Photos @ Hindraf & HRP’s talk at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi

On 4 January 2011, HRP gave a talk at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. The talk commenced at 9.30 p.m. HRP’s eight member delegation were invited there as guests.
Some 80 participants who are mostly doctorate and research students at the university attended the talk by Mr. P. Uthayakumar who spoke on the Malaysian Indian Minority & & Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2010, 7th –9th January 2011 Pravasi Bharathiya Divas International Conference Vigyan Bhawan New Delhi.
There were some 20 questions from the floor. Most of the participations were shocked at the atrocities taking place in Malaysia.
Some expressed interest to independently conduct a research from Jawaharlal Nehru University.
In conclusion P. Uthayakumar explained that Malaysia is the world’s only failed Indian diaspora.

Video: Batu Kawan Barn like Tamil School documentary (Part 1 to 4)

Providing for education is the first and foremost duty of any government and never that of the citizens! When the UMNO’s Najib Razak One Malay-sia government has billions of ringgits for all sorts of white elephant mega projects, why are the poor Malaysian Indians made to suffer even to provide basic education for their children?
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (10 December 1948), proclaims:
Article 26.
· (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.
· (2) Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
· (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children.
United Nations Convention on Children’s Rights (CRC) proclaims:
Article 28: Education
The child’s right to education and the State’s duty to ensure that primary education at least is made free and compulsory. Administration of school discipline is to reflect the child’s human dignity. Emphasis is laid on the need for international co-operation to ensure this right.
As a signatory to the UDHR and the CRC, Malaysia has failed miserably in showing any commitment in upholding the Malaysian children’s rights to education. Leaving it to the schools and the poor Indian parents to fund the school buildings and equip the schools with the basic amenities (as is the case with most Tamil schools in Malaysia) is a gross disregard to the children’s rights and humanitarian principles. It is very unbecoming of Malaysia as a United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council member.
“Rights not Mercy”
Please circulate.
S.JAYATHAS
Information Chief.

Book burning is, oh, so retrograde

(Malaysiakini) Book burning is the second most severe act of censorship; book banning is the severest.

The threat by several Indian NGOs to go on a nationwide road show that would have as its highlight the burning of the Malay novel 'Interlok' is a retrograde step that will stifle literary creativity, promote a herd mentality, and dry up the wellsprings of artistic endeavor. 

The NGOs say the novel defames Indian Malaysians and is not a suitable literary work for upper secondary school Malaysians to read and contemplate.

Further, the NGOs claim that the tenor of the novel, by one-time national laureate Abdullah Hussein, is against the spirit of 1Malaysia, the supposedly national unity building concept introduced by Prime Minister Najib Razak.

In addition, the NGOs hold that the novel disparages the contributions to nation building of Chinese and Indian Malaysians who are described as immigrants or birds of passage. Therefore, the NGOs want the novel withdrawn from being part of the Malay literature syllabus that fifth formers in the arts stream are encouraged to offer.

It is difficult to talk about the novel when one has not read it. A check at popular book stores earlier this week revealed that copies had not yet arrived which was surprising because the school year was set to begin and adequate stocks of texts should have been requisitioned and kept. 

Whether this apparently was not done because of the controversy that started to flare last week, with the implied threat that the novel could be withdrawn from the syllabus of SPM-sitting students, could not be confirmed.

In the event, 'Interlok' is set to become a literary work whose sales - if the book is not withdrawn - are expected to soar, not just from purchases by examination-sitting students but also from people who are naturally drawn to find out what the hubbub is all about; nothing like the lure of the illicit to stimulate the tastes of the curious. 

Contributions unappreciated

The book's critics among Indian Malaysians are, no doubt, prompted by the long burgeoning sense of alienation among sections of the community, stemming from its slumping economic prospects and the feeling that its contributions to national development are not properly valued.

There is the feeling among the community that it has contributed to nation building in ways that require a lot of hard work which because it is unseen, is under appreciated.

