About two dozen Hindraf supporters gathered at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre shopping mall this morning to take part in a hunger strike to commemorate the second year anniversary of the movement's mass gathering.
Led by Hindraf activist S Jayathas, the group arrived at the KLCC entrance at about 9.10am. Sixteen of them were wearing orange coloured Hindraf t-shirt. Most of them also have anti-ISA badges on them.
They plan to observe an 18-hour hunger strike until 4pm to represent the movement's 18-point demands to the government to alleviate the plight of the Indian community in this country.
"The 18-point demands are meant to alleviate the ethnic Indians Malaysians from hardcore poverty.
"There is no guidance and opportunities for the Indians, so many turn to crime. The government knows about the problem but is not taking action," said Jayathas.
One of those participating in the hunger strike T Samy, 32, said he joined the group to highlight the "sufferings" of the Indian community.
"The government should open their ears to the Indian plight. Treat us fairly," said Samy, an engineer from Klang, Selangor.
The police - numbering about 24 - are monitoring the situation.
The KLCC management meanwhile had requested the group not to sit on the pavement as it would disrupt their business.
Memo to PM too
Although the group agreed to this request, the police had then asked the group to disperse following complaints from the property owners. The police also told the group that they were involved in an illegal gathering.
Jayathas refused to stop the hunger strike and split his group into smaller groups of four to continue with the hunger strike.
Later today at 1pm, a group of children will present the hunger-strikers with garlands before proceeding to Putrajaya to hand the same 18-point memorandum to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
On Nov 25, 2007, some 30,000 mobilised in the streets of Kuala Lumpur following a protest rally called by Hindraf to submit a memorandum to the British High Commission on the situation of Indians here.
HINDRAF MAKKAL SAKTHI COMMEMORATE HINDRAF’S NOVEMBER 25TH NEO DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTION
International/Nation wide Prayer- Temple List
ENGLAND/BELGIUM/AUSTRALIA/US
1. Highgate Murugan Temple London 2. Vinayagar Temple Wimbledon 3. Sri Thurgai Amman Temple Ealing 4.Sri Krishna Mandir Pales Straat Belgium 5. Sri Murugan Temple Brisbane Australia 6. Sri Sitti Vinayagar Temple New York
PENANG
LocationLeadContact #
1.Muniandy Temple, Jalan Baru, Perai Kumar 012-5390250
2.Muthalaaman Kovil, Bukit Tambun, Anna Turai 017-4107244
Welfare Department director-general Meme Zainal Rashid should furnish evidence to substantiate her claim that S Banggarma was converted on Nov 30, 1983 in Rompin, Pahang.
Demanding this at a media briefing today, Banggarma's lawyer Gooi Hsiao Leung pointed out that the conversion certificate dates the conversion at Dec 28, 1989.
“The Welfare Department now claims that she was converted by her Hindu parents when she was a year old. There cannot be two conversions into Islam for the same person,” he said.
Gooi chided Penang Islamic Affairs Council (MAINPP) president Shabudin Yahaya for saying that Banggarma, 27, is a Muslim and that her marriage to a Hindu is a legal issue.
He said the Welfare Department and Islamic authorities have failed to address the key question on the conversion of a minor by the administrators of the welfare home.
Section 80 of the Penang Administration of Islamic Affairs Enactment 1993 stipulates that anyone below the age of 18 shall not be converted to Islam without the consent of his or her parents.
Banggarma's conversion, Gooi said, was illegal from the start.
“By converting her at (the age of seven), the Islamic authorities infringed their own law.”
Gooi hoped that MAINPP will assist Banggarma by expunging records of her conversion, so that the issue can be resolved amicably.
Banggarma, who was present, told reporters that her father had never mentioned anything about the 1983 conversion.
“My father is a practising Hindu like me,” she said, showing a photo of her father with vibuthi (sacred ash) on his forehead.
He had enrolled her and three siblings - two elder brothers and a younger sister - at the home, after its welfare officers convinced him to do so, she said.
“He was shocked to hear that my siblings and I were converted to Islam in the welfare home,” Banggarma said, alleging that the four were then separated and have not met since.
'Welfare Department lied'
Meme had told Malaysiakini yesterday that Banggarma, whose Muslim name is Siti Hasnah Vangarama Abdullah, was placed into the welfare home in Kepala Batas in March 1990 following a order under the Juvenile Courts Act of 1947, for her own protection.
