Racist UMNO AG Gani Patail not ready with documents/evidence but continues to maliciously prosecute to jail for 2 years 20 HINDRAF activists at the Seremban Magistrate Court.

Yesterday morning (11/4/11) all the 20 of the said HINDRAF Seremban car convoy activists had to be present at the Seremban Magistrates Court. All 20 refused to plead guilty. They instead pleaded “Rights not Mercy” Seremban lawyer Kartik and Hana represented all of them.
The 54 HINDRAF activists prosecuted nationwide last month alone is the only one of it’s kind the world over save and except for absolute monarchy Saudi Arabia, there has been no one person ever to have been prosecuted in the whole wide world for being a member of a human rights or minority rights NGO.
Welcome to One Malay-sia.
In One Malay-sia- Semua Boleh!!
S.Jayathas

Ipoh Hindraf 6: Racist UMNO is World’s only regime to have ever prosecuted it’s citizens for merely being a member of a Human Rights NGO, other than the absolute monarchy Saudi Arabia.

Case documents from the DPP’s office which should be submitted to us before proceeding with that case must be investigated first before charging in the court but this is UMNO’s court anything can be done. Malay-sia – Semua boleh.

Subramaniam reporting from Ipoh magistrates Court 10.45 a.m. As the prosecution were no ready with their documents this case was adjourned to 5/5/2011 as the next Mention date.

Note:  Never in any part of the world has any human being a member of a Human Rights NGO except in Absolute Monarchy Saudi Arabia.  But this has  happened in One Malay-sia. To this effect Malay-sia has created history in being the first democratic country in the world to have ever prosecuted it’s citizen for merely being a member of a Human Rights NGO.

Despite four International NGO’s namely writing to Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak the racist and religious supremacist policies targeted against the Malaysian Indian poor the UMNO regime to stop Hindraf from further continuing to champion the cause of the Malaysian Indian poor has maliciously chosen to racially profile and prosecute  these 6 Hindraf activists.

They will fight UMNO.
Rights not Mercy.
Karunai Nithi @ Compassionate Justice
Human Rights Watch – Press Release: Drop Charges Against Indian Activists Remove Unlawful Restrictions on Hindraf and Human Rights Party, New York, 1st Apr 2011
Geneva Paris Observatory’s letter to P.M Najib Razak condemning judicial harassment of 52 HINDRAF and HRP members and obstacles to freedom of peaceful assembly.
Dublin based Frontline defenders appeals on criminalization of HINDRAF & HRP
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PUBLIC STATEMENT: Malaysia’s crackdown on anti-racism protesters flouts freedom of association
Statement by Dublin’s Frontline Defenders in Support of Human Rights Defenders from HINDRAF.
British Foreign & Commonwealth Secretary to push Malaysia on “Anti racial discrimination Act” and Equality Act. Drop all charges for 54 HINDRAF & Human Rights Party activists.

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Mass HRP arrests: Appeal for donations for legal fees

A group calling itself Friends of Human Rights Defenders today appealed for public help to raise over RM400,000 in cash to assist HRP leaders and supporters recently detained in mass police arrests all through last week throughout the country.

"This is an appeal for funds and also for lawyers to help those defenders of human rights who were arrested and charged. We may also need to give allowances for those who are arrested.

"We urge all Malaysians, including Chinese and Indians, to show their support and contribute (to the fund). Human rights concerns us all, not just Indians," said spokesperson N Pathmarajah.

He said that thus far RM112,000 has been spent just on bail for the 53 arrested and charged with more needed for other expenditures.

To date 53 have been arrested and charged for participating in an event organised by an illegal organisation thus far. More arrests and indictments are expected to follow.

More might be arrested

The chartered accountant projected that another 40 to 50 may soon be arrested which will incur another RM80,000 in bail alone.

"Altogether with bail, court fees and legal fees, we may be looking at RM300,000 to RM400,000," he said.

Pathmarajah said that the funds will be kept in a 'client account' and administered by his accountancy firm Pathmarajah and Co.

The group which comprised between 15 to 20 individuals, claims to be concerned citizens who are not affiliated with HRP or the outlawed Hindraf movement but are appalled by the wanton acts of the police.