Somebody the other day pointed out that the three best football coaches in Malaysia are Indians – K Rajagopal (left), who coached the national team to an unprecedented Asean Cup triumph; B Sathianathan, who led soccer-mad Kelantan to once again tilt at national football prominence; and K Devan, who coached Negeri Sembilan and Selangor to national excellence.

The fact that football is these days almost exclusively played by Malays only serves to underscore the Indian Malaysian feeling that, not just in sport, their labour is what sets the stage for the euphoria of others.

Just to emphasise the point, some years back, Malaysia's soccer achiever of the moment, Rajagopal, coached Selangor to domestic honours. The following season he had to make way for a Malay coach for Selangor. 

Kelantan, at that time an underachieving team, reacted by hiring Rajagopal who went on to pull them out of the doldrums in an exhilarating run that had the football-passionate Kelantanese hailing the coach as a favourite son.

A self-defeating step

The episode underlined the Indian Malaysian sense of alienation stemming from underappreciated merit. 

The reaction to 'Interlok' must be seen against the background of how these 'realities' resonate among Indian Malaysians: Indian Malaysians feel they are trapped in the cleavages of a national social engineering scheme whose rules are rigged against their upward mobility.

But sections of the community, by reacting in ways such as calling for the banning of a seemingly risqué literary work, are unwittingly helping to forge the manacles by which the negative effects of this engineering scheme cascade through Malaysian society.

Malay literary society is capable of rising above parochial concerns to give effect to the witness and moral assignment of literary creation which can only endure by transcending sectarian barriers. One recalls poems of the late national laureate Usman Awang as testimony to this fact.

The Indian Malaysian NGOs that threatened to go on a book burning road show should desist from what would ultimately be a self-defeating step.

Instead it should encourage Indian Malaysian writers in Bahasa Malaysia – there are some promising ones out there – to write the great Malaysian novel by simply concentrating on an enduring theme which is the human heart in conflict with itself.

That theme, by its very nature, would transcend the downward pulls of the parochial and is certain not to leave readers unaffected by that which is most disaffection-causing to Indian Malaysia: unrequited labour.

TERENCE NETTO has been a journalist for close on four decades. He likes the occupation because it puts him in contact with the eminent without being under the necessity to admire them. It is the ideal profession for a temperament that finds power fascinating and its exercise abhorrent.

Indian anger mounts over Interlok

KUALA LUMPUR: The Tamil Foundation has given the Education Ministry an ultimatum: withdraw the controversial SPM literature text Interlok or face nationwide street demonstrations.

It also urged Indians who are ministers, deputy ministers, MPs and senators to quit their positions to express their anger.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Tamil Foundation president K Uthayasurian complained that the Education Ministry had been unresponsive to calls for the withdrawal of the novel, which is compulsory reading for Malay literature students in Form Five.

Interlok, published in 1971, was written by national laureate Abdullah Hussain. It is about
the daily struggles of the Malays, Chinese and Indians in pre-independence Malaya. Many Indian groups have said they found it offensive because it contains derogatory references to the community.

Uthayasurian said students who read the book would have a negative perception of Indians.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin should read it before talking about 1Malaysia, he added. Muhyiddin is also the Education Minister.

A Vaithiyalingam, a former Hindhu Sangam president, also spoke at the press conference. He said the Indian community was disappointed with the Education Ministry for allowing the book to be used.

He noted that it refers to Indians as “black people” and “pariah” and claimed that some passages give the impression that Indians are dirty and make irresponsible husbands.

MIC Youth has also called for the book’s withdrawal. Its leader, T Mohan, said in a press statement that its inclusion in the literature list could be part of a hidden agenda to rewrite Malaysian history.
Mohan also said the book could undo the 1Malaysia campaign.

Groups threaten to burn 'Interlok' books

(Malaysiakini) A coalition of ethnic Indian NGOs have threatened to burn copies of 'Interlok', a literature book used in secondary schools, if the Education Ministry does not withdraw it. 

Coalition leader A Vaithilingam said that the book burning will be held during rallies in various parts of Malaysia should the ministry fail to heed the coalition's demand within one week. 

