| Hindraf to submit petition in London http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75256 |
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After six hours of confrontations in the streets of Kuala Lumpur today, the police eventually allowed Hindu Rights Action Front (Hindraf) to submit the petition but the offer was rejected. P Uthayakumar, Hindraf's legal adviser, said the petition would be delivered to Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in London instead. The 2,000-strong crowd outside the British High Commission then dispersed following pleas from organisers. The petition asks for Britain to appoint a Queen's counsel to represent Hindraf in their lawsuit. The lawsuit targets former colonial ruler Britain, and is aimed at highlighting what ethnic Indians say is continuing discrimination by the Malaysian government. It seeks four trillion dollars' compensation for the estimated two million ethnic Indians whose ancestors were brought here as indentured labourers by Britain in the 1800s – two million dollars each. The activists are also demanding the government boost the social and economic standards of minority Hindus, who make up the third largest community in Malaysia. Nazri backs use of force Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, minister in the Prime Minister's Department, backed police use of force. "This protest is illegal. The police have been given permission to use legitimate means to halt the gathering. And this means the use of tear gas and water cannons," he told AFP. Police used water cannons on the crowd who had gathered near the iconic Petronas Twin Towers but the protestors refused to budge while some threw the tear-gas canisters back. Chemicals used in the water cannons cause nausea and force people to gasp for air. Witnesses said police beat up some protestors with batons. Organisers said at least 400 people were arrested and 19 injured. Police, however, said more than 100 people had been detained. Demo a wake-up call Lim Kit Siang, opposition lawmaker and chairman of DAP, said the excessive use of police force "is most high-handed, ham-fisted and undemocratic."
Demonstrators condemned the tough police action and said that they would not be not silenced. N. Vijayan, 40, an engineer, said the Indian community had been marginalised for too long. "This demonstration should be a wake-up call for the government that we are really upset with its policies," he said. – AFP |
Posts Tagged ‘DAP’
Hindraf to submit petition in London
November 25th, 2007
30,000 Hindraf protesters rally in KL streets
November 25th, 2007| 30,000 Hindraf protesters rally in KL streets http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75250 |
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About 30,000 protesters demonstrated under the shadows of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Twin Towers after their efforts to petition the British High Commission was thwarted by the police with tear gas and chemical-laced water cannon. The protesters had attempted to gather outside the high commission early this morning but thousands were pushed back by the riot police to outside a two-kilometre radius of the venue. Crowds quickly grew at various points in the city, and were blocked by police and Federal Reserve Unit officers. At its height, there is an estimated 30,000 people scattered over a number of areas in the vicinty of the high commission. An estimated 10,000 gathered along Jalan Ampang, near Hotel Maya, with a further 5,000 on Jalan P Ramlee just before Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). Another 10,000 demonstraters were at the Jalan Tun Razak-Jalan Ampang interchange.
The protesters – a mix of young and old Indian Malaysians – seemed to have come from all over the country. At about 10am, the crowd along Jalan Ampang, near Hotel Maya, were addressed with loudhailers by Hindraf leaders, including P Uthayakumar. PKR information chief Tian Chua and DAP leader Ronnie Liu also addressed the rally. , the Hindraf leaders ended their speeches. But thousands of protesters continue to mill around the KLCC areas playing a cat-and-mouse game with the police water cannon. However at 11am, the crowd has moved from KLCC to edge closer to the British High Commission. Thousands faced off riot police at the key Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak intersection near Ampang Park. At 1pm, after negotiations with the police, Uthayakumar arrived to give a short speech and urged the crowd to disperse peacefully. The crowd was seen walking back down towards Jalan Sultan Ismail, away from the British High Commission. 'This is outrageous'
"Things are getting out of hand. We blame the police. They have beaten women and children. This is outrageous," he told Malaysiakini.
