Urgent Request to Government of Malaysia on the Crackdown and possible violence by United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) sponsored underworld “3 Line”, Pekida and Extremist Perkasa on Human Rights Advocates
Dear Sir/Madam,
I write to you with the utmost urgency for your attention on the above matter.
HINDRAF is a Human Rights organisation that advocates the rights of the marginalized Indian community in Malaysia. Although the Government of Malaysia has banned this movement without well-founded reasons, it has continued to organise various activities affecting human rights issues nationwide and as of late 2007, the movement has been operating from London.
Recently, the Malaysian government took a decision to approve the use of a novel entitled “Interlok” as part of compulsory curriculum material for 5th Form pupils in selected areas in Malaysia but the ethnic Indian community and HINDRAF take exception to the use of the novel because it contains racially insensitive, degrading, humiliating, and disrespectful use of adjectives that is extreme racist nature and on behalf of the Indian community HINDRAF has called for a total ban of the novel. The government has chosen to ignore our compliant but insist that the material will go into circulation once amendments to the material are passed sometime next month.
In response to the recalcitrant attitude of the government, HINDRAF passed a motion to stage a Solidarity March against Racism on 27th February 2011 and in furtherance to the said event, we also organised various road shows, forums, car drive campaigns and such like at national level. We have managed to amass a total of more than 200 Hindraf Human Rights campaigners to carry out grassroots campaigns including distribution of posters and fliers regarding our intention.
However since 10th February 2011, the Government began a crackdown on HINDRAF Human Rights campaigners using harassment, threat of violence, arbitrary arrests and detentions, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment including the demand that female activists remove their Orange Hindraf T-Shirts in public.
On 13th March 2011, a total of 59 Hindraf leaders and volunteers were arrested nationwide for taking part in an Anti Racism (car drive campaign). Police subjected one volunteer to inhumane ill treatment by placing him in a dark room for almost 19 out of 26 hours he was under arrest and detention. More than 120 other volunteers were prevented from continuing their campaigns nationwide.
The Police harassment continued from 13th February with:
a) Intimidation used against venue owners for allowing us to use their halls to conduct our forums;
b) Threatening venue owners with arbitrary arrest;
c) Threatening HINDRAF volunteers with arrests if they were to continue with forum discussions nationwide;
d) Placing HINDRAF volunteers under surveillance and making unannounced visits to their work places to intimidate and put pressure on employers to terminate HINDRAF volunteers from their jobs;
e) Road blocks at strategic points leading to venues of our nationwide forums thus preventing these forums from taking place.
f) Using the Police Federal Reserve Units (PFRU) in full riot gear to carry out a “baton charge” at a function Hall in Penang thus endangering the safety and security of vulnerable individuals such as the elderly, women and children at the anti racism forums.
g) Further arrests of 16 Hindraf leaders and volunteers also took place on 20th February 2011.
The Government of Malaysia is fearful that our road shows and ground campaigns over the last 3 weeks is likely to draw a large crowd for the Solidarity March on 27th February and is thus threatening us with the possible arrests under the draconian Internal security Act which may be a repeat of similar arrests which took place in 2007.
Despite the threats from the Government, we are undeterred as we are committed in our pursuit to continue with our peaceful Solidarity March scheduled on 27th February 2011. We have made an application for a Police permit; although we do not require one under the Federal Constitution, which guarantees Freedom of speech and assembly. We however anticipate that it is very unlikely that the Police would approve our requests for Police permits.
The March on 27th February 2011 would begin at KLCC and terminate at the Jalan Dang Wangi Police Station where more than 1000 people would lodge reports against the current Government which has been ruling for 54 years and its Primer Minister for practising Institutionalised racism in Malaysia.
We write to urge you to make an urgent representation to the Government of Malaysia to respect the citizens’ universal standards of Human rights, as well as the right to assemble and express feelings of discontentment and allow us to proceed with the March peacefully.
We fear the UMNO led Government would engage its agent provocateurs namely, the notorious 3 LINE and Pekida underworld gangs and its outsourced far right extremist wing such as the Perkasa to cause trouble on the said day.
We attach herewith our letters to the Inspector General of Police seeking his protection and co-operation (which thus far has been ignored) and a copy of the Memorandum of Complaint to the Human Rights Commission Malaysia, which is self-explanatory.
Your kind indulgence and urgent action is very much appreciated.
Thank you.