“If this book is not withdrawn, we will take drastic measures, we will run a road-show around Malaysia and we will burn the books,” he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today. 

The coalition is upset because of the way the book portrays the Indian Malaysian community, in particular the men's treatment of their spouses. 

Vaithilingam adds that the book also instills the idea among schoolchildren that the Indian and Chinese communities are 'pendatang (immigrants)'.

“It (the book) had made us look bad... it is degrading that we are labeled as paria, that we are poor struggling families and that we are immigrants,” he said.

Vaithilingam said that the book, meant for upper secondary students, would be implanting the wrong view of society among schoolchildren.

“If it is fiction, then it's fine... But making it seem real and to make it a literature book for the children to learn? This is not the way,” he said.

Does not reflect 1Malaysia

Vaithilingam also urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his deputy Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the education minister, to read the book before making any comments. 

Vaithilingam added that that the book does not reflect Najib's 1Malaysia concept.

Vaithilingam also said the main contention with the book was not the word ' pariah' itself but because of the Indian stereotypes contained in the book. 

“It (Interlok) implies that all Malaysian Indians are off the lowest caste, which is the 'pariah'. But that is clearly not true. So are all Indians 'pariah' just because our ancestors are from mainland?” he asked. 

He urged the ministry to vigilantly scrutinise all required reading materials for schools, adding that he was surprised that the book was published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, the national language authority. 

“It is vital to know how the writer gets it's information and how true it really is...before this, there were several books written by various writers about Indians coming here and the information was true, so there was no issues. But this (Interlok) is pure lies.

“If we, the country, wants division amongst the races as the main agenda, then by all means, don't withdraw this book”, he said.

Thus far, the education ministry claims that it will continue to gather feedback from the Indian community before deciding on the fate of the book.

Anwar Ibrahim must open Sivan temple within one week and not use his Indian mandores to make excuses for closing down this ancient temple.

(see The Star 31/12/10 at page N4)

HRP coming out with election manifesto

GEORGE TOWN: Human Rights Party (HRP) is finalising a 15-point election manifesto to face a possible snap general election this year.

The manifesto, among other things, will demand a minimum monthly wage of RM1,300 for all local workers.

HRP secretary-general P Uthayakumar said the demand for minimum wage was not unreasonable given that even unskilled foreigners were earning more than RM1,300 per month in the country.

“A local worker cannot sustain a reasonably comfortable living standard under the current rapidly escalating cost of living.

“Our minimum wage demand is conservative,” Uthayakumar, a former ISA detainee, told FMT today.

The manifesto will also demand a round-the-clock social security (Socso) coverage for all contributing workers.

Currently, Socso only covers injuries or deaths that occurred to workers during working hours and when travelling between their homes and working places.

Uthayakumar said that Sosco was a poor man’s insurance policy and the workers regularly contributed to the scheme from their hard-earned monthly income.

“Hence, its coverage should be 24, not limited, hours,” he added.

Pension scheme

HRP will also demand that Socso policy include a pension scheme for all workers in the private sector, similar to the one enjoyed by ethnic Malay-dominated public sector.

Uthayakumar said that Socso should pay half of the last drawn monthly salary as a monthly pension to retired workers.

HRP also wants the Socso pension benefits to be extended to the widow or children under 21 of any deceased retirees.

“Socso shall be another retirement scheme, apart from the EPF (Employees Provident Fund), for local workers,” he said.

HRP believes that by expanding the coverage and benefits of Socso policy, private sector workers would not lose out due to the government privatisation policy on public enterprises.

Uthayakumar said the manifesto would demand the government convert the loans given out by the National Tertiary Education Fund Corporation into scholarships for all deserving students irrespective of their ethnic or religious backgrounds.

HRP will also demand a gazetted area to build places of worship for any religious ethnic community that has a minimum of 500 people residing in a particular residential area.

“HRP believes that each ethnic community has equal rights to co-exist and practise their respective religious beliefs.

