mere 8% ethnic minority Indians in2 Malaysia almost all are poor or in the lower income group and are politically powerless?

We hereby call upon in particular the PKR, DAP and PAS state governments of Selangor, Penang and Kedah and all the state governments of all other states to forthwith and in any event on Malay-sia’s 53rd Independence day grant the land in situ (ie on the land the Tamil school is presently occupying) and to add on the adjoining land to make it at least a ten acre land and the Federal UMNO/BN government granting full financial aid and converting all these 523 Tamil schools into fully aided government schools and the school full operational costs and per capita grant should be as granted to any other Malay muslim school to bring to a closure once and for all this 523 Tamil schools’ 53 year old long outstanding problem.


4We hereby call upon both PKR, DAP and PAS and also UMNO/BN to stop the temporary kosong wayang kulit theatrics of “dishing out” and that too merely promise of “one Tamil school land at a time here and there” gimmick.

We want a permanent and final solution to these 523 Tamil schools and not a piece- meal and supposedly “granting kosong land titles one by one” to these 523 Tamil schools mere media statements by politicians which always almost does not materialize and these Tamil schools being forced to move from one place to another at the whims and fancies of the government and which again does not happen to any Malay, Chinese, orang asli, Kadazan or Iban school. These kosong political statements are never in writing by the Education Ministry or the state governments but mere propaganda in especially the three Tamil dailies and almost all the times the same never being fulfilled by both sides of the political spectrum.


_________________

P.Uthayakumar

Secretary General (pro-tem)

NRD studies Hindraf memo on 'British subjects'

(Malaysiakini) The National Registration Department (NRD) in Putrajaya is reportedly studying Hindraf Makkal Sakthi's memorandum presented last Friday, on the problem of several thousand people in peninsular Malaysia whom the…

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(Malaysiakini) The National Registration Department (NRD) in Putrajaya is reportedly studying Hindraf Makkal Sakthi's memorandum presented last Friday, on the problem of several thousand people in peninsular Malaysia whom the group says have been denied Malaysian citizenship since independence in 1957.

Hence, they allegedly retain their British subject status from the colonial era. Previously called, in a misnomer, 'stateless', Hindraf has since dropped the term as it implies 'a person without a country' which is not the case.

Hindraf drafted the memorandum on July 26 but held it back until after the 1st National Hindraf Convention in Kuala Lumpur on Aug 8.

“We had a very formal but cordial two-hour meeting with Mohd Azmin Hassan, the director of births, deaths and adoptions,” said Penang-based Hindraf advisor and industrialist N Ganesan (left) in a telephone call to Malaysiakini yesterday. “Initially, the director-general and his deputy agreed to be present.”

He was giving an update on the dilemma of British subjects in Malaysia following a statement released yesterday by London-based Hindraf chair P Waythamoorthy. The ad hoc human rights movement has conducted research on the subject at the National Archives of the United Kingdom.

The purpose of the hastily-set-up meeting with the NRD, continued Ganesan, was basically to get it to listen to Hindraf's elaboration on the memorandum rather than for them to give a briefing on known procedural requirements.

NRD: Only 80 without documents

For starters, the 12-man NRD team queried Hindraf's conservative estimate of 150,000 'stateless people' (henceforth 'British subjects') among 'ethnic Indians' in peninsular Malaysia who have been denied Malaysian citizenship and nationality.

The NRD disclosed that they in fact conducted 84 campaigns throughout the peninsula alone in recent months, apparently seeking out those without Malaysian personal documents “and only 80 people turned up”.

“We explained that it doesn't work this way,” said Ganesan. “These people are not very educated and live in fear in a twilight zone. They would not dare to approach the authorities with their problems.”

The Hindraf advisor explained the basis on which they arrived at 150,000 which the NRD has accepted as a guideline, without dispute, for further study. The NRD conceded, when challenged to give their own estimate, that they “really did not know who is out there and how many of them (there are), especially when they don't turn up and see us”.

The fear among the British subjects, Ganesan stressed, is that they would be “detained at a centre for illegal immigrants for deportation” to India or other ancestral origins. The result is that they avoid having anything to do with the authorities and the system but, it appears, sometimes not very successfully.

“Most of the petty crimes in urban areas in peninsular Malaysia can be attributed to the British subjects,” said Ganesan. “They eke out a precarious living as cheap daily labour in the underground economy and live in abject poverty from generation to generation.”

These conditions make it an ideal breeding ground for those who are attracted to various criminal activities to supplement their meager incomes as cheap labour, the NRD was told.

