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HINDRAF Banned

October 15th, 2008
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Well, finally the Home Minister, bereft of any other ideas, proclaimed that HINDRAF is an illegal organisation based on Section 5(1) of the Societies Act 1966. I searched for the Act, but can’t find it. Hope someone can send the link.

The declaration is with immediate effect. According to Home Minister (from Malaysiakini):

…the decision was made after the ministry was satisfied with facts and evidence that showed “Hindraf had and was being used for unlawful purposes and posed a threat to public order and morality”.

“Based on powers vested under Section 5(1) of the Societies Act, Hindraf from today is declared an illegal organisation,” he said in a statement today.

He said the order was being made as a result of monitoring and investigation on the organisation’s activities by the Registrar of Societies (ROS) and Home Ministry, since Hindraf’s inception.

Syed Hamid said if left unchecked, Hindraf would continue to pose a threat to public order, the security and sovereignty of the country as well as the prevailing racial harmony.

“The decision to declare Hindraf an illegal organisation is not based on one or two of its activities that are in contravention of the law but covers all the actions it has taken since being formed,” he said.

Syed Hamid said Hindraf had all the criteria of an organised movement because it had filed for registration with the ROS on Oct 16 last year. He added that the application was yet to be approved.

He also said that the organisation had actively exploited the Indian community to organise illegal assemblies and street demonstrations without permits.

Such acts, he said, had resulted in some members of the Indian community to rise up against the government.

Syed Hamid also said that Hindraf’s actions also caused hatred among the Malays and Indians in the country.

“Hindraf has also tried to secure support from foreign countries for the purpose of pressuring the government to bow to its demands,” he added.

Syed Hamid advised the public to distance themselves from Hindraf and not participate in any way in any of its activities.

Among the first to respond was Lim Kit Siang:

In an immediate reaction DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang said the banning of Hindraf was a testimony to the failure of the prime minister to take nation-building to a new and more mature level.

“It is a retrogressive, vindictive and petty step which will hamper the nation-building healing process vital for Malaysians to feel one and united people again,” he said in a statement.

He said that the “ham-fisted measures to ban Hindraf will only aggravate the disaffection among the Indian community”.

He gave an assurance that opposition MPs will raise in Parliament the banning of Hindraf.

“I invite MPs from all the BN component parties to join with Pakatan Rakyat MPs to take a common stand – to demand that the home minister revoke the ban on Hindraf…,” he said.

So, Malaysians are advised to ” to distance themselves from Hindraf and not participate in any way in any of its activities”. What does that mean? Can I mention the “H” word? Can links be published in blogs or websites? Can SMSes be sent wishing Happy Deepavali, Valghe Hindraf?

Will this be the opportunity to harass every Indian-looking person in the country? Simply stop you and check your handphones? Do roadblocks and target cars driven by Indians? Disperse groups of 5 or more Indians loitering around? Sounds extreme, but this is Bolehland after all. Anything is possible.

Earlier, I wrote about the situation if Hindraf is banned. So, would Hindraf be renamed to Makkal Sakthi? Will the leaders challenge the decision in court? Or will they join a political party to pursue Hindraf’s objectives? No more interviews with Hindraf leaders, so their voice won’t be heard. It will be hard to gather support via the print media, but there’s always SMS and Internet.

If there is a massive show of dissent against this decision, for example, everyone wears orange on next open house or on certain day of the month, would it mean Hindraf still have support?

Whatever it is, HINDRAF has made its mark in Malaysian history. It will always live as a legend in the minds and hearts of the Indian community especially. Only the name is banned, but the spirit and support for the movement will remain strong, if not grow stronger.

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Interview with Agathians Shelter founding member Sivabalan

October 15th, 2008
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Its people like this that make our community stand tall, not those who rob and are in cahoots with temple priests like in Deva Gang in Kapar.

 

Taking children off the streets
By Naveen Mathew Menon

 

RAISING a family of four or five is daunting enough for the average Malaysian. Imagine then, having to take care of 30 children who are not even your own.

 

For M. Sivabalan and the management committee of Agathians Shelter in Petaling Jaya, it is a constant challenge to feed, clothe, educate and provide shelter for 30 underprivileged children.