“The government is duty-bound to legalise this right,” Uthayakumar said.

Candidates shorlisted

HRP has formed an eight-man election manifesto committee chaired by a ne Dr S Paraman to formulate and finalise the manifesto.

The manifesto will be unveiled officially after its central executive meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 22.

HRP predicts that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will call for only a snap parliamentary election, not state polls, within the next five months.

The party has already shortlisted candidates for 15 parliamentary seats that it planned to contest in the polls.

The seats are Padang Serai, Sungai Siput, Alor Gajah, Lembah Pantai, Batu Kawan, Ipoh Barat, Teluk Kemang, Rasah, Kota Raja, Cameron Highlands, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Klang, Bagan Datoh and Tebrau.

Uthayakumar urged Pakatan Rakyat to pave the way for his party candidates to face BN in straight fights in its designated federal seats.

Given that Umno and BN were the common enemies, he said it was inevitable for BN opponents to combine forces, and pool and mobilise their resources together to face the next general election.

He pointed out that no governments in the world, except in Malaysia, Singapore, communist China and military-ruled Myanmar, have survived for over half a century.

HRP has already sent letters dated Dec 19 to Pakatan leaders Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Abdul Hadi Awang, offering an olive branch of cooperation in the next election.

But Pakatan leaders have not responded to it.

“People want change. I am sure Pakatan would not want to let slip the golden chance to displace Umno and BN.

“But if Pakatan refuses cooperation, we will contest on our own… there will be no more free lunches from us,” said Uthayakumar.

Even road to 80 year old Hindu cemetery in PKR ruled Kajang closed up (ethnically cleansed) by Selangor government.

HINDRAF & HRP wishing all a Happy 2011 New Year. “Rights not Mercy”!

HINDRAF & HRP wishing all a Happy 2011 New Year.
“Rights not Mercy”

HRPs’ Top Ten Newsmakers for the year 2010

1) Chakaraguna who torched himself to death to stop PKR Selangor demolishing Puchong hindu temple.

Chakaraguna, who set himself ablaze in a bid to stop a temple store demolition in Pusat Bandar Puchong on Nov 8, died in Hospital Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday.
M. Chakragunasegaran,52, who suffered severe burns to his body and face, died at 9.15am after 22 days in hospital. He leaves behind a wife and five children.
http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/11/30/man-who-torched-himself-over-puchong-temple-store-demolition-dies/

2) Hindraf joins forces with indigenous group at House of Common in London
Joe Fernandez & Chen Yi Ling  (Malaysiakini)
It was a historic first in London on Tuesday when Hindraf joined forces with an indigenous group from Sabah
Continue Reading »
http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/03/11/hindraf-joins-forces-with-indigenous-group-in-london/

3) Uthayakumar’s address in Pravasi Bharathiya Divas Meeting & distribute to some 2,000 worldwide Indian Diospara  The Malaysian Indian Minority & Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2009

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.  Contineu reading:-
http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/01/09/puthayakumars-address-in-pravasi-bharathiya-divas-meeting/
http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/01/09/the-malaysian-indian-minority-human-rights-violations-annual-report-2009/

4) 1st Hindraf National Convention demands ‘rights not mercy’, from UMNO led Malay-sian government.

1st Hindraf National Convention demands ‘rights not mercy’, from UMNO led Malay-sian government.
K.L 8/8/2010. Hindraf creates another major history yet again after the 25th November
Continue Reading »
http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/08/09/1st-hindraf-national-convention-demands-rights-not-mercy-from-umno-led-malay-sian-government/

5) Historic Buntong – First Indian majority seat. HRP on road to Project 15/38.