Yours faithfully
P.Waytha Moorthy
Chair
HINDRAF
+447502289313 (Mobile)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
+- 100 aktivist HINDRAF yang perjuang hak India miskin dituduh secara zalim di Mahkamah UMNO rasis. Bantuan segera untuk jamain dan guaman +- RM200ribu. Hulurkan bantuan ke akauntan Pathmarajah & Co Acc/no – 514075011112 (Maybank) Sebarkan. Friends of Hindraf 03-22825241, Bala 019-2166205/ 012-3766433.
Hindraf : Six more HRP members charged in Ipoh
(see Malaysiakini.com)
Six more Human Rights Party (HRP) members were charged in the Ipoh magistrate’s court today with participating in an illegal organisation.
The six are Perak HRP chief P Ramesh, vice-president S Nagroon, Taiping coordinator K Sivakumar, and three other members, R Mohan, S Jayakumar and V Lingam.
They are alleged to have committed the offence under Section 43 of the Societies Act 1996 while partipating in an HRP-organised convoy at Jelapang, Ipoh on Feb 13.
The six accused were represented by lawyer Augustine Anthony.
Yesterday, five HRP leaders and members were also charged with the same offence at the Selayang magistrate’s court, but they refused to post bail set at RM2,500.
The five are HRP vice-president K Tamil Selvam, information chief S Jayathas, K Navakrishna, T Periasamy and S Loshna Rau.
When contacted by Malaysiakini, HRP secretary-general P Uthayakumar said that all the six charged in Ipoh were released on RM2,000 bail each.
Uthayakumar (left) further said that he was disappointed with the arrests and charges against HRP members.He claimed that at 6.30am this morning, several police officers were waiting outside Lingam’s house in Ipoh. “This is a form of intimidation and harassment by them (the police),” he claimed.
Uthayakumar also mentioned that lawyers’ fees and bail charges are being paid from the HRP’s funds.
“We received contributions of close to RM100,000 from members of the public who supported the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), back in 2007. So we will be using those funds to clear up these bills,” he added.
On Feb 13, 59 HRP members and supporters in Selangor, Perak and Kuala Lumpur were arrested as police came down hard on their nationwide convoys to protest against the novel ‘Interlok‘, which is used in secondary schools.
A controversy arose following the ministry’s decision to use the novel, written by national laureate Abdullah Hussein, as a literature textbook, with several parties claiming that it contains words deemed sensitive to the Indian community.
Indian NGOs decry the book’s description of Indians in Malaysia as being from the lower caste, among other racial stereotypes.
Bully victim: Cops ignoring report
A polytechnic student claims that five classmates nearly circumcised him by force.
KUALA LUMPUR: Five bullies held down one of their classmates and threatened to circumcise him, but police have refused to act on a report of the incident, according to the alleged victim.R Rajiv Singham, a 20-year-old student at Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah (PSAS) in Behrang, Perak, said Special Branch officers interviewed him and his mother and one of them advised the latter to forgive the five, saying he did not want the issue to turn racial.
Rajiv’s mother, R Sharimala, said she had since found out that the father of one of the assailants is a police officer in Bukit Aman.
The mother and son, who live in Pantai Dalam, spoke about the issue today in an interview with FMT.
Here is their story:
On the night of Feb 24, Rajiv went to a room occupied by a classmate named Hairil for help to complete his assignment. Another classmate, Fizrin, was already there. Shortly afterwards, three others—classmates Nazrul Faiz and Asyraf and “another guy”—entered the room.
Asyraf started a conversation about circumcision and soon started shouting “Sunat, sunat.” (“Sunat” is Malay for “circumcise”.)
One of the boys pressed down Rajiv’s thighs and another held his arms. Another boy produced a pair of scissors and tried to remove his track bottoms. Nazrul made a video recording of the entire episode.
They released him after about five minutes of struggle. Nazrul then played the video recording and threatened to post it on Facebook.
(It was not clear what they wanted from Rajiv, but Sharimala told FMT: “I believe that they were going to sodomise my son.”)
The following day, Rajiv’s class monitor, Iman, told him that he had seen the video. Rajiv then decided to lodge a report with principal Izatul Marini.
Izatul told Rajiv the polytechnic would take action after a discussion with the director of the polytechnic. She also said she wanted to discuss the matter with Rajiv’s family and advised him against lodging a police report.
The principal then held a meeting with Rajiv and three of the bullies. Asyraf, Hairil and Nazrul gave their statements to the principal. The video recording was found in Hairil’s computer. The principal made a copy to keep as evidence.
No action by school
Sharimala lodged a police report at the Brickfields police station on the night of Feb 25, and Asyraf, Hairil and Nazrul were arrested the following day.