The accountant also expressed his disappointment that the opposition and other civil society groups have been silent about the fate of the HRP leaders and supporters.

"This are preventive arrests by the police. If left unchallenged, the police can arrest anyone for whatever reasons they say," warned Pathmarajan.

Gov't out to quash Hindraf's revival

'By throwing criminal charges against all their key leaders, Umno hopes to kill off this human rights organisation.'

Perak HRP chief charged in KL magistrate's court

Mimi Suraya: At one point, I too like many Malaysians believed that Hindraf is a racist organisation. But as the day goes by, it is becoming clearer what they are fighting for. The media is just not with them.

They may be a bit harsh but that does not matter as I suppose they are dealing with a regime that is ruthless. Umno's ruthlessness has to be put to an end. PAS should talk to Hindraf. There is lots more to be gained.

Anonymous: Many know what Hindraf has done but are hesitant about speaking up for them. Put all the human rights workers together and this group outshines them, yet they are called racist by the civil societies who are uncomfortable with Hindraf.

Anti-Interlok: I now begin to wonder, was HRP (Human Rights Party) interested in removing 'Interlok' from the syllabus or using the 'Interlok' to promote their movement that has been hijacked by the Ponnusamy brothers.

They even started a campaign for public donations the same way that they did before in 2007, when the actual cause was the 18 Hindraf demands and law suit in Britain, but all the funds were diverted for the release of Uthayakumar and his health.

Willson: The issue brought up by Hindraf and HRP is not about 'Interlok' alone. There are the more serious issue of racism entrenched in all systems and walks of Malaysian life so much so that we do not realise it.

Hazley: The government fears the influence of Hindraf/HRP. By throwing criminal charges against all their key leaders, Umno hopes to kill off this human rights organisation.

They have been trying by various methods to undermine them, from calling them terrorists to breaking them up from within. But nothing works. The poor and the underclass are with them.

41 more HRP members face court charges

(Malaysiakini) A total of 41 members from the Human Rights Party (HRP) were charged today in magistrate courts in Kuala Lumpur and Seremban with taking part in an illegal organisation.

The charges were laid as leaders and members of the HRP were organising a convoy under the banned Hindraf Movement.

HRP members were organising convoys nationally to protest against the use of novel Interlok in schools.

In Kuala Lumpur, 21 HRP members, 16 men and five women, two of them university students, were accused of committing the offence under Section 43 of the Societies Act 1996, by taking part in an HRP-organised convoy at Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, on Feb 13.

The prosecution was led by DPP Hazariah Siri and all 21 accused were represented by lawyers M Raman and P Uthayakumar, who is also HRP's secretary-general.

Uthayakumar (right) said that the 21 charged in Kuala Lumpur pleaded not guilty and were released on RM2,000 bail each.

April 6 has been fixed for mention of the case, he said.

Among the 21 are HRP Kuala Lumpur coordinator K Balakrishnan and central executive committee members V Lurdge Mary and S Thiagarajah.

Uthayakumar told Malaysiakini that Lurdge was harassed and humiliated by police early this morning, about which he made an official complaint to magistrate Zulkply Abdullah.

"At 2am today, my client (Lurdge) called me in a state of panic as the police knocked on her door, demanding that she go to the station with them.

"How could this happen? Why are the police intimidating us? Intimidating her like that? After all, she had already agreed to turn up in court today. She had informed an investigating officer that she will be attending court this evening...

"So, why create the commotion?" Uthayakumar asked.

20 charged in Seremban

In Seremban, 20 HRP members, 15 men and five women, were also charged with a similar offence in a magistrate's court.

Among them was Negri Sembilan HRP coordinator S Sivakumar.

They are alleged to have committed the offence under Section 43 of the Societies Act 1996 while partipating in an HRP-organised convoy at Jalan Rahang, Seremban, on Feb 13.

The prosecution was led by DPP Mahmood Abdullah and all 20 were represented by lawyers S Karthigesan, E Ramasamy and Norliana Ali Othman.

Contacted by Malaysiakini, Karthigesan said all of them pleaded not guilty and were released on bail of RM1,700 each.

April 11 has been set for mention of the case, he added.

Karthigesan also said a husband and wife were absent from the Seremban magistrate's court today due to illness and they would be charged at a later date.