"I'm not happy with the way the police are handling the crowd,' he said. DAP member of parliament M Kulasegaran was also upset with the crackdown. "Over the last 50 years Indian have been marginalised in this country. And we now want the same rights as enjoyed by other communities," he told AFP. "They have no right to stop us from protesting today. This is the will of the people," he added. Petition to Queen Elizabeth II
The quantum being sought is about US$2 million for every Indian currently residing in Malaysia. Following the filing of the suit, Hindraf held nationwide roadshows explaining to grassroots about the case. Coupled with their work to prevent rampant state-sanctioned demolition of Hindu temples, Hindraf won over a wave of support for their cause. Today's memorandum was to petition Queen Elizabeth II to appoint a Queen's counsel to argue the case on their behalf. |
hindraf clarifies
November 22nd, 2007| Rumours rife, Hindraf not amused http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75077 |
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If text-messages are to be believed, Queen Elizabeth II will make an appearance at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday. This and other rumours are spreading via the short messaging service (SMS) on mobile phones, either to encourage or discourage people from attending a mass rally being organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
“The Queen is not coming. I did not get beaten up and I’m not in the intensive care unit. Other lawyers in Hindraf are not arrested,” he said, responding at one go to the main rumours in circulation. Incidentally, Queen Elizabeth II is scheduled to open the three-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala, Uganda, which starts on Friday. Uthayakumar also re-affirmed that Hindraf has not been issued a police permit after Cheras police chief Ahmad Amir Mohd Hashim rejected the application for technical and safety reasons two days ago. “We have sent an appeal to the Kuala Lumpur police chief (Zulhasnan Najib Baharudin) as well as the prime minister. Even if it is not approved, we will still go on with the peaceful assembly as it is well within our right under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.” Uthayakumar also said he has seen other text-messages claiming that hired gangsters will be present to disrupt the peaceful assembly, that police will set up roadblocks around the city and several bus companies have cancelled services to ferry people into Kuala Lumpur for the rally. The gathering is expected to attract 10,000 people, with Hindraf to hand over a petition addressed to the Queen to support a class-action suit against the British government for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years. The quantum being sought is US$4 trillion (RM14 trillion) – or US$1 million for every Indian currently residing in Malaysia. ‘Prove it, Samy’ Uthayakumar was also asked to respond to a claim by MIC president S Samy Vellu that Hindraf has not filed a case in London, but had only given notice to file a case.
“We have never filed a notice. If Samy Vellu (photo) has the evidence of that notice, then we would like to ask him to show it to us. Samy Vellu has nothing to do with this. It is between Hindraf, the British government and the Malaysian government.” The civil suit against the UK secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs – filed on Aug 30 at the Royal Court of Justice in London – took a month to prepare and was handled by Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy. The claim for compensation is based on alleged “pain, suffering, humiliation, discrimination and continuous colonialisation” suffered by the Indian community in Malaysia. Anwar: Let rally proceed Meanwhile, former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim has urged the police to issue a permit allowing Hindraf to proceed with its rally this Sunday. "It is the democratic right of all Malaysians to express their views and concerns peacefully. As the recent Bersih rally demonstrated, if the police decide to cooperate, the security and orderliness of any gathering can be guaranteed," said Anwar, who is also de facto leader of the opposition PKR. "The Indian community has been suffering in silence and the time is most opportune to bring an end to the neglect and marginalisation of the poor of all races. "I hope this rally will achieve its goal of affirming the interests of the Indian community as Malaysian citizens, and its right for a higher standard of living and quality of life." Malay version:
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demonstation at Giant Shah Alam over assault on customer
November 20th, 2007Update:Received this from a two friends. Thanks to Punita and Regina. Allow me to provide summary for benefit to international readers:
The complainant (Sashidaran) made a police report after he was accused of stealing at Giant, Shah Alam (one of the popular hypermarket chains). Not only he was accused, he claims that the security guards planted items in his bag, assaulted him, insulted his religion, and forced him to write a false confession. He was turned over to the police and taken to Seksyen 11 police station where he was subject to more assault and threats, and forced to sign another confession. He was denied access to his parents for three hours. His father later came and he was released. He found that some of his belongings were missing. He was to attend court hearing on 19 november 2007. He made the police report to protect himself and claim his innocence.
Nama : Sashindran
Bangsa : India
Agama : Hindu
Umur : 22 tahun
Pekerjaan : Technical Supporting
Laporan Kejadian
Pada hari 16 hb November 2007, lebih kurang pukul 11.20 pagi, saya telah pergi ke “Giant†di Seksyen 13, Shah Alam untuk membeli barang. Setelah saya beli barang itu berjumlah RM23 dan selepas membayarnya saya meletakkan diatas kaunter “ Giant “ untuk beli satu lagi barang.
