HIndraf Makkal Shakti: Oct 26, 2010

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

International media attention on Malaysian Indian poor brought to Manmohan’s K.L visit. (Media Statement 25/10/10)

No.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur. Tel : 03-2282 5241

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Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com E-mail: info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com

International media attention on Malaysian Indian poor brought to Manmohan’s K.L visit.

(Media Statement 25/10/10)

In a series of media statements HINDRAF and HRP has appealed to the Prime Minister of India to take up the issues of the violation of Human Rights against the Indian minority in Malaysia and about their welfare.

The Press Trust of India, the official news agency of India carried a statement on the 20th of Oct “ P.Waytha Moorthy, the leader of a prominent Hindu rights group today appealed to the Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh, ahead of his visit to Malaysia to take up the issue of “serious human rights violations” of the ethnic community with his Malaysian counterpart. This statement was feeder to the media throughout India.

On the 23rd of Oct, The Hindu, one of the oldest daily in South India elaborated on that statement. Welcoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s planned visit to Malaysia next week, the Hindu Rights Action Force Makkal Sakthi (HINDRAF) has urged him to raise issues concerning the welfare of ethnic Indian minority in that country. They appealed to Dr. Singh to show a sense of “moral responsibility” towards the Malaysian Indians

by placing the “concerns” of ethnic Indians on the agenda with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak. Referring to the planned opening of “Little India” in Kuala Lumpur, Mr. Uthayakumar of the political wing of HINDRAF wrote: “The significance is only symbolic. Little India is no more than a little flower bazaar. Of greater significance to the Indian community in Malaysia will be … the provision of scholarships … [for] study in Indian universities.”

In making this statement HINDRAF and HRP was again bringing focus to the issues of discrimination against high performing Malaysian Indian students in the awards of scholarships, places in Universities and in the matriculation Pre –U stream in Malaysia

Meanwhile on the 22nd of October, BBC Tamil radio carried a live interview with Mr.Waytha Moorthy , the Chairperson of HINDRAF, on the status of the Indians in Malaysia. On the question of whether any of the utterances coming out of the UMNO General Assembly, meant any difference, Mr Waythamoorthy’s responded that it was all just rhetoric coming as it does just a few months before a possible snap poll in 2011. Waytha Moorthy reiterated that HINDRAF’s struggle was a long struggle and it is a peaceful struggle to achieve a better future for the Indian minority in Malaysia.

All of this attention to the issue of the welfare of the Indian Minority rights coming up as it does on the heels of the Indian Prime Minister’s visit does raise a few interesting questions. The politics within Malaysia does not now seem to have answers for the distressed situation of the Indian community in Malaysia? There is plenty of rhetoric, but little in the form of effective solutions. There is clear need for change in the political arrangements within Malaysia if this problem is to be ultimately resolved. There is now a need for intervention.

1) Given the intricacies of International diplomacy will India intervene and accept to play any role in this issue?

2) What will be the ramification of an Indian community that continues to be in distress in Malaysia to India and to India-Malaysia relations as India develops in stature around the region?

3) Is business and regional security, the only plane on which India will engage with Malaysia, does it not have a moral responsibility for the welfare of people of Indian origin here due to its historical and cultural affinity, like the rest of the Islamic world have for the plight of the Palestinians?

4) Given the growing business clout of India should it not use some of that to

bargain a better life for the Indians in Malaysia?

5) Will India not benefit from an upliftment of the Indian community here in

Malaysia?

6) And finally how will Malaysia view intervention from India?

N.Ganesan , the Advisor to Hindraf and HRP adds, “ it is timely, with Dr,Manmohan Singh’s visit that some of these questions, be squarely addressed. Ignoring them – Dr. Singh and the Government of India have not responded to several approaches by HINDRAF and HRP for positive intervention on these issues, is to lose a significant opportunity for leadership. India as a leading nation in the region, coupled with the cultural and historical affinity to the Indians in the country does have a moral responsibility to intervene. Does the Government of India have the vision to see it in this light?”

P. Uthayakumar

Secretary General (pro-tem)

Odd Malay poor homeless gets five UMNO mainstream English and Malay newspaper coverage. Problem solved instantly. But hundreds of thousands of Indian homeless segregated and excluded.

And this poor and homeless family was instantly given a home at Wisma Belia by the powerful UMNO Youth.

Bi-racial One Malay-sia is the only country in the world where ethnicity of the victim matters even on poverty and welfare matters. We have been monitoring the media for the last 35 years and are yet to come across even one Indian poor and homeless case out of the thousands which received colour photo and prime news coverage.

If only The News Straits Times, The Star, Berita Harian, Utusan Malaysia and Sinar Harian in their newspapers at pages UM 25/10/10 at page 14, SH 25/10/10 at page 12, SH 25/10/10 at page S8, The Star 25/10/10 at page N 17, NST 25/10/10 at page 13, also similarly reports on the Indian poor and homelessness, and the UMNO government acted equally on the misery, hundreds of thousands of poor and homeless Malaysian Indians would have been saved. But in over the last 53 years this is how Malaysia has evolved to become bi-racial One Malay-sia where if the victim was a Malay muslim as in the instant case which is just the tip of the iceberg or a Chinese, their misery would be almost instantly given coverage, relieved and they are instantly given homes to move in.

The Indians poor are so poor that they even cannot afford to pay water bills of RM 18.00 per month and have had even their water supply disconnected. The Indian poor even cannot afford to pay the RM 124.00 rentals for the PPR low cost government flats they live in.

Their flats are sealed up, their very basic bedding, clothes and furniture are confiscated.

These poor Indians are now on the streets or back to another squatter house only to be thrown out to the streets or another low cost flats and to be thrown out all over again and again or the end up squatting in some friend’s or relatives flat to the point of some 16 Indian poor living in a two bedroom flat including a four month old baby as has been reported in this website earlier.

Imagine the tension of 16 adults and children living in a mere 800 or so square feet.

But for the odd Malay poor, UMNO, Jakim, Lembaga Urus Zakat, banks, cooperatives sector, businessman or datuk, etc pay up their rental and water and other arrears and thereafter directly pay for their rentals.

For the odd Chinese poor, some Chinese businessman or datuk would pay up, bail them out, give then a business to cari makan and get them out of their misery.

The rich Malaysian Chinese community who control some 50% of the Malaysian economy can take care of the Chinese poor.

For Malay poor, the Malacca Chief minister swiftly moved in give a similar odd poor Malay family a house and a food stall to keep them keep afloat.

But these help will never and has almost never been given to an Indian poor and homeless. The Indians have not been given opportunities in the first place so that they cannot bail out poor Indians or are limited in their efforts unlike the Chinese or the Malays and their guilds and organisations.

Why? Bi-racial One Malay-sian?