Meme claimed Banggarma was found wandering aimlessly in Sungai Petani, Kedah.
Questioning this, Banggarma pointed to the conversion certificate which showsthat she was converted in 1989.
“It's a lie. The department is trying to cover this up,” said the mother of two.
Due to her Muslim name in her identity card, she has not been able to register her marriage to S Sockalingam. It had been conducted according to Hindu rites.
She has also been unable to register her husband as the father of the children in their birth certificates.
Her birth certificate shows that she was born on Aug 13, 1982 in Keratong, Pahang to plantation worker B Subramaniam and Latchumy Ramadu, both Hindus.
Describing herself as a staunch Hindu, Banggarma said she would fight till the end to restore her rightful identity.
“I was born as a Hindu, I live as a Hindu, I will die as a Hindu,” she said.
Hampers for 25 poor Indians( ref Makkal Osai 21/11/09) pg 2). But these Indians are not given any part of theRM 220 Million national budget for welfare help & E- kasih cards as in 2010 budget
These Indian poor, handicapped and senior citizens almost always are given the run around at the welfare departments until they give up or are rejected at the very counter level. All these direct and blatant discriminationcan only happen in Malay-sian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malay-sia. These Indian poor are so desperate that they are prepared to come and wait for a mere hamper and to collect the RM 20.00 given for adults and the RM 3.00 for the 40 children. This only goes to show the height of the Indian poor who are prepared to wait for hours for a mere RM 3.00.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of the Indian poor problems inMalaysia.
We hereby call upon the welfare Ministry to stop all further and future racial and religious based discrimination against in particularthe Indian poor.
Umno’s DBKL to break last Indian settlement in Sentul today 10 out of 11 P.R MP’s in WP pin drop silence. (Makkal Osai 24/11/09 at page 2 )
The poor and working class squatters once again are being targeted to be bulldozed by the cruel UMNO regime today- 24/11/09. It is public knowledge that the Indians have been predominantly living in Sentul since the British colonial days. Most of them who had set up and built and were the backbone of the Malayan Railways. But today they have all been forgotten and now to be literally bulldozed!
Today UMNO’s racism and religious extremism reigns supreme in Malay-sia Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malay-sia.
These poor and working class Indians have not been given alternative homes and yet again have to suffer in silence. Even the ten out of the eleven Pakatan Rakyat (P.R) MPs’ in Wilayah Persekutuan are silent and do not care as yet again the victims are merely the Indians. PKR, DAP and PAS are only interested in the Indian notes and not the Indian problems. But they all claim to be multi- racial!
Malay-sian UMNO police shoots dead 5 Indians, pain and suffering of 4 small children, whose mother commited suicide.
Seetha (31) had committed suicide by drinking paraquat last week because five Indian youths including her brother and a 17 year old juvenile were shot dead and murdered in cold blood by the Malay-sian police force in their shoot to kill policy
Today her four children had been discharged from the Klang General Hospital. ( Tamil Nesan 24/11/09 front page). Today they no longer have their mother to care for them to love them and to bring them up. From today onwards they have a bleak future. Because UMNO had and would not even at the very least give the welfare monetary assistance to these orphaned children (by the UMNO Malay-sian state).
With the side effects of the paraquat they had consumed, they are likely to suffer from the many medical complications ranging from kidney failure to leukemia
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Scores of previous such children were dumped just like that and denied even the very basic welfare assictance as they are merely the poor helpless and working class Indian children. All this can only happen in Malay-sian Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malaysia.
The rally's estimated to be 100 000 people gathered outside the Petronas Twin Towers at midnight, early Sunday morning.At least 240 people were detained, but half of them were later released. One day before the rally, police arrested three HINDRAF lawyers, P. Uthayakumar, P. Waytha Moorthy and V. Ganabatirau for sedition charges. Uthayakumar and Ganabatirau posted bail of 800 Malaysian ringgits each, but Waytha Moorthy refused bail as a sign of protest.
Demanding this at a media briefing today, Banggarma's lawyer Gooi Hsiao Leung pointed out that the conversion certificate dates the conversion at Dec 28, 1989.
“By converting her at (the age of seven), the Islamic authorities infringed their own law.”
“It's a lie. The department is trying to cover this up,” said the mother of two.