Selepas saya mendapatkan barang Ambipure dan letakkan diatas kaunter. Semasa itu saya menerima pangilan telefon daripada pakcik saya. Semasa saya bercakap dan meletakkan telefon saya dalam “ sling beg “ saya ditegur oleh 2 pegawai sekuriti “Giant “ dan dibawa ke bilik mereka.
Sejurus sahaja saya sampai dibilik itu, saya dipukul dari belakang dengan tangan oleh salah seorang pegawai sekuriti dengan memberitahu berikut :-
“ kamu apa 08 punya orangkah, you tahu saya siapa, saya pun 08 punya orang besar “
Sejurus selepas itu, saya yang merupakan seorang penganut hindu yag memakai symbol keagamaan saya “ kum kum “ di dahi saya dan rantai yang ada wajah gambar tuhan (Krishna ). Pegawai itu terus memukul saya dan paksa saya untuk duduk dibawah dan seterusnya memadamkan “kum kum “ yang merupakan kesucian agama saya serta mencabut rantai keagamaaan saya daripada saya dan lalu dicampak dalam bilik tersebut.
Selepas itu, pegawai sekuriti itu ambil gambar tuhan Krishna saya yang berada dalam bentuk “pendant “ dan meletakkan semula di atas dahi saya dan beritahu perkara berikut sebelum dia menendang saya dibahagian belakang :-
“ Sekarang kamu nampak macam syaitan “
Selepas itu pegawai sekuriti menyuruh saya untuk menulis surat akuan bahawa saya telah mencuri “ silicon , bostik, polish kereta dan perfume aroma therapy “ . Saya memberitahu bahawa saya tidak boleh menulis kerana saya tidak buat salah atau mencuri barang-barang tersebut. Selepas saya beritahu ini, saya dipukul dengan kerusi plastic berwarna biru sampai kerusi tersebut pecah. Saya yang dalam ketakutan dan kesakitan, terpaksa akur dengan ugutan mereka untuk menulis surat akuan tersebut.
Selepas saya menulis surat tersebut, mereka suruh saya tandatangan diatas surat itu, tetapi saya menolak permintaan mereka.Disebabkan itu, mereka pukul lagi dengan kerusi plastic yang pecah tadi. Mereka juga mengambil selipar saya dan diikat dengan tali dan menggantungkannya di leher saya dan beritahu sekali lagi berikut :-
“ Kamu sekarang macam anak syaitan, selapes itu dipukul sekali lagi dan dimarahi lagi “ keling, bodoh ………. “
Dengan paksaan itu saya terpaksa menandatangani surat itu dan pada masa itu sekali lagi, saya dipukul di tangan kanan dengan menggunakan kerusi tersebut. Selepas itu sekuriti itu minta saya mengaku dan bayar RM30 agar saya boleh dibebaskan tetapi saya tidak bayar. Saya tidak ingin bayar kerana saya tidak mencuri barangan tersebut .
Dalam masa yang sama, saya perhatikan mereka memasukkan barangan tersebut, “ silicon, bostik, polish kereta dan perfume aroma terapi kedalam beg saya.
Selepas itu, mereka mengambil gambar saya memegang beg dan seterusnya mereka suruh saya buka beg, satu lagi gambar diambil, kemudian mereka suruh saya mengeluarkan semua barangan yang sekuriti tadi masukkan dan diambil satu lagi gambar diambil. Akhirnya saya disuruh pegang semua barang itu dan diambil satu lagi gambar. Mereka mengambil 4 gambar.
Selepas itu, saya dipukul oleh kedua-dua sekuriti dikepala saya dan mengugut saya bunuh sekiranya beritahu sesiapa.
Selepas itu pegawai sekuriti itu memanggil polis untuk menyerahkan saya dan dalam masa menunggu mereka terus pukul saya. Sejurus sahaja, polis sampai, salah seorang polis tamper saya dari belakang dibahu saya. Selepas itu, seorang polis menggunakan bat senapang dan memukul saya dibahu belakang.
Saya digari dan dibawa kedalam kereta peronda polis dan diberitahu akan dibawa ke Balai Polis Sekysen 11, Shah Alam. Semasa berada dalam kereta peronda, salah seorang polis memaki saya seperti berikut : –
1. “ India keling you apa 08 punya orangkah “
2. “ Saya boleh lepaskan awak dan tembak dan membuang saya dimana-mana sahaja.