 

Operating two homes in Petaling Jaya, the Agathians offer sanctuary to abandoned, orphaned, neglected, abused and poverty-stricken children. It has six volunteers and seven committee members.

 

From a young age, Sivabalan was encouraged by his father to put the needs of others before his own. For him, it is no easy task to juggle his work as an accountant, raise funds for the shelter, see to the running of its homes, spend time with the children and make time for his own family.

Q: Your education and career background?

 

A: I studied at St John’s Institution, Kuala Lumpur. Then I went for an accounting course. I am a partner in a small accounting firm in Petaling Jaya. As all four partners share the name Siva, we called the firm Siva and Co.

 


Q: Tell us about your family.

 

A: My father worked as a first-line manager in a hotel. He died seven years ago. I have two younger sisters and my mother is a housewife. One of my sisters is an accounting grad while the other is in secondary school. I got married last year. My wife is also an accountant.

 

Q: How did you get involved in charity work, and were your parents into it, too?

 

A: My parents were not part of any non-governmental or charity organisations. My father used to take the family to Convent Bukit Nanas. I was about 8 then. Within the school, there was a home for orphans, disabled and mentally-challenged people.

 

Every Sunday, my father would provide food for them and he did it for years.

 

The whole family would work together in serving the food. That’s how I learnt about charity. When I was in primary school, I did not understand what my father was doing. Once I was in secondary school, I understood the concept. I have been doing volunteer work since secondary school days.


Q: How did Agathians Shelter start?

 

A: About six years ago, a children’s home in PJ Old Town, the Annai Illam, had to be closed down. Some of us, donors and volunteers, who had been helping the home for more than a year didn’t want the children to end up on the streets. So, we decided we would form a society.

 

Even though I initiated the programme, it was a group effort and we got registered and set up a home here. This happened in December 2003. In the beginning, we had 10 children with one caretaker and we needed about RM2,500 a month to run the home.

 

So, about 10 of us decided to chip in RM250 a month and take care of the children without the need for any fund raising. We thought we would cut just one weekend’s expenses and donate RM250 each.

 

But once the home was registered and people got to know about us, we started getting more and more cases. One by one the numbers rose and today, we have 30 boys aged between 3 and 17.

 

Q: What support would you like from the public?

 

A: We need support for the children’s development. We have hired tuition teachers and volunteers but we need more volunteers who can coach the children.

 

We need people to guide us. We also need an administrator.

 

We get our funds from public donations and fund raising. Yearly, we need about RM180,000 to meet the operational costs. For a small organisation like ours, it’s extremely challenging to raise this kind of amount.

 

We need people’s voices. people from the media, magazines, newspapers and others who can be heard by the public in disseminating information about what we are doing and what can be done for us.

 

We are trying to move into a double-storey house in PJ. We are planning to acquire it so that in the long run, we don’t have to pay rentals which keep going up. We need about RM100,000 for this.

 


Q: What happens when you are short of funds?

 

A: Generally, we manage to raise the money but we have an understanding among the committee members that if there is a shortfall in any month, the committee members have to fork out the balance. There have been months when we managed to get only RM2,000, so the committee members had to chip in the remaining RM11,000. It is a burden and quite challenging to run the home when we don’t get enough funds.

 

Q: Can the public donate in kind?

 

A: Yes. They can donate food, furniture or anything else that is useable and in good condition. Whatever they don’t need, we can put to good use. We can even put up a jumble sale of the things we have in excess to raise some money.

 

Q: What does the future hold for these children?

 

A: There are two groups here. One group can go to college. Those boys who can’t get good grades or cannot get into college can take up vocational courses.

 

As diploma holders, they can choose from about 20 courses such as carpentry, electrical, automobile and others.

 

This will get them a decent job. All these vocational schools have tie-ups with companies, so job placement is assured.

 

We believe in teaching them to fish rather than giving them the fish. I drill into the boys that education is their key to a better life.

 

Q: Will you accept more destitute children?

 

A: Financially we are constrained, yes. But it does not mean that we are going to stop here and say we can only take care of 30 children.

 

Since, we are a registered society, we have been meeting with many other homes, seeing whether there are vacancies.

 

We can act as a central body which can co-ordinate with other homes to place needy children. We have a network of about 100 homes catering to the needs of various groups.

