There was a live teleconferencing last Sunday involving Waytha, held by HINDRAF at Brickfields. Unfortunately, my sources could not attend the event. So, waiting for secondary information.

According to Waytha’ press statement, which was reported by Malaysiakini, lots of activities are being planned by HINDRAF:

• HINDRAF’s flag campaign to celebrate our 51st Merdeka Day on August 31, 2008;
• HINDRAF’s request to the government for HINDRAF’s supporter to march in the 51st National Day Parade as citizen of Malaysia;
• HINDRAF Relay Hunger strikes throughout the country starting with KLCC on every Sunday from August 10, 2008
• HINDRAF Hunger Strike for Merdeka Day and 24 hr YAAGAM in Seremban on 31st August 2008;
• HINDRAF supporters of at least 10,000 to attend PM’s Hari Raya Open in Kepala Batas and the National Hari Raya celebration in Kuala Lumpur;
• HINDRAF supporter’s of at least 10,000 in each state to attend the Hari Raya Open house in their respective Menteri Besar’s house;
• HINDRAF to initiate nationwide appeal to all Sultans and Yang Dipertua Negeri starting with the state of Penang.
• HINDRAF request it’s supporter to celebrate Deepavali in simplicity with family and friends and no open houses.
• HINDRAF shall intensify its campaign to release the HINDRAF 5 by approaching all countries in the United Nation if the Malaysian government continue to hold them arbitrarily for voicing their concern for the systematically discriminated Malaysian Indians beyond the end of December 2008
• HINDRAF would hold a mega gathering to commemorate November 25th mass Malaysian Indian uprising against neo colonialization of Malaysian Indians.

According to Waytha, Hindraf plans to mobilise its members to both Abdullah’s open house in Kepala Batas and in Kuala Lumpur to highlight the appeals.

Waytha also highlighted two problems affecting HINDRAF:

• HINDRAF being infiltrated with a number of informers under the payroll of Special Branch. These informers pretend to be our loyal supporters but in fact they are agent provocateur planted by parties interested in destroying and dismantling HINDRAF’s struggle for the Indian community. These agent provocateurs are not necessarily Police officers but informers who are in the payroll of Special Branch. In due cause, HINDRAF will reveal these personnels with evidence .

• HINDRAF name being used to promote businesses and enhancement of several personalities for their own benefits and objectives. Many see HINDRAF as an opportunity to gain leverage and dictate their own benefits. This is totally against HINDRAF principle. HINDRAF is you and me who are battling a war for better policies and governance for the Malaysian Indian as a society with equal and fair treatment in relation to education, economics and freedom of religion as oppose to individual glamour and glory. HINDRAF is involved for the well being of society not monetary and individual public recognization.

Meanwhile, The Malaysian Insider covered the teleconferencing and raising of flag event by HINDRAF:

The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), frustrated at the slow pace of Pakatan Rakyat’s promises to help poor Indians, hopes the federal opposition would do more to fulfill its election manifesto.Interim leaders, speaking at its first annual Jalur Gemilang launching ceremony here today, urged Malaysian Indians to continue the struggle for equality despite the loss of its top leadership and lack of tangible change after helping to wrest four states from the Barisan Nasional.

“BN has denied our rights, that’s why we support the opposition. But even they don’t move in the exact direction we want. At the stroke of a pen, Pakatan-led governments can give us fully-aided Tamil schools,” ideological coordinator W. Sambulingam said in his speech.

“Right now, it’s only one here and one there. Tell us what the plan is and how it will be executed. If you can allocate 130 hectares for pig farms in Selangor, I am sure something can be done for Tamil schools.”

Pakatan controls Kedah, Penang, Perak and Selangor, as well as Pas’s long-held Kelantan.
Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy, currently in exile in the United Kingdom, had last month sent a letter to the Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim concerning Tamil schools and also land for Hindu temples, crematoriums and burial sites.

Five Hindraf leaders are currently in detention under the ISA. Surendran believes a Pakatan government will champion changes for minorities. Gobalakrishnan insisted that BN was blocking efforts to improve Tamil schools.Its legal advisor N. Surendran said the struggle was not about grabbing positions but to bring about change in the country.
“We are not supporting Pakatan Rakyat to gain political positions but because they have promised a free society and we have faith in their promise.

“We recognise that any government needs to be pressured and lobbied to give the people what they want and this can only be effective when society and media is free and oppressive laws are abolished,” he told The Malaysian Insider after his speech.

Waytha had also addressed the gathering at the Federal Territory Girl Guides’ Hall in Brickfields via a teleconference call in which he called for Hindraf to continue the struggle for their own betterment and not for the sake of the plight of individual leaders.
“Don’t forget that the idea of Hindraf is for your rights,” he said.

He also called for this year’s Deepavali celebrations to be done low-key as a show of solidarity for the Hindraf 5 who would not be able to participate in festivities.

Also present at the gathering was PKR’s Padang Serai MP N. Gobalakrishnan, who replied on behalf of Pakatan, that it was the federal government that blocked plans to improve Tamil schools.

“Tamil school headmasters have refused to meet with opposition figures and cited an Education Ministry order. I personally had to leave a parent-teacher association meeting in Kulim before the headmaster would attend.”

Legal advisor Surendran rejected any reconciliation with MIC chief Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu to resolve the problems of the Indian community.

“Samy’s attempt to mediate for the release of the Hindraf 5 is a direct contradiction to what he said prior to the elections when he supported the arrests.

“As far as Hindraf is concerned, we have no faith in MIC’s race-based struggle and we don’t take Samy seriously. We ourselves are an offshoot of Police Watch and we were formed to fill the void because no one was fighting for Indians,” said Surendran who is also legal advisor for the NGO monitoring the police.

Today’s event was organised to dispel the notion that the group was not patriotic.
“We are not against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong or the country. We are simply against the government that denies us our rights. So with Merdeka coming soon, we want to launch our own campaign,” Sambulingam explained.

Earlier, national events coordinator R. Kannan had recapped the group’s activities since its inception last year and claimed that 69 per cent of Indians voted for the opposition in the March 8 polls and three states with 20 per cent Indian population made the difference in handing Pakatan Rakyat power.

“This proves that despite being a minority community, Indians can still be kingmakers,” he said.

After the event, about 100 people regathered at KLCC to protest, and
attract the attention of the Commonwealth Parliamentarian Association.