HRP will otherwise be at PKR, DAP and PAS’ mercy if no Project 15/38. (See The Star 10/8/10 at page N6)
The 1st Hindraf National Convention
Continue Reading »
http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/08/10/historic-buntong-first-indian-majority-seat-hrp-on-road-to-project-1538-hrp-will-otherwise-be-at-pkr-dap-and-pas-mercy-and-mandores-if-no-project-1538/
6) Indian stateless elimination campaign at HRP Penang HQ. JPN officers will be present on 26/9/2010
Today was the happiest moment of some stateless people as clearly seen in the photograph above and these people have every reason to be so. Their applications for a birth certificate which was supposedly issued to them when they were born in this soil were systematically denied by the authorities but however with the interference and guidance of HRP Penang they were successful in submitting their application to the JPN at Bandar Baru Perda on this day.
http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/09/26/hrp-all-smiles-on-stateless-people/

7) HINDRAF 18 Point Demands dated 12/8/2007 not fulfilled by UMNO prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

52nd year Merdeka (Independence) demands by the two (2) million ethnic minority Indians in Malaysia to Y.A.B. Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak Prime Minister
Continue Reading »
http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/11/26/hindraf-18-point-demand/


8 ) Complaint to U.N on 2, 237 top Indian students denied higher education in Malaysia

  RE: HRP Memorandum ON:-

 (1)      An estimated 2,237 top and high achieving Indian students have been segregated and denied JPA scholarships, PTPTN loans, Matriculation and University seats.

(2) Indian students in Public Universities systematically reduced from 28% to 0.27% in 40 years. Continue reading:-

http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/09/15/complaint-to-u-n-on-2-237-top-indian-students-denied-higher-education-in-malaysia/

 

9) Memo Freedom of Religion: Malaysian Police insults Sultan of Perak and attempted to assault HINDRAF leader

You can be forced into Islam when you are seven years old and there is NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT, there is no recourse for you – every body gangs up against you – the courts, the police, the administration, the politicians.
When some dare speak up against the injustice in all this, they are brutalized. Continue reading:–
http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/09/01/pdrm-insults-sultan-of-perak-and-attempted-to-assault-hindraf-leader/

10)  Last Indian village in KL, Bukit Jalil Estate including Hindu temple, cemetery and Tamil school to be “ethnically cleansed” to make way for Malay muslim cemetery.
UMNO’s DBKL Kuala Lumpur City Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Fuad Ismail cheated and lied to the poor Indian estate workers that their Tamil School,
Continue Reading »

http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2010/12/05/racist-umno%e2%80%99s-dbkl-draft-city-plan-2020-bukit-jalil-tamil-school-hindu-temple-cemetery-and-indian-villagesettlements-and-hundreds-others-to-be-%e2%80%9cethnically-cleansed%e2%80%9d-but-al/

Merry Christmas and happy new year to all our well wishers

HRP to Pakatan: Give us 15 parliamentary seats

Hindraf-Human Rights Party (HRP) has issued an ultimatum to Pakatan Rakyat to back out and allow the Indian-based party to take on BN in straight fights in 15 parliamentary seats and 38 state seats in the next general election.

In a letter sent today to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang and PAS president Hadi Awang, HRP pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar said that if Pakatan does not heed HRP's call, the opposition coalition will find itself in three-corner fights in the constituencies.

In return for giving way to HRP, pledging support and providing machinery assistance to HRP, Pakatan will get “unequivocal support and cooperation in all the other 207 parliamentary and 538 Pakatan state assembly constituencies” to win back the lot of ambivalent Indian voters.

“We have shown magnanimity in throwing our lot behind (Pakatan) in the 12th general election, now we ask you to return that favour.

“We hope Pakatan will not field candidates in these (constituencies) to become the spoiler and cause three-cornered fights against our common political enemy (Umno-BN),” he said in the letter.

Wanted: Ijok, Lembah Pantai, Padang Serai
Speaking at a press conference in HRP headquarters in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Uthayakumar said that the seats chosen had significant proportions of Indian voters and include seats currently held by Pakatan Rakyat such as Padang Serai in Kedah, Ipoh Barat in Perak, Kota Raja in Selangor and Lembah Pantai in Kuala Lumpur.

They are also eyeing Sungei Siput, Perak, currently held by socialist party PSM central committee Dr D Jeyakumar.

He added that 15 loyal Hindraf activists have been short-listed as candidates.