 

So if each home has only one or two vacancies, that still means about 100 to 200 needy children can be given shelter.

 

When people come to us for help, we know where we can get a place for the child if we cannot help them ourselves.

 

If people come across any street kids, orphans, children of single mothers or from broken families or abandoned children, they can contact us.

 

Our main criterion before accepting a child is that he has to be from a poor background. We want to help destitute and needy children.

 


Q: In bad economic times, how will your shelter cope?

 

A: Over the past few months, we have found that fewer people donate and when we carry out fund-raising drives, we are unable to achieve our targets. Our food costs have gone up by 20 per cent.

 

When times are bad, we cut corners like trimming our electricity and water costs but we try not to compromise on education and food. We do not have the luxury of having elaborate meals.

 

Lunch and dinner is usually vegetarian but four times a week we have non-veg.

 

We used to have chicken twice a week, but now it’s only once a week following the increase in prices. We feel bad cutting down on meat and fish for the children.

 

We are mulling about going into the catering business. We can cook and deliver food to corporate companies. If companies could cater from us at a “charity price”, it would be a great help.

 

Those who wish to help can telephone or fax 03-79541680 or email agathians_siva@yahoo.com

 

Agathians Shelter (Pusat Kebajikan Agathians, Malaysia) is at No 17, Jalan Tengas 8/8, Section 8 , 46050, Petaling Jaya, Selangor. For details call 03-7954 1680 or log on to www.agathians.org. All donations to Agathians Shelter are tax exempted.

The Star also wrote an article on the Shelter. Read it here.

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A Tale of Two Open Houses, The Hindraf Experience

October 14th, 2008
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Received this email:

Hindraf did not and will not ever insult our Malay Brethren – we are all one – Anak Bangsa Malaysia.

Two similar occasions, one was the PWTC Open House hosted by our PM, the other Hari Raya Open House hosted by Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim and yet how different the treatment…

The very same 6years old Vwaishnavi, daughter of Hindraf chairman P.Waythamoorthy with the almost similar home made, Hari Raya greeting card carrying the same message accompanied by a teddy bear. The same Hindraf supporters of approximately 200 members, in their now familiar, orange Tee shirts. The very same occasion of Hari Raya open house but only this time hosted by the opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at Kampung Baru, Kuala Lumpur on 12th October 2008.

As the supporters began to gather outside Sultan Sulaiman Club, our Muslim brothers who were passing by smiled and waved at us. In return Hindraf supporters wished them “Selamat Hari Raya bang”. Police officers on duty too were greeted Selamat Hari Raya by the Hindraf supporters, some of them wished us back while some just smiled and waved. What a contrast from the reception we got from the policemen on duty at PWTC? Were these officers the same ones who stopped and bullied us at PWTC? On whose orders?

Similar to our attendance at PWTC on the 1st of October 2008, Vwaishnnavi and her mother Mrs.Shanti took the lead into the club together with the Kapar MP YB Manikavasagam. The moment we stepped into the compound YB Zuraida Kamaruddin, the Ampang MP welcomed us . There was an announcement made to mark our presence and thousands of our Malaysian Muslim brothers cheered, clapped and welcomed us into the hall. Among the MPs who welcomed us were YB Tian Chua , YB Sivarasah ,YB Nurul Izzah and I might have missed some of the other hospitable YB’s. Minta Maaf.

YB Anwar Ibrahim and Datin Wan Azizah who came in after prayers welcomed the hundreds of the Hindraf supporters with a welcoming smile .They shook hands with each and every one of us. We greeted them “Selamat Hari Raya, Release all ISA detainees and Abolish ISA”. Datuk Seri confidently said “sure I will” to me and I believe to the rest as well. To digress a bit, no body says “Makkal Shakti” with so much conviction, encouragement and yet these powerful words of “Peoples’Power” is expressed with gentleness by Kak Wan – truly a woman of substance!! They accepted the same home made card and the teddy bear from little Vwaishnnavi.

Yet what a difference on how we were received by the two hosts and how it was reported by media, Hindraf had been demonized for attending the PWTC open house on 1st October 2008.

Frankly, we never anticipated the shameful way we were treated during the Hari Raya Open House hosted by none other than the PM of Malaysia and his cabinet ministers at PWTC.

