Hindraf moves to get charge against 54 dropped

Named as defendants in the civil suit to be filed next month include PM Najib, AG Gani Patail and IGP Ismail Omar.

GEORGE TOWN: Hindraf Makkal Sakti will file a suit at the KL Hight Court next month to strike off a charge against 54 of its activists of ‘being members of an illegal society’.

It is seeking to obtain a declaration that the charge is ultra vires of Article 10(1)(c) of the Federal Constitution, which allows freedom of association.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail and IGP Ismail Omar are to be named as defendants in the civil suit.

Hindraf legal advisor P Uthayakumar said the suit would also cite other constitutional grounds such as equality before the law to declare the charge as “null and void.”

“The charge against so many of us is obviously a government attempt to foil our cause to champion minority rights in the country.

“But we won’t be cowed by such criminal intimidation. We will fight on,” said Uthayakumar.

Hindraf national secretary P Ramesh and Human Rights Party (HRP) pro-tem information chief S Jayathas, were among those charged after a crackdown in March.

The charge was under the Societies Act 1966. Hindraf has thus far spent about RM111,000 to bail out all the activists pending hearing.

Nationwide fundraisers

The movement was declared an illegal organisation by the home ministry in late 2008. However, the government has no court declaration to this effect.

Dublin-based human rights movement, the International Foundation for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders or Frontline, stated that Malaysia had created a world record in being the first and only democracy to charge 54 human rights activists from a single organisation for the same allegation within the same period.

Apart from the absolute monarchy of Saudi Arabia, Frontline said that Malaysia is the only country in the world to have charged so many citizens for being members of a NGO.

The activists were charged following an aborted anti-racism march on Feb 20.

Meanwhile, Hindraf / HRP will organise a nationwide roadshow starting tomorrow in Parit Buntar to raise funds for the movements and finance the legal costs of the charged activists.

Tomorrow’s fundraiser in Parit Buntar will be followed in Ipoh, Kluang, Cameron Highlands, Sitiawan and Hutan Melintang.

“More fund raising dinners will be arranged soon to finance our rising costs,” said Uthayakumar, who is also HRP protem secretary-general.

Solution sought to resolve high price for maids

The Star

NUSAJAYA: The Human Resources Ministry will try and find a solution to high agency fees for Indonesian maids, said Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.

He said reducing the agency fees would be among the topics to be discussed before the country signs an MoU with Indonesia next month.

“We are still discussing the matter (agency fees),” he said, adding that monthly wages for maids would still be dependent on the market rate.

Dr Subramaniam was speaking to reporters after opening the National World Safety and Health Day at the Work Place event at the Malborough College site here yesterday.
 

He said the Government was flexible about hiring maids from regional countries.

“Malaysians can hire maids from Sri Lanka, India, Myanmar, Cambodia or the Philippines but the main problem is to get them to come here,” he said.

He noted that the country had many Indonesian and Cambodian maids but there were only a small number from other countries.

“Phillipines maids demand high salaries which most Malaysians are not willing to pay.

“Women from other countries such as Sri Lanka and India, however, prefer not to leave their countries to work and therefore there are only a few of them here,” he said, adding that it was a matter of demand and supply.

Thaneswaran (15) attacked on head using metal buku lima by Malay students. Zero action by racist UMNO school, police and A. G Gani Patail, prosecution only if criminal was Indian.

After this attack the Malay boy even brought in outsiders and threatened Thaneswaran’s friends. Had it been an Indian boy who did this the police would have clobbered him in the police lock up and A.G. Gani Patail would have prosecuted him from attempted murder if not criminal assault case carrying a seven (7) years jail.
The Malay school even had refused to give first aid to Thanesh.
In Ketuanan Melayu 1 Melayu, 1 Bumi, 1 Malay-sia in 1 UMNO, the Malay muslims are above the law?
(see Makkal Osai 25/4/2011 at page 6)

PM Najib: “Indians not excited about ETP”. Because even Tamil daily advert is Malay muslim Kedai Runcit transforming into Mini Market.

It is so plain and obvious that UMNO cannot even show a single photo of even one Indian Kedai Runcit that has transformed into a Mini Market in what is otherwise Prime Minister  Najib Razak’s One Malay-sian Economic transformation Programme.
What more all other aspects of economic transformation programmes of especially for the Indian poor which in practice  is almost zero save and except  for the usual kosong wayang kulit ayam telur sebiji rioh sekampung kosong propaganda using the Indian mandores.
(see Tamil Nesan 26/4/2011 at page 7)