“They have been tried and tested, have been part of Hindraf since day one, won't jump ship to another party and are as strong as PAS candidates,” he said.

When asked why HRP chose not to back Pakatan candidates in these chosen constituencies, Uthayakumar said that this is because the issues faced by the Indian poor in these areas have not made their way to Parliament under the present MPs.

“Yesterday, in his tweet to Anwar, (Padang Serai PKR parliamentarian) N Gobalakrishnan said that Indian poor in Ijok are sharing drinking water with ducks, even though water is under the jurisdiction of the Selangor Pakatan government,” he said.

'We'll join Pakatan if…'

However, HRP does not rule out the possibility of contesting under the Pakatan banner if they fail to register themselves as a political party with the Registrar of Societies by the next general election.

“We have given all the documents required by ROS on Nov 25, but whether we are registered or not we will contest…the worst case scenario is that we will contest as independents.

“MIC is given at least nine parliament seats and 20 state assembly seats on a silver platter. Why can't we be allocated some, too?” he asked.

When asked if this means that HRP is interested in joining Pakatan, party advisor N Ganesan (in photo, next to Uthayakumar) said this will only happen if the coalition is willing to incorporate into their mission HRP's goal of getting the working class into the mainstream.

“The ball is now in (Pakatan's) court. In a one-on-one (contest), we stand a better chance of beating BN than Pakatan (in these constituencies),” he said.

Parliamentary seats that HRP demands is:

1. Padang Serai (Incumbent: PKR - N Gobalakrishnan)
2. Batu Kawan (DAP - Ramasamy)
3. Sungei Siput (PSM - Dr D Jeyakumar)
4. Ipoh Barat (DAP - N Kulasegaran)
5. Bagan Datoh (BN - Ahmad Zahid Hamidi)
6. Cameron Highlands (BN - SK Devamany)
7. Hulu Selangor (BN - P Kamalanathan)
8. Kuala Selangor (PAS - Dzulkefy Ahmad)
9. Klang (DAP - Charles Santiago)
10. Kota Raja (PAS - Siti Mariah Mahmud)
11. Rasah (DAP - Anthony Loke)
12. Teluk Kemang (PKR - Kamarul Baharin Abbas )
13. Alor Gajah (BN - Fong Chan Onn)
14. Tebrau (BN - Teng Boon Soon)
15. Lembah Pantai (PKR - Nurul Izzah Anwar)

Book lauch tonight

Tonight, Uthayakumar is also due to launch the second book that he wrote during his 514 days of detention under the Internal Security Act.

Entitled 'Nov 25 Hindraf Rally 2007', the 400-page book is his personal account of the events leading up to the historic rally that saw some 30,000 people take to the streets protesting discrimination against ethnic Indians, and his experiences under the ISA.

HRP has since built a 'replica' of Uthayakumar's Kamunting cell at its headquarters as a memorial, including a dummy of the lawyer dressed in his prison uniform.

“This book tells you the story of Hindraf. We have printed 1,000 copies each in both (English and Tamil) and will print more depending on sales,” the author said.

Further slashing down on Malaysian Indian Doctors. Racist UMNO/BN orders five year stop on all medical courses locally and overseas.

(The Star Headlines 12/12/10)

UMNO started on this racist and religious extremist and supremacist policies led by the Secretary General of the Health Ministry Dato Dr.Ismail Merican who in 2002 onwards derecognized the world renowned Crimea State Medical University (CSMU) etc simply because hundreds of Malaysian Indian students were studying there and elsewhere in Ukraine and Russia.

And today the final clamp down on the 12 local private medical schools and 50 overseas. But UMNO would never agree to a Common Exams for all local University and foreign medical students with foreign external examiners to produce the best doctors. Why not? The UMNO fear factor?

This is the very same methodology UMNO used to “ethnically cleanse” Kill, stop and hamper thousands of Malaysian Indian students from becoming lawyers through the racially motivated CLP exams. Why not all Malaysian students including from all local Universities sit for this CLP exams also with foreign external examiners.