Malaysians were fully aware of intentions of getting our Hindraf leaders out before Deepavali so that they may celebrate this auspicious occasion with their family. We are also serious about getting our brother RPK and other ISA detainees released. All of which was turned, twisted , manipulated and propagated by the powers that be.

Hindraf was accused as “Biadap” , “Kurang Ajar” “Pengacau” and the most heart breaking “Insulting Islam and Muslims of this country”. This was further compounded with 4 Hindraf supporters being summoned to the Dang Wangi Police station for merely attending the open house of the Prime Minister.
They were charged for illegal gathering?? and trespassing?? at PM’s Open House. By the way, we even informed Senior Officers in Putra Jaya on 22nd Sept 2008, that Vwaishnnavi and some of us Hindraf supporters would be at the Open House, PM’s secretary assured us that we would be welcome at the open house. Additionally, wasn’t the PM’s invitation to the open house extended to all Malaysians?

So then why PM Sir, were we consistently provoked ever since we stepped into PWTC premises? You yourself saw how the hand made Hari Raya card by six years old Vwaishnnavi was torn by your officials? This wasn’t a petition or a memo. A simple self made Hari Raya Greeting card offered to you by a Malaysian Child was taken over by dozens of police officers who stormed in to confiscate and rip it apart, what an insult to the Indian children and the entire Malaysian community!!

Why then did you say we did not greet you? You and your advisors, the police insulted us Indians, every step of our way in the Open House. Are we not correct to assume that the Hari Raya Open House was paid by us Malaysian Tax payers? So then, why were we so badly treated at our own Malaysian open house? Mr PM, don’t you consider us Hindraf supporters as Malaysians?

Is it wrong for us to ask you to release our Hindraf leaders, RPK and other ISA detainees, who are in prison, without you giving us any valid reasons for their imprisonment? So many Malaysians of all races concur with us that the draconian ISA law should be abolished, even members of your own cabinet voiced it out, so what’s so wrong about us voicing our democratic right at our own Malaysian Open House??

Then again, why didn’t Datuk Seri Anwar , Datin Wan Azizah , rest of the YBs and VIPs present at Sultan Sulaiman Club think that Hindraf as Biadap , Kurang Ajar , pengacau. Our Malay brothers there never commented or felt that Hindraf had insulted theMuslims, by attending this open house in our orange colored Tee shirts with a simple home made Raya greeting card and a teddy bear?? By the way we still asked that ISA be abolished and detainees released, yet what a contrast in treatment we received at PWTC ?

The Main stream media especially the Malay newspapers under your control has blamed and accused us for unruly behavior, labeled our women and children as trouble makers and said Hindraf supporters never respected Hari Raya. The Almighty God knows the truth and you too should let all Malaysians know the truth, that we conducted ourselves with decorum, even though we were initially stopped and not allowed to meet you.

You all with your propaganda had Hindraf demonized, some of you even wanted the society deregistered, do you think you can kill the spirit of Hindraf?? Sorry, we are not just a society, we are a united in spirit, not just Indians, but every Anak Bangsa Malaysia, and this spirit can never die, it will continue until we are accorded due respect as Malaysian citizens.

One may ask why we chose the Hari Raya Open House, our answer Mr Prime Minister is that you have just avoided all our calls to meet you in your office or elsewhere. We have no other choice but to state our request at this open house, we wanted you to look us in the eyes so that we can directly tell you to release our leaders, RPK and other detainees. That’s all. So cut out the condemnation and lies about our behaviour.

Many guests who were at the PWTC open house did not even know that we were present. Categorically we did not create any ruckus or commotion, full familes came in support. We are the ones who feel insulted that you did not treat us Malaysian citizens with due respect of a courteous host, especially as one would expect from a person of your stature.

I might not be a scholar on religion, but I can definitely say what the Prime Minister , the deputy prime minister, the home minister , the information minister, the tourism minister, Unity, Culture, Arts and Heritage Minister and rest of the ministers have said against Hindraf on and after the 1st of October 2008 Hari Raya Open House at PWTC – untruths, insincerity and lies are never condoned and unacceptable by any religion!!