Kemudian dia mengambil ID pekerja saya dari dompet saya dan campakkan keluar dari kereta. Masa itu, saya meminta jangan campak tetapi dia terus memaki saya seperti berikut :-
“ You India keling pasti masuk lokap, kamu akan hilang kerja, tak payah ada ID, Ini negara Islam, apasal you ada sini, kalau mau curi balik India “
Selepas itu, saya terus dibawa ke Balai Seksyen 11, Shah Alam. Sarjan Azami meminta saya terus mengaku bahawa saya mencuri padahal saya kata saya tidak mencuri.
Seterusnya, sarjan Azami mengugut saya untuk menandatangani laporan yang disediakan oleh Sarjan Azami sendiri tanpa mengambil keterangan saya.
Apabila saya kata tak boleh, dia mengugut seperti berikut, “ kamu akan dimasukkan kedalam lokap 14 hari dan dipukulâ€. Masa itu, saya minta mereka menghubungi bapa saya tetapi tidak dibenarkan.
Akhirnya, saya terpaksa mengalah dengan desakkan mereka, saya tandatangani laporan Sarjan Azami tersebut.
Selepas lebih kurang 3 jam kemudian, saya dibenarkan untuk menelefon bapa saya. Mereka hanya berikan telefon bimbit dan dompet. Barangan dibawah telah hilang semasa saya menerima “ sling bag “ saya:-
1. Castrol Multipurpose tool.
2. Duit berjumlah RM150
3. Pen drive
4. Proskit Precision Tools
Saya juga mendapati kredit ditelefon saya telah kurang sebanyak RM7.00. Selepas itu bapa saya dating ke Balai dan saya keluar dengan jaminan polis dan diminta untuk hadir ke mahkamah Seksyen 6 pada hari Isnin ( 19-11-07 ) 9.15 pagi.
Saya membuat laporan ini untuk membuktikan bahawa saya tidak bersalah, saya dianiaya dan sekuriti tersebut telah dengan sengaja mereka cerita palsu tentang kecurian tersebut. Saya juga ingin membuat laporan ini untuk melindungi diri dan keselamatan saya daripada dua sekuriti Giant Seksyen 18 dan pegawai polis yang mengugut untuk membunuh saya. Kalau apa-apa berlaku pada saya, pegawai sekuriti dan polis tersebut adalah bertanggungjawab.
Yang benar,
………………………………..
( Sashindran a/l Ravichandran )
Kamala says several factors causing racial division
November 20th, 2007Several factors causing racial division
DECLINING racial tolerance can be attributed to the country's education system, rural to urban migration and poor understanding of government policies.
Replying to a question by Datuk Lee Hwa Beng (Subang Jaya-BN) on the issue at the state assembly meeting, state executive councillor Kamala Ganapathy said polarisation among students could give rise to misunderstandings and fights.
She said this problem was further compounded by differences in culture, lifestyles and religion.
Misunderstanding among races was more of concern especially to those who felt that many obstacles had been placed in front of them, she added.
Kamala said many also felt that the playing field was not level and they also did not have the same starting line.
She stressed that the quality of the intervention was important as it should not bog down people with endless red tape.
Earlier, at the start of the question and answer session, Teng Chang Khim (DAP-Sungai Pinang), who made a comeback yesterday after being suspended for 30 months, asked the speaker why one of his questions on the construction of a mosque in Klang had been rejected.
Deputy Speaker Datuk Satim Diman did not allow the question as Article 3 of the Federal Constitution states that Islam is the official religion.
The government had banned the rally, fearing it could spark racial violence and warned that anyone who participated would be detained.
About 5,000 people were stopped at the Jalan Ampang and Middle-Ring-Road intersection.
Hindraf leader A Sivanesan condemned the police for turning Kuala Lumpur into a war zone.
Lawyer Haris Ibrahim, a member of the Bar Council monitoring team, was stunned by the heavy-handed police action against the protesters.
Furthermore, the suit sought a declaration that the Reid Commission Report 1957 failed to incorporate the rights of the Indian community when independence was granted, resulting in discrimination and marginalisation to this day.
When contacted today, Hindraf legal advisor P Uthayakumar said he is getting in more volunteers to deal with calls to his office from those seeking clarification.
“We have filed the suit and we have proof […] complete with the Queen’s stamp, a civil suit number and the receipt of payment,” he said.