On Tuesday, five HRP leaders and members were also charged with similar offences at a magistrate's court in Selayang, but they refused to post bail, which was set at RM2,500.

Yesterday, six more pleaded not guilty to similar charges at a magistrate's court in Ipoh, and were released on RM2,000 bail each.

The six are Perak HRP chief P Ramesh, vice-president S Nagroon, Taiping coordinator K Sivakumar, and three members, R Mohan, S Jayakumar and V Lingam.

On Feb 13, 59 HRP members and supporters in Selangor, Perak and Kuala Lumpur were arrested for being part of a nationwide convoy to protest against the novel Interlok, which is used in secondary schools as a Malay literature textbook.

Controversy ballooned following the Education Ministry's decision to use the novel, written by national laureate Abdullah Hussein, for Form Five students, with several parties claiming it contains words insensitive to the Chinese and Indian communities.

Indian NGOs decry the book's description of Indians in Malaysia as being from the lower caste, among other racial stereotyping.

HRP takes its case to foreign diplomats

Video: Solidarity Against UMNO’S Racism Part 1

HRP vice-president,info chief nabbed

Solidarity Against UMNO's Racism

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.

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.

Illegal organisation: Five from HRP charged

Five Human Rights Party (HRP) members have claimed trial before the sessions court in Selayang to a charge of participating in an illegal organisation.

The five are HRP vice-president K Tamil Selvam, information chief S Jayathas, K Navakrishna, T Periasamy and S Loshna Rau.

They are alleged to have committed the offence under Section 43 of the Societies Act 1996 while partipating in a HRP-organised convoy at Bukit Kanching, off Jalan Ipoh in Rawang, on Feb 13.

Loshna Rau faces an additional charge of obstructing a civil servant on duty, under Section 186 of the Penal Code.

The prosecution was led by DPP Raya Ridha Abdah Subri while the five accused were represented by P Uthayakumar, who is also HRP secretary-general.

Uthayakumar said that his five clients have refused to post bail set at RM2,500 because they believe that they have done no wrong.

"My clients said that they were acting in the public interest, particularly for the Indian poor against institutionalised racism," he said.

Appeal to be filed

He said his instruction now was to file an appeal before the High Court in Shah Alam, within 10 days, for the case to be dismissed.

Uthayakumar said the current whereabouts of his clients was unknown as the police refused to tell him where they are being held.

Earlier today, police arrested Selvam at his home in Kampung Benggali in Rawang.

"Three patrol cars stopped in front of his house while he was with his wife and children, and served him with a warrant of arrest," Jayathas told Malaysiakini before he was arrested.

At 3.15pm, Jayathas and three others were arrested at the HRP headquarters in Bangsar Utama, Kuala Lumpur, and taken to court.

The Feb 13 event saw numerous convoys participated by HRP and Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) activists in protest against the use of the novel Interlok in secondary schools.

Critics of the novel claim it portrays the Indian and Chinese communities in bad light.

The police clamped down on the convoys and arrested 59 people.

Hindraf hails rally a great success

Hindraf says it has evidence to show the police have been brutal to the Indian community during the Feb 27 protest.

KOTA KINABALU: Hindraf Makkal Sakthi hailed its planning for the Feb 27 anti-racism rally at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) as a great success.

The ad hoc apolitical human rights movement dismissed the police claim that they had thwarted the rally “as a mixture of outright lies, half-truths and propaganda”.

“We have documented enough evidence to show how brutal the police and Umno can be,” said Hindraf man P Waytha Moorthy early today from London from where he stage-managed the Feb 27 event via the Internet.

He was commenting on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s statement to the press last night that Hindraf was out to paint the country in a bad light abroad and that it was an unlawful organisation.

Najib has been reported as also saying separately that the Indian community did not need Hindraf.
Waytha Moorthy said that Najib was trying to link the country with the fate of his party, Umno, “which was responsible for racism, racial prejudice and racial polarisation”.

He also dismissed Najib’s claims that Hindraf Makkal Sakthi was an unlawful organisation.
Explaining the status of his movement, Waytha Moorthy claimed that Hindraf was declared unlawful in late 2008 even before the Registrar of Societies responded to its application for registration as a human rights society.