One Inspector Teynmoli from the Slim River police station subsequently called her and said the police report against the five should be withdrawn.
Mother and son then went to Slim River, where he told police officers that he was also bullied in the first and second weeks of February.
In Slim River, Special Branch officers interviewed the two separately. Officer Manimaran interviewed Rajiv and Officer Ishak interviewed his mother.
“Ishak told me to forgive the five so I asked whether it was because they were Malays,” Sharimala told FMT.
She said the police officer told her he did not want the issue to become a racial problem. She declined to withdraw the report.
Sharimala also said she subsequently met the PSAS principal and several teachers but was told that the polytechnic could not take any action because a police report had been lodged.
[Image used is a file photo]
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Reports lodged against racist HM
The controversy over the novel Interlok may be rekindled after a headmaster used a derogatory word during school assembly.
NIBONG TEBAL: The controversy over national laureate Abdullah Hussain’s Interlok novel is not over yet.A school headmaster here has sparked a fresh public row over the demeaning word “pariah”.
SMK Tunku Abdul Rahman headmaster Ng Tong Koang, 56, has allegedly used the word to tick off parents of the schoolchildren for making a prohibited “U-Turn” at a nearby traffic light.
Ng has allegedly used the word during a morning school general assembly yesterday.
Two reports have been lodged against Ng over the past two days at the Nibong Tebal police station.
One was lodged by state MIC Youth chief J Dhinagaran yesterday morning and the other by Hindraf Makkal Sakti’s Nibong Tebal deputy chief P Murugan.
Murugan claimed Ng had told the students at the assembly that their parents were recalcitrant for flouting traffic rules by making prohibited dangerous U-Turns at a traffic light junction just outside the school.
Ng allegedly told the students that making “illegal U-Turns” were dangerous, especially when schoolchildren are crossing the road.
“I have been telling your parents not to make the illegal U-Turns. Why are your parents not listening?
“Are your parents pariahs?” he allegedly asked to the stunned children at the assembly.
Ng’s alleged use of the word “pariah” word angered Indians in the neighbourhood as the news spread via whispering campaigns and mobile text messages.
State-sponsored racism
Accompanied by several local Hindraf activists, Murugan also submitted a copy of his police report to the Seberang Perai Selatan district education office in Jawi.He wants the district education officer to take stern action against Ng.
He also called on the state education department to issue a circular to all schools in the state to avoid repeat of such incidents.
Murugan said that Ng’s utterance of the derogatory word was a direct result of the introduction of Interlok novel in schools.
Hence, he said that Hindraf’s anti-racism campaign was crucial to halt further polarisation of Malaysians along racial lines.
“The state-sponsored racism has definitely spread to the schools.
“As a headmaster, Ng should have realised that the word would stir racial sentiments,” said Murugan.
When contacted, Dhinagaran told FMT that Ng has admitted to uttering the word at the assembly and apologised to him and his party colleagues at the school office yesterday afternoon.
“We have expressed our aversion to him and he was apologetic. He said he did not mean to insult Indians or any other communities.
“He only wanted to use a strong word to scold the stubborn parents,” said Dhinagaran.
Ng was unavailable when contacted for comment.
Similarly, attempts to contact the district education officer were futile as the office line was always busy.
Folly to ignore the cry for justice
The rally organised by Hindraf appears as a last resort to get the government to treat the Indian community with respect.
COMMENT
(Free Malaysia Today) When Malay-rights group Perkasa keeps making racist remarks, does it translate to all Malays’ being racist? If not, then what made the Barisan Nasional (BN) government think that all Indians out on the streets of Kuala Lumpur on Sunday were “criminals”, all because Hindraf decided to hold a rally?The police in their bid to halt the rally to protest Umno’s racial discrimination, turned up at Human Rights Party (HRP) leader P Uthayakumar’s residence, handcuffing and taking him in for questioning.
On what grounds did the police handcuff Uthayakumar? Is he a criminal just because he organised a rally without police permit? If he is, then equally guilty are the people who demonstrated when the non-Malays complain about the loud call for prayer made by mosques.
Just as guilty are those Malays who cold-bloodedly severed a cow’s head, spit and stomp on it. And the biggest cuplrit would then be Perkasa whose founder Ibrahim Ali keeps threatening non-Malays to shut up and not question Malay rights.
Have the police taken any action against them? No and it seems the police never will.
The “Solidarity Against Umno’s Racism” march, organised by two ethnic Indian groups, the Hindu Rights Action Force and Huma Rights Party at Kuala Lumpur on Feb 27 was to protest against the government’s decision to ignore the Indian community’s strong objections over the disparaging contents in the novel “Interlok” which is a compulsory reading material for Form Five students.