'State should not dictate religion'

An additional shocker for the NRD was Hindraf's conservative estimate that at least 20 percent of the British subjects are non-Muslims married to Muslims, usually under Hindu rites, and went on to have children. Such marriages are not registered under the law and bring with it a host of attendant documentation problems of their own.

Hindraf's suggestion, spelled out in greater detail with graphic case studies in the memorandum, is that the parents involved in interreligious marriages should be allowed to decide on the religion of their children. The state should stay out, said the movement. “They should also not involve the judiciary or the Syariah Court.”

Briefly, the Hindraf take is that religion is a matter of individual faith and hence the individual should state his faith, if needed as a matter of public record, and not allow the state to dictate the religion.

Ganesan and the other four members in his delegation explained the importance of the NRD shedding its old mindset and adopting a paradigm shift above race, religion and other considerations like the “numbers game”, among others.

The old mindset, alleged Ganesan, was politically driven by a “hidden agenda” to deny procedurally what is guaranteed by the federal constitution.

“We are confident that the NRD is the only department, no matter how flawed at the moment, that can help address the problem systematically and eliminate it,” said Ganesan. “They have the resources and can even employ field staff familiar with an area to seek out the British subjects and help them go through the process.”

'NRD must be people-friendly'

In short, Hindraf wants the NRD to adopt a people-friendly approach and go out to the British subjects instead of having them come to it. The onus, under this approach, is on the NRD and not on the affected people.

Ganesan thinks that the existing approach of hurling a stack of documents at would-be applicants and expecting them to decipher them and solve the problem on their own would not work.

Anyone would be put off especially if they feel that they are seen as a nuisance, added Ganesan. “The result is they don't come back.”

Hindraf has an early Dec 31, 2011 deadline in mind for the resolution of the problem. However, the memorandum itself acknowledges that it might take at least up to three years to bring closure to this unfortunate legacy from the colonial past.

HRP wants India to sponsor top students

Memorandum to PM of India on 63rd Independence Day of India requesting 2,237 full scholarships and University places in India for top and high achieving Malaysian Indian students segregated. (15/8/2010)

15th August 2010

His Excellency Mr.Manmohan Singh,

Prime Minister of India.

Via

His Excellency Mr.Vijay Gokhale

High Commission of India to Malaysia By Hand

No2, Jalan Duta, Off Jalan Duta, By fax: 03-20933507

50480 Kuala Lumpur Email: highcomm@po.jaring.my ,

Your Excellency,

RE: 1) Memorandum to Prime Minister of India on Independence Day of India requesting for 2,237 full scholarships and University places in India for top and high achieving Malaysian Indian students segregated and denied JPA scholarships etc, PTPTN loans, Matriculation and University places by the Malay-sian Government.

2) Request to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when he visits Malaysia on 9/11/2010

3) Request to meet Indian High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur not responded to.

4) Request to address Pravasi Bharathiya Divas Conference in India 7-9th January 2011 on pressing Malaysian Indian problems on the first day of the Conference.

We take this opportunity to wish the people of the Republic of India happy 63rd India’s Independence Day. But even on this day we the even sixth generation Malaysian born Indians are even denied and segregated in every aspect of our lives from an estimated 450,000 being made stateless, denial of jobs and top jobs in the private and public sectors,demolishment of Hindu temples and cemeteries, Tamil school in cow shed like conditions in the background of the KLCC world’s tallest Twin Towers etc. Most importantly to our very basic rights to education by reason of our being the tiny (8%) ethnic minority Indians in Malaysia.

An estimated 2,237 top and high achieving students of Indian Origin in Malaysia especially from the poor and working class who have been denied Malaysian Government scholarships and other scholarships, Matriculation and Public University places contrary to the Malaysian Federal Constitution. The Malaysian Government refuses to engage us in a discussion to resolve this critical issue.

We now turn to the Government of India as your goodselves have a publicly stated interest in People of Indian Origin the world over. In many parts of the world, People of Indian origin contribute towards development in India. In the same vein, in other parts of the world, the People of Indian origin need development assistance as in our case and the Government of India can contribute.

We would like to appeal to your Excellency to allocate 2,237 full scholarships and University places in India in the Medical, Pharmaceutical, Engineering, Aeronautical, I.T, Actuarial Science, Bio Technology and Dentistry faculties in Indian Institutions of Higher learning that is recognized by the Government of Malaysia for our top and high achieving Malaysian Indian students who are segregated and denied JPA scholarships etc, PTPTN loans, Matriculation and University places by the Malay-sian Government.

Article 8 of the Federal Constitution of Malaysia (Equality before the law) and Article 12- rights in respect of education of the Federal Constitution. Article 12(1) reads, "without prejudice to the generality of Article 8, there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race and descent or place of birth."