Movement’s legitimacy
The “banned” Hindraf, according to him, has now been replaced by Hindraf Makkal Sakthi which is pending registration. The so-called ban on Hindraf, he added, doesn’t apply to Hindraf Makkal Sakthi.
“Late last year, we held our first national convention at the Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur,” said Waytha Moorthy.

“Why didn’t the police stop our national convention then on the grounds of it being an unlawful organisation?”
He reminded the press and police that Umno had been declared unlawful by the Kuala Lumpur High Court and that the Umno Baru which replaced it had long since ceased to be active.

Waytha Moorthy denied that he was getting into semantics. Instead, he urged that the media focus on Umno and not question his movement’s legitimacy.

“We don’t deny that we are after Umno. We are determined to expose the evil that this party has become in the country,” said Waytha Moorthy, citing the controversial novel Interlok as an example. “Umno is a menace to Malaysia and the future of us all.”

As an example, the Hindraf chief pointed at the racial profiling of Indians by the police and their behaviour towards the community as a manifestation of the deep-seated racist mindset of the Umno government.

“As our various live feeds and video hook-ups of Feb 27 show, the police did not conduct themselves with respect towards the Indian community and the handicapped,” said Waytha Moorthy. “They went after any Indian, mostly innocent ones, found within the vicinity of KLCC.”

He asked whether it was the policy of the government to deny Indians even the right to wait at a bus stop to take a ride to wherever they were headed.

International community
Asked what Hindraf intended to do with the evidence it had gathered on the Feb 27 rally, Waytha Moorthy said that his NGO intended to present it to the international community.

“We will work closely with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and human rights defenders,” said Waytha Moorthy. “They recognise us although the Malaysian government keeps saying that we are an unlawful organisation.”

Post-Feb 27, Hindraf’s first order of business would be to seek a meeting with Najib to present him with the report on the proceedings of a conference it held in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 23.

The meeting, which focused on the marginalised, disenfranchised communities and minorities in Malaysia, also drew participation from the Orang Asli and representatives from Sabah and Sarawak.

“Najib wants us to send him another memorandum on our problems. So, we will send him the Jan 23 report,” said Waytha Moorthy. “He’s still sitting on our memorandum from last year on our 18-point demand and the list of over 100 problems besetting the community.”

Hindraf plans to hold a series of rallies nationwide calling for “an end to Umno’s racism”. Waytha Moorthy declined to disclose when and where the next anti-Umno racism rally will be held.

“Interlok is a manifestation of the racism of Umno,” said Waytha Moorthy. “We will not be deterred. We will risk detention and arrests. We are prepared to fill all the police lock-ups in the country.”

Hindraf blames cops for failed march

The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) had blamed the police force for the failure of yesterday's 'People's March in Solidarity Against Umno's Racism'.

"The march was unsuccessful because we were arrested (on the spot) by the police force, and we were outnumbered," Hindraf coordinator W Sambulingam (left in photo) said in response to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein's comment last night.

Human Rights Party (HRP) chief P Uthayakumar (right in photo) said it was impossible to proceed with the peaceful march, considering that the police had rejected their application for a police permit.

On Feb 11, Hindraf had submitted an application to Inspector-General Police Ismail Omar for a permit to hold the peaceful march, but it was rejected by Dang Wangi police on Feb 24.

It does not make sense to say the peaceful march was a failure, Uthayakumar told a press conference, since police had also stopped and given a stern warning to those intending to support the march.

"None of this (the arrests) would have happened if they approved our application. All we asked for was a permit to march peacefully, to show what we are upset and to present our demands... ," Sambulingam said, adding that there was no bad intention behind the gathering.

Supporters released

All Hindraf supporters who were arrested attempt were freed in stages yesterday, except for 14 supporters who showed up for a candlelight vigil outside the Jinjang police station last night.

"They were released about 3pm today, including 17-year-old Virasanth Visvanathan, who had been held at the Sungei Besi station," Uthayakumar said.

Yesterday, some 200 Hindraf supporters made their way to the Jinjang police station, demanding the release of their leaders.

At 8am yesterday, Uthayakumar was intercepted and arrested by four plainclothes police officers as he left his apartment in Pantai Hillpark, Kuala Lumpur.