A medical lecturer who declined to be named said that the criteria of the qualifying examination should be made known in advance so that students know what was required of them.

Highlighting the case of a top student from a Ukrainian university who failed the exam, the lecturer said that the different methods of training was an obstacle too big for some.“No matter how diligent and conscientious students are, the chances of them passing the exam seem next to impossible, he said. (The Star 12/12/10 at page E13).

Welcome to UMNO Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malay-sia and Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Hadi Awang all not questioning this UMNO racism and religious extremism simply because almost all the victims are the Indian poor (wanting a better life for their children by even spending their lifelong savings, EPF, gratuity selling their houses and land and life savings.

HRP’s Project 15/38 is the only way forward.

Would you still vote for UMNO/BN?

Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice

Ethnic dominance in the Malaysian civil service

 

By Dr Lim Teck Ghee and Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam

This was written as a commentary in response to an article by Datuk Shagul Hamid Abdullah, Director-General of Biro…

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By Dr Lim Teck Ghee and Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam

This was written as a commentary in response to an article by Datuk Shagul Hamid Abdullah, Director-General of Biro Tatanegara that recently appeared in a national daily.

Since the paper has declined to publish it, we are making the commentary available to other media outlets in the hope that it will be widely read and the subject of the racial composition of the Malaysian civil service is given the serious analysis and policy attention that it deserves.We consider this issue of paramount importance to our future as a united country.

The article ‘Emphasis on raising standards’ by Shagul in The Star (Jan 30, 2010) seems to be aimed at ensuring that the situation of Malay dominance in the civil service should remain unchanged and unchallenged.

The Director-General’s analysis fails to point out some very important reasons why a representative and multi-racial civil service should remain a key national priority, especially in the context of building 1Malaysia.

One crucial reason is that the second prong of the New Economic Policy (from 1970) – the reduction in the identification of economic function with ethnicity – was intended to apply to both the private and public sectors.This second prong has been deemed to be so vital to the cause of national unity that the restructuring of the private sector continues until today (nearly 20 years after the NEP was supposed to have ended in 1990).

What has happened to the restructuring of the civil service that was part of the original NEP?

Although great strides have taken place towards a more multiracial private sector, the reverse has happened in the civil service.

According to available statistics for the year 2005, the proportion of Malays in the civil service had grown from 60% to 77% from 1970 to 2005 whilst the Perkhidmatan Tadbir dan Diplomatik (PTD) had 85% Malays in its staffing, or six Malays for one every non-Malay.

The situation of Malay dominance of the civil service, especially for the higher level service groups, is likely to have been enhanced since.

It is not simply the issue of Chinese under-representation mentioned by the DG that is of concern. Representation of other communities and the East Malaysia native communities in the civil service at all levels is of as much concern.

Data absent

Official statistics such as racial and regional breakdown of civil service staffing by ministries, agencies and departments and categorized according to top management group, management and professional group and support group and other key variables can provide us a better understanding of the representational issue. From it we can draw related racial, regional and other ramifications and implications.

Though easy to collate, analyze and make publicly available, these data are conspicuously unavailable.

Many government leaders have acknowledged that we need more transparency in government to raise public confidence. Should these data and the relevant analysis be made publicly available, we are confident that they will agree with the concerns of many Malaysians that current Malay over-dominance of the civil service is unhealthy and undesirable and that it adversely affects national unity, social cohesion and economic competitiveness.

Another important reason why the civil service in Malaysia needs to be made fully representative of the country’s racial make-up is that in all modern governments, civil servants are fully engaged in formulating and implementing public policies on behalf of, and in the interests of, all the communities.

Democratic norms call for a representative, impartial and neutral bureaucracy, not only to ensure that public policies are responsive to the legitimate needs of all citizens in a fair and equitable fashion but also to ensure that there is an absence of racial bias in the individual or collective manner that the civil servants formulate policies and conduct their work.