Year in and year out over the past 40 years or so, thousands of especially top and high achieving poor Malaysian Indian students have been denied JPA and other scholarships, Matriculation & University places. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s claims One Malaysia policy, but top and high achieving poor Indian students are being denied the opportunities from becoming graduates, professionals and reputable citizens who would take Malaysia into the international arena.

This denial of fair and equal educational opportunities has forced an alarming number of poor Indians into the world of crime.

In any part of the world scholarships and study loans are granted by the government to deserving students without fail but only in One Malaysia is this discrimination, exclusion and segregation against the Malaysian Indian students are going on and on.

A prime example is Prahsanna who ever since her childhood days grew up with the ambition to of becoming a medical doctor. Her parents, teachers and the community leaders motivated her to pursue medicine and shine in her academic qualifications. She took up the challenge. She worked hard day and night and proved that she is capable of achieving her ambition of becoming a doctor by scoring 11As in the Science stream. However her dreams were shattered when her applications to enter Matriculation, local Universities and JPA scholarship were turned down without any reason. And when she approached the Putrajaya officials she was told to drop her ambition! How would a sober person justify this! Her father is a retiree and her mother is a housewife. Who would help this poor young high achiever’s dream to come true if not the government? And this is just one and being the latest example and the tip of the iceberg to the even the sixth generation especially poor Malaysian Indian students being segregated and excluded from the national higher education opportunities of Malaysia.

Malay Muslim students from Pasir Salak MRSM who scored 7 Ds and 8 Es managed to secure a place in Matriculation colleges whereas Menaka who scored 8As from the same college is rejected. She was like a beggar knocking every government agencies’ door to get mercy. Is this the One Malaysia concept Prime Minister Najib is advocating?

Niquesan Nair was in the PLKN National Service Training while waiting for his SPM results. At the Camp they were taught of One Malaysia, that we are all One and happily sang the song Satu (One) Malaysia. But when he got his results, he scored 10A’s but was denied JPA scholarship, Matriculation and University places while his Malay Muslim friends in PLKN who scored 2A’s and 3A’s got seats in Matriculation/University and were relieved from PLKN training. At this young and tender age Niquesan Nair for the first time felt that just because of his Indian minority ethnicity he was denied the opportunity to contribute to his country.

While Malaysian Indians are denied their constitutional rights as enshrined in Article 8 and Article 12 of the Federal Constitution, the Higher Education Minister Khalid Nordin allocates scholarships to 363 foreign Muslim students to study in local Universities and upon completion they are to be given the opportunity to work here and the option to take up Malaysian Permanent Residence status (Malaysian Nanban 6/7/2010 page 1). In University Institute Technologi Mara (UITM) out of the 200,000 places, 10% are allocated to foreign Muslim students while even the sixth generation Malaysian born Indian students are completely (100%)denied entry. This is Najib Razak’s One Malaysia policy.

About 7,600 students were identified as “Excellent Students” or “Pelajar Cemerlang" upon the SPM results being announced this year (2010). There are 40,000 Matriculation seats available (UM 2/11/08 at page 4). Surely all 7,600 students should have secured places in matriculation colleges at the very least and there should have been zero complaints. But we alone have 69 SPM, STPM and Polytechnic students in our list who have complained to us that they were denied JPA scholarships, Matriculation and University places.

The above cases are only the tip of iceberg. We estimate 2,237 top and high achieving Indian students who have been denied JPA and other Scholarships, Matriculation & University places for the 2010 academic year.

We have requested that pre University STPM to be abolished and create a one pre-university examination in One Malaysia for all Malaysian students so that the higher education opportunities are given out fairly to all deserving students especially so as not to exclude and segregate the Indian poor.

As it is education, which is the responsibility of the federal government (and similarly by any other government in any other part of the world), it is not fair because it is race, supremacy and segregation based as opposed to what should rightly be needs based. Through one Google or Wikipedia search the whole world would know that our education system is not fair. How can it be fair when we have different pre-university programmes? Many qualified poor Malaysian Indian students have been denied their basic rights to higher education in contravention of Article 8 (Equality before the law) and Article 12 (no discrimination in higher educational institutions entry financed by the government) of the Federal Constitution. They have to go through the tougher path of STPM without any guarantee of securing a place in the Universities. They are growing up with inequality and injustices in every corner of their lives. How then do they become a part of the true meaning of One Malaysia?