Sambulingam Wisvalingam

Hindraf National Co-ordination team

14th October 2008.

Well, what do you expect? One group is dead set against you, so how to welcome you inside? If you went in plain clothes, they won’t mind. But you were representing an ideology which threatens their position.They have to maintain their stance in front of their supporters. So, when HINDRAF turned up at PWTC, they were left shell-shocked and embarrassed.

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Deepavali Shopping amid Economic downturn

October 14th, 2008
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How much does one spend for Deepavali? Clothes, prayer items, raw material for food/cookies, decorations, firecrackers (legal ones), house cleaning/painting (once every few years?), travelling back to home town, angpow for kids, etc. How much would it cost? RM500? RM1000? RM2000? RM5000? As for me, Deepavali has always been a low-key affair. So, most expenses will originate from Then.

Looking at the article from the NST, one “in-fashion” punjabi suit going for RM200, imagine if you have to buy 2 or 3 for your siblings, girlfriend, wife etc. I guess clothing is the single biggest cost for Deepavali

I was in Klang twice in October (and I think another 2 trips are in order if going by Then’s calculation). The crowd was less. I went on first day of Raya evening and also last Saturday night. Maybe the crowd is waiting for the last few days for better bargains.

The looming financial crisis has not dampened the spirit to shop for sarees and salwar kameez this Deepavali.
While saree shop owners admit that the Deepavali crowd in the Brickfields and Masjid India areas is a bit slow this time, they are still confident the cash registers will start ringing soon enough.

Women were still coming in for the latest Anarkali salwar kameez made popular by actress Aishwariya Rai, said Jothika Collections owner Thilagavathi Supramaniam.

“The Anarkali suit is the in-thing this Deepavali,” she said.

“Even though it is pegged at RM200 and more per suit, there is no shortage of buyers,” she said, adding that they were largely popular among the young crowd.

The Anarkali, designed with an empire line, boasts a traditional Moghul-style that has been revived with a contemporary look made popular via Bollywood and comes in classic colour combos — green with red and pink with grey.

The dinner saree is also a best-seller. Those who can afford to buy such premium products were not really affected by the dampened economy, said Thilagavathi.

“Sales for the lower range of sarees and salwar kameez are slightly down, but we have a steady stream of customers for our exclusive sarees like the dupion silk, brasso, traditional silk and sequined chiffon laser ones which come in vibrant colours.”

The prices for these sarees, range from RM120 to RM900 each.

“When Deepavali comes around, everyone wants to own at least one new outfit.”

So, the community is still spending money while the economy is in turmoil. Yeah, its once a year affair, so I rather not complain much. We hope that there’s enough left to cover for next few months.

So, how to be more prudent this Deepavali? Less clothes? Less food? Less travelling? Smaller open house?

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More training places for temporary Tamil school teachers

October 14th, 2008
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MIC helps to double places (from 100 to 200) for training for Tamil school teachers. Now targetting 300 places. If one remembers, recently the Tamil Schools Teachers Union was unhappy with the 100 places allocated. Now, 200 places is ready for the 1400 temporary teachers in Tamil schools. This was revealed by Dr S.Subramaniam.

Human Resources Minister and MIC secretary-general Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam said MIC would seek the cooperation of the Education Ministry to ensure that the 1,400 temporary teachers who are currently teaching in Tamil schools across the nation would be given the opportunity to pursue the teacher’s training course during the holidays within the next four years.

He said the Education Ministry had previously approved 100 places in the course for such teachers during the holidays, but at the request of MIC, had doubled the number of places to 200.

He said, however, that MIC found this number to be insufficient and had urged the ministry to allocate at least 300 places each year for temporary teachers from Tamil schools.

But, I’m peeved at the excuse given over partly-aided schools problem. For how long are they going to keep on identifying problems? Most schools have their own set of problems, so a crack team should be assigned to each of the 370 over schools. The team must be given a deadline to get the school to apply for conversion and clear all the requirements needed. I think in this way, at least few schools could have converted every year in the last 5 years. But until now, no news of even one school being converted. I think the idea of looking at the big picture is paralysing the process.

He said MIC was also in the midst of identifying problems faced by partly-aided schools and was taking the necessary action to solve these issues so that they could be converted to fully-aided schools.

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