On Feb 24, the Dang Wangi police rejected a formal request made by W Sambulingam, national coordinator of Hindraf, to hold the rally.
Granted that such rallies cause great inconvenience to the public and temporarily paralyse the city’s activities but what prompted it in the first place?
To keep warning the people to stay away from such rallies and not challenge the police authority is nothing but an act of bully. Is it a coincidence or deliberate move to target the Indians all because they are unhappy over the discrimination they have been putting up with? The move by the police to nab any Indian found walking on the streets of Kuala Lumpur to teach all Indians a lessons is not going to place Umno in the good books of this community.
When national laureate Abdullah Hussain goes and portrays the Chinese and Indians in a degrading manner in his book Interlok, what should be done to avoid racial conflict? Would it not be best that such a reading material be withdrawn due to its contentious nature? Instead, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also education minister, showed no empathy and decided Interlok would remain as a reading material for students but with alterations.
Rallies a last resort
But then Muhyiddin’s reaction was not a surprise since it was he who proudly claimed that he is “Malay first” and then a Malaysian.
Life always presents us with options and in Hindraf’s case, it could have decided to not go ahead with its rallies. But it did. Why? Is the purpose solely to gain political mileage? Looking at the state-of-affairs affecting the Indians, the rallies appear as a last resort to get the government to “wake up” and treat the Indian community with respect.
Yes, the rallies pose a headache to the lay person but then this seems the only way to get the “powers that be” to sit up and realise their folly. Also, unlike the cow head carried by Muslim protesters, Hindraf demonstrators did no such thing – all they ask is for their grouses to be heard and addressed in a fair manner.
How would the Indians have felt when former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed that this country belongs to the Malays by virtue of it once being called “Tanah Melayu”?
The country achieved independence 53 years ago but racial discord among people of different faiths is still going strong. Why?
The nation’s oil and gas company, Petronas, takes great pride in splashing money to build mosques throughout the country. But for the non-Malays, they have to work hard at getting funds to construct their places of worship. Why this discrimination?
When issues concerning Malay rights assured under Article 153 of the Federal Constitution are raised, the Malays are quick to threaten the non-Malays, to the point of willing to kill those who question privileges enjoyed by the Malays. Is there no decent way to react apart from threats of bloodshed?
It is no exaggeration to say that the plight of the Indian community has long been ignored. It is bad enough that the MIC failed to champion the welfare of the Indians, resulting in entities like Hindraf taking shape. Why did MIC not protect the rights of the Indians and what was holding MIC back from doing so?
These days you hardly get to see an Indian face at government departments. All the top government posts are occupied by the Malays. Whatever happened to the non-Malays? Because of the discrimination and no prospect for promotion, non-Malays have moved to work in the private sector where they do get some recogntion for their efforts.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s 1Malaysia concept is hardly of concern to the fast-food chains who lack non-Malay faces at their premises. And the fact that some Malays like the residents of Section 23 in Shah Alam who refused to let a Hindu temple take shape in their neigbourhood speaks volumes of the failure of 1Malaysia.
Dead in custody
There have been several cases of Indian men caught by the police ending up dead while in custody. Why is this happening and who is looking into this matter to ensure it does not happen again?Detainee A Kugan died in police custody and the policeman said to have physically abused him was declared a free man by the court. Why?
Malaysia’s refusal to allow the Hindraf rally to take place is an act of arrogance and disrespect. Even the call made by New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein to respect Malaysia’s international and legal obligations and allow Sunday’s Solidarity March Against Racism to proceed was ignored.
HRW’s deputy Asia director, Phil Robertson, said: “The Malaysian government’s opposition to peaceful marches results in three big losers: the rights to free expression, freedom of association and peaceful assembly.”
“The Malaysian government’s commitment to diversity and development is betrayed when it refuses to permit peaceful criticism of its policies and programmes.
“Banning this march makes a mockery of the principles the government pledged to uphold when it assumed its seat on the United Nation’s Human Rights Council,” Robertson said in press statement.
Hishammuddin had earlier said that Hindraf would not get a police permit to march.
“It is a banned movement… It doesn’t have locus standi to ask for a permit,” he said.
The government banned Hindraf after it staged a massive demonstration in Kuala Lumpur in 2007. Meanwhile, HRP has applied for registration and its application is still pending.
Post-2007, has the government become so insecure and afraid of the Indian community’s anger that it quickly started a crackdown on the HRP’s right to peaceful assembly?