In February 2006, a study titled “Towards a representative and world class civil service”was presented to the Government as part of the Centre for Public Policy Studies (CPPS) proposals for the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

The study contained a full set of arguments as to why the civil service needs to pursue an appropriate and racially diverse representation policy in its staffing.

It also provided practical suggestions on how this policy could be implemented in the form of a quota system in recruitment and career advancement. The quota system would be similar to the quota systems long used by the government in sectors such as education and commerce to bring about Malay advancement.

The civil service quota system – in this case specifically used as a temporary affirmative action tool to increase non-Malay numbers and reduce marginalization – could be formulated in such a way as to meet with the constitutional provisions providing for the special position of the Malays and bumiputera groups of Sabah and Sarawak.

This 60-40 recruitment system would be relatively easy and painless to implement.It would ensure Malay dominance but not over-dominance by helping bring a gradual increase in the number and proportion of non-Malay civil servants in the country.

Since that CPPS study aforementioned, the growing number of racial profiling allegations aimed at the police and various other ministries and agencies is a clear danger sign that changes in recruitment of new staffing and racial composition at the higher levels are urgently needed if these allegations are not to spiral out of control.

Sidelining non-Malays

The Director-General has emphasized that “there has never been any deliberate and conscious effort to discourage the non-Malays from entering and staying in public service”.

The veracity of this statement can be questioned.

If a full and open inquiry is held on the issue of whether or not bias exists in terms of recruitment and promotion in the civil service (and this includes staffing in the public universities and many strategic ministries and agencies), we are sure that many conflicting views – including those based on personal experience – are likely to dominate the proceedings.

Even if we accept as largely true the statement that there are no “deliberate and conscious” attempts to discourage non-Malay participation in the civil service, it does not absolve the government from its responsibility of ensuring a fully representative civil service – a national objective which it has long pledged to pursue but has cynically ignored instead.

In fact, if only a miniscule fraction of the public resources that has gone into the restructuring of the private sector had been allocated towards the restructuring of the civil service, we would have long ago achieved that goal and arrived at a higher stage of national unity, resilience and competitiveness.

Instead what we have had is a lot of rhetoric, foot dragging, attempts to ‘blame the other side’, and now another garbled attempt at explaining why the status quo in terms of the civil service composition has to remain the same.

That is why the contrasting statement by the Second Minister of Finance, Ahmad Husni Mohd Hanadzlah, that the civil service should be more multiracial is most welcome.

In order to fulfill this noble aspiration, we hope that Husni and his colleagues in the Barisan Nasional will support the introduction of a quota system reflective of the country’s racial composition and for the system to be introduced as soon as possible for all civil service recruitment and promotion.

It is important for the Government to change its mindset on the issue and not to view the issue of a representative civil service in zero-sum game terms.It is not simply the interests of the non-Malay communities presently under-represented that would be enhanced with more equitable representation. Malay interests would also benefit in many ways.

Implementation of reforms providing for the recruitment and career advancement of non-Malays in the civil service will help ensure that national unity and the goal of 1Malaysia will be more quickly realized.

Dr Lim Teck Ghee is Director, Center for Policy Initiatives and Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam is former President, Transparency International Malaysia.

Juvenile Mugelen (14) sent to jail for in accidentally touching another young Malay girl in swimming pool. Cannot afford RM1,700.00 bail, so put in UMNO jail.

Juvenile Mugelen (14) sent to jail for in accidentally touching another young Malay girl in swimming pool. Cannot afford RM1,700.00 bail, so put in jail.

And cannot afford a lawyer…

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Juvenile Mugelen (14) sent to jail for in accidentally touching another young Malay girl in swimming pool. Cannot afford RM1,700.00 bail, so put in jail.

And cannot afford a lawyer so forced to plead guilty. This predicament happens to scores of thousands of the Indian poor, not necessarily because they are guilty but simply because they cannot afford the bail and have no money to pay lawyers. So they go to jail. UMNO/BN denies them the Legal Aid. And it is from prison that they may actually learn and become the real criminals.

“Rights not Mercy”

S.JAYATHAS

Information Chief