Asked to comment on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's statement that "Hindraf wanted the police to use force on them", Uthayakumar denied the accusation, insisting that the Hindraf march was to have been held peacefully.

Uthayakumar also said the movement is willing to meet the prime minister whenever it suits him.

"We will kuburkan (disband) Hindraf, provided the prime minister obliges our 18-point demand. We are giving Umno a tip for on how to kuburkan Hindraf... just answer our demands on what has been done, what is being done and what will be done for the Indian community," he added.

18-point demand

On July 28, 2007, Hindraf had submitted a memorandum to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, making an 18-point demand for the Indian community.

Among the demands are that:

• The Umno-controlled government should set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the 'Kg Medan mini genocide', condemn the violence, apologise to the Indian community for this, undertake not to repeat the same in future and pay compensation of RM1 million for every citizen killed, permanently maimed, maimed or injured in this tragedy.

• All forms of racial and religious discrimination, oppression and suppression of the Indians/Hindus in both the public and private sectors should be stopped with immediate effect; a Race Relations Commission Act, an Equal Opportunities Commission Act and a Freedom of Religions Commission Act be enacted; powerful commissions be created to give effect to anti-racism, anti-Islamic extremism and anti-direct discrimination practices by the Umno-controlled government, in both the public and private sectors.

• A minimum of 20 opposition members of parliament be elected exclusively by the Indian community to represent their interests at the highest political level and also as a parliamentary democracy check-and-balance; this should be safeguarded and entrenched into the federal constitution, and increased proportionately with the increase in parliamentary seats.

As for now, the movement will not hold any form of demonstration.

Asked if Hindraf had a time frame for an answer from Najib, Uthayakumar replied: "We will wait and see, as we have been waiting for the past three years for a change.

"But, Umno must stop all their wayang kulit and take this seriously, as we do not like to demonstrate for no reason. No one likes to do so."

HRP supporters demand release of Uthayakumar

P.Uthayakumar finally released

Malaysia police detain dozens of Indian protesters

Lai Seng Sin

Members of Malaysia's Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) 
shout slogans during a rally against racism in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 
Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011.

(The Associated Press) Malaysian police arrested dozens of ethnic Indians on Sunday in a clampdown on a protest against a high school literature book that was slammed for denigrating the minority community.

Police set up roadblocks in the country's biggest city, Kuala Lumpur, amid tight security around the landmark Petronas Twin Towers, where the protest was to be held.

The main protest leader, lawyer P.Uthayakumar, was among those rounded up early Sunday as he was leaving home, said his colleague S.Jayathas, who also was detained. He said more than 100 Indians were believed to have been picked up.

Some 50 protesters who managed to escape the police dragnet gathered at a temple in the city, holding banners and shouting "Ban Interlok" and "Don't insult the Indian community" before dispersing.

"We want a stop to racism against minority citizens, especially the Indian poor, and a ban on Interlok, which is sowing the seeds of racism in schoolchildren. We are not asking for special rights but equal opportunity," Jayathas told The Associated Press from police detention.

Police could not be immediately reached for comment. They earlier refused to issue a permit for the rally on grounds that it could jeopardize security and public order.

Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has accused protesters of trying to stir anti-government rallies similar to those in the Middle East, ahead of general elections widely expected to be held this year.

The Malay-language novel "Interlok" was assigned as a literature textbook for 17-year-old students this year. First published in 1971, it tells the stories of three families - Malay, Chinese and Indian, reflecting Malaysia's main ethnic groups - in British colonial times.

Some Indians complained about a portion of the book involving a poor man from India's "Pariah caste" who migrates to the country to find work and is surprised at the absence of a caste system. They say it unfairly depicts Indians, who make up about 8 percent of Malaysia's 28 million people, as coming from inferior communities and contributes to ethnic tension and discrimination.

Under the Indian caste system, Hindus are divided into four main castes according to their line of work. Although the system is banned in India, it is still practiced in villages. Malaysian Indians continue with most traditions of their ancestors, but the caste system is largely obsolete here.

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/27/2685196/malaysia-police-detain-dozens.html#ixzz1FAZPpw00

Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/27/2685196/malaysia-police-detain-dozens.html#ixzz1FAZPpw00