Recruitment drive
On Feb 13, barely two weeks before the scheduled march, HRP initiated a grassroots information and recruitment drive in several states, dispatching convoys of cars loaded with activists wearing the group’s distinctive orange T-shirts and carrying posters, banners, and assorted promotional materials to various locales.
On Feb 13, barely two weeks before the scheduled march, HRP initiated a grassroots information and recruitment drive in several states, dispatching convoys of cars loaded with activists wearing the group’s distinctive orange T-shirts and carrying posters, banners, and assorted promotional materials to various locales.
Police, however, stopped the convoys at roadblocks and diverted participants to police stations, where many were detained.
The police arrested at least 59 people on various grounds. In one instance, participants were held for driving in a convoy without a permit. In other instances, police charged the activists with illegal assembly, interference with on-duty officers, obstructing traffic and moving in a large group in a busy area.
Some participants, held overnight, were offered their freedom if they gave up their orange T-shirts, but when it became clear they would not do so, they were released on bail.
On Feb 20, police in three locations broke up HRP forums designed to explain the group’s concerns about certain issues and to continue membership recruitment. The police claimed that permission to hold the forums had been denied.
HRP leaders were among some 59 arrested and eventually all were released on bail. In a further pre-emptive move, M Gobalakrishnan, the person named on fliers as the contact for further information in Hulu Selangor, was picked up at his home by six plainclothes officers and detained hours before the local meeting was to begin. Police also sealed off the forum site. Gobalakrishnan has since been released.
In November 2007, between 10,000 and 30,000 people participated in the first Hindraf-organised demonstration.
The then prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi reportedly said that Hindraf leaders undermined national security by threatening racial and religious harmony.
Following the protest, the government detained five Hindraf leaders under the Internal Security Act (ISA) and banned Hindraf.
Hisham & co in denial, says Hindraf
Adviser Ganesan says the movements anti-racism campaign is “very much alive”.
UPDATED
GEORGE TOWN: Hindraf Makkal Sakthi has castigated the Home Minister and other Barisan Nasional leaders for equating the foiling of Sunday’s protest march with the movement’s alleged loss of popularity.Hindraf advisor N Ganesan said the conclusion was ludicrous and reflected only BN’s wishful thinking.
BN leaders were in denial and should stop insulting the intelligence of ordinary Malaysians, he added.
“Popularity and support cannot be accurately adjudged by the size of the crowd,” he told FMT.
“Furthermore, it was the police dragnet that prevented the crowd from getting bigger.
“But Hindraf’s anti-racism campaign is very much alive.”
Ganesan was commenting on claims by several BN leaders, including Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, that Hindraf had lost support among Malaysian Indians.
They said this was the reason that police succeeded in preventing the march from KLCC.
Scores of Hindraf activists, including legal adviser P Uthayakumar, national coordinator W Sambulingam and Ganesan himself, were detained in a pre-demonstration police crackdown on Sunday morning.
Police also arrested Indian men and women found around KLCC.
“The real measurement of popularity is whether the people believe in Hindraf’s struggle,” Ganesan said.
Because of the police clampdown, he said, no one could now say for sure how many people actually turned up for the march.
Many protestors on their way to KLCC turned back after hearing that police had foiled the protest, he claimed.
Five activists charged today
The massive deployment of police against the protest exposed Umno’s fear of the movement, he said.“If we lack support, why should the Umno government initiate such a massive security operation to halt our peaceful march?”
But the crackdown had not dampened Hindraf’s fighting spirit, he said.
“Indeed, it is a morale booster for the movement to intensify its struggle to get the novel Interlok off the school shelves.”
He said Hindraf was not against the novel remaining in bookshops because it respected freedom of expression.
But, he stressed, the movement was against the book being in schools because it would further the cause of racists.
He described the book as “shallow”, and said it distorted historical and cultural facts and was a symbol of Umno racism.
He said Hindraf would continue to galvanise the people to rise and vote out the “racist Umno government”.
Meanwhile in another development, five Hindraf activists, including spokesman S Jayathas, were arrested in Kuala Lumpur today and were charged at the Selayang Sessions’ Court for being involved in a banned organisation – Hindraf – under Section 43 of the Societies Act. All five claimed trial.
Jayathas, K Navakrishna, K Tamil Selvam, T Periasamy dan S Loshna Rau were accused of committing the offence at Bukit Kanching, Jalan Ipoh, Rawang on Feb 13.
Loshna also faced another charge of disrupting a police officer from carrying out his duties.
Deputy public prosecutor Ridha Abdah Subri prosecuted while the five were represented by P Uthayakumar.
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