Whereas almost all Malay Muslim students opt for the matriculation programmes. Almost all of the over 40,0000 places in the eleven Matriculation colleges nationwide are reserved for malay muslim students in the 10 month course as opposed to the two year STPM course (Wikipedia). This has become a source of contention because matriculation students, who will enter university one over year earlier compared with their STPM peers, are considered on equal standing with STPM only in Malaysia for the purposes of University admission though it is significantly easier than STPM with a streamed down Form 6 syllabus.

Not all applicants for matriculation are admitted and the selection criteria have never been made public which has led to the perception that the entry has not been fair. The matriculation programme is not as rigorous as the STPM. The matriculation programme has come under some criticism as it is the general consensus that this programme is much easier than the sixth form programme leading to the STPM and serves to help malay muslim students enter the public university easily. Having been introduced after the supposed abolishment of racial quota based admission into local public Universities, the matriculation programme continues the role of its predecessor, albeit in a modified form. It is considered easier because in the matriculation programme the teachers set and mark the final exams that their students sit for whereas in the STPM the final exam is standardised and exam papers are exchanged between schools in different states to ensure unbiased marking. Also, the matriculation programme adopts a semester basis examination (2 semesters in the programme) whilst STPM involves only one final examination, covering all 2 years’ syllabus in one go. The scope and depth of the syllabus in matriculation is also lesser to that of STPM. The disparity between the programmes does not end there, for it is a known fact that in critical courses offered by local public universities (such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Engineering, Accountant, Law, Bio Science etc), almost 70% of the students comprise matriculation students. On the contrary, STPM students form the majority in courses which are less in demand, such as a Bachelor in Science. Defenders of the matriculation programme have described the two programmes as distinct and different, drawing the analogy of an apple and an orange. However, having served the same purpose (i.e. as an entrance requirement to Universities), we criticize the matriculation programme as a blatant practice of double standards.

The following is a fact – bright Indian students are systematically denied their entitlements for Government Scholarships, for admission to Public Universities especially in critical courses and for the Matriculation programme and this is becoming a more serious problem as more Indian students begin to excel academically as has been highlighted by HRP in the past few weeks.

Our sincere question is why does the UMNO led Government not become transparent about the selection process? Why do we need double standards in 1 Malaysia? Why hasn’t the public Universities and scholarship list and it’s selection criteria not been made transparent and public?

70% of the Indians are from the poor and hardcore poor, category and the only way for them to break out of poverty is through education and they are denied even this very basic right.

We have requested to Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak and our King DYMM Yang Dipertua Agong Tuanku Mizan to constitute a Royal Commission of Enquiry further to Article 93 of the Federal Constitution to address the exclusion and segregation of especially the poor even the sixth generation Malaysian born ethnic minority Indian students from JPA, Mara, Petronas, 13 Yayasan Negeri, Yayasan TNB, Telekom Malaysia, Bank Negara, Sime Bank and other Scholarships, PTPTN study loans, Matriculation and University places. Till today we have not receive any reply from them on this critical issue.

We hereby also request to meet Indian Prime Minister His Execellency Mr.Manmohan Singh when he visits Malaysia on 9/11/2010

We also urgently request to meet Indian High Commissioner in Kuala Lumpur which has not responded to.

We finally request to address the Pravasi Bharathiya Divas Conference in India 7-9th January 2011 on pressing Malaysian Indian problems on the first day of the Conference.

We hereby look forward to your favorable reply on this critical Indian problem at

your earliest convenience.

Thank you

Yours sincerely,

…………………………

S.JAYATHAS

Information Chief

Human Rights Party Malaysia HRP (pro tem) and HINDRAF

0126362287

CC:

The Hon. Mr.Shri S.M.Krishna Minister of External Affairs Room no169, South Block, By fax: 911123013254 New Delhi- 110011 Email: eam@mea.gov.in

The Hon.Shri Vayalar Ravi Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs 9th Floor, Akbar Bhavan, Chanakya Puri,

New Delhi-110021, By fax: 91-11-24197985 India. Email: minister@moia.nic.in

The Hon. Mr. Sri Lal Krishna Advani 30 Prithvi Raj Road, New Delhi-110003, By fax: 01123017419 India. Email: advanilk@sansad.nic.in

Madam Susma Swaraj Opposition Leader,India 44, Parliament House, By fax: 23017470 New Delhi -110011 Email:sushmaswaraj@hotmail.com

Mr.Vijay Jolly International Cell Head, Head BJP, Khasra No. 322, Neb Sarai, Near Ignou, New Delhi- 68 Email: ewec@del3.vsnl.net.in

Mr.Rajesh Gogna Advocate 8, Todermal Lane, Bengali Market, Mandi House, By fax: 011-23752935 New Delhi-110001 Email: mail@gogna.co.in