Posts Tagged ‘discrimination’

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Why HIV testing only for Muslims?

October 7th, 2008
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I’m curious as to why HIV testing is not done for all Malasyians. I read in papers that in certain states like Johor, its compulsory for Muslims to obtain a certificate before getting married. Now, Islamic Development Department (Jakim) director-general Datuk Wan Mohamad Sheikh Abdul Aziz said all state religious authorities agreed to implement and enforce the ruling in a meeting in July. So, 2009 onwards its compulsory HIV testing for all Muslims. Furthermore, the test is for free of charge!

Now, lets look at the body that issues the statement – JAKIM, which is solely for Islamic affairs. That’s fine because the religion is stated as religion of the federation. But, problem now is that members of that religion are getting extra non-religious benefit. Of course the funds for the free test may come from zakat collection or other sources which is not from non-Muslims. But my point is that, the non-Muslims are deprived of such free services or even such rulings which can protect innocent lives. Why? Because we don’t have a body to protect our rights. There’s no “non-Muslims Development Department” or “Other Religions Development Dept” or whatever. Can we expect Malaysian Hindu Sangam or MCCBCHST to issue such rulings when they are toothless and moneyless?

Not only free testing, the religious authorities will even give couples detected with HIV “counselling and advice on preventive measures, and on how to prepare themselves physically and mentally”, says the director-general.

Why not the Health Ministry and NRD work together to take over this task and make it compulsory for all Malaysians who want to get married.

Are non-Muslims lives cheaper than Muslim lives?

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Same agenda but different approach for MIC and HINDRAF

October 6th, 2008
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Dr S.Subra said that both HINDRAf and MIC are fighting to get the ISA detainees released, but they are using different approaches. MIC, he says, does not believe in “crowding” Hari Raya open houses.

“This sort of behaviour does not serve well for a united multiracial nation. It also does not reflect the true nature of our Indian culture,” he said.

Dr Subramaniam said the group had created discomfort at the function. Discomfort??? Taking a ride in LRT or RapidKL gives you more discomfort la!

He said everyone should emulate Opposition leaders such as DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, who, despite political differences, attended open houses and joined the festivities in true Malaysian spirit. Dr Subramaniam said the MIC would continue to talk to Abdullah, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Cabinet ministers to lobby for the release of the five. He said the MIC pursued the matter on humanitarian grounds and because of pleas made to the party by the families of the detainees.

NST covered the same news as well, but its headline screamed Hindraf went ‘over the limit’. However, the only time the word “limit” came in the article was when Dr S.Subra said:

He acknowledged that it was the group’s democratic right to be at the open house but noted that everything had its limits.

Looks like NST is also following Utusan now.

Meanwhile, Hindraf national event coordinator Kannan Ramasamy reiterated that they were invited to the open house and had been orderly. He said Dr Subramaniam should have inquired about the actual situation before commenting on the conduct of the Hindraf members.

By the way, Haris Ibrahim who was at PWTC documents his experience. As for Utusan, they continue to spin more misleading articles. Today, the police are being pressured to investigate, calls for tough action are being made (more politicians were commenting on Sunday’s edition), and a different part of Dr S.Subra’s interview was published. Utusan has deviated from the anti-ISA visitors to Hindraf-bashing. In fact, majority of the papers did not talk about Free RPK supporters nor offer any proof of the “protestors” shouting, fighting, or causing “discomfort”. Probably the police are fuming that their were made to look like fools in front of their political bosses, and the politicians are angry that their exclusivity was breached.

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Denison thought urban poverty was among Indians only

October 6th, 2008
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Suhakam commissioner in charge of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Datuk Dr Denison Jayasooria was commenting on the fact that the urban poor are not being provided with financial assistance from government departments and other entities. He also said the Welfare Department should deploy more officers to do housecalls instead of waiting for the poor to approach them.

“Some of them are not aware of the assistance provided by these agencies, so it is best if the Welfare Department or other relevant agencies can go to the ground and check on these people and at the same time they can also update their data.”

He said because of the present situation many urban folk were turning anti-establishment as they felt neglected by the government.

“I have met so many of these people and they told me they are Bumiputera and yet had nothing. I thought this problem was only among the Indians, but it seems that I am wrong.”

He said the authorities such as the Welfare Department should rebuild their networks with community heads like the surau chairman for people living in these low-cost flats to use as a referrence point in order to provide assistance.

“In kampungs, the Welfare Department has a link with the village head, but for those living in urban areas they don’t have such contact. That is why it is important to have a reference point. With such a reference point, the Welfare Department can then have a liaison person to speak to and find out more about the situation on the ground.”

I’m not sure if NST quoted him correctly, but Denison seems to have admitted that the Indians have been neglected, and he now realises that the urban poor Malays are also being neglected. By the way, there are many funds and channels to help Malay Muslims – either through welfare or religious agencies. How about funds or channels to help others?

Below is the letter by Denison (published in NST):

Poverty Levels: Show them the way to a better quality of life
By : DATUK DR DENISON JAYASOORIA,
Chairman Economic, Social and Cultural Working Group, Suhakam

SITI Nurbaiyah’s report “Poor Muslims slipping through the zakat net” (NST, Sept 18) highlights the plight of 30 hardcore poor families in Taman Sentul Utama who have not been able to access welfare assistance, either through religious institutions or through the Welfare Department.

This is shocking, especially when the government has made poverty eradication its No 1 priority and also has set a target of zero hardcore poverty by 2010.

There is a major gap between policy makers, service delivery and implementation institutions on the one hand and the very poor at the bottom of society. The poor are alienated and distant from the very institutions that were established to help them.

The poverty-line income, or income measure for the hardcore poor and the poor, is unrealistic. Take the plight of the family of Rosnaini Abu Hassan, whose only income is from her son who earns RM850. This family is statistically “non-poor” and definitely not hardcore poor.

But, look at their predicament: Their house rent is RM450. She has a mother who is 88 and a son who is disabled.
By official statistics they are “non-poor”. In reality, they are very poor in an urban environment of increasing prices and rising cost of living.

This is a common problem for many low-income families living in urban areas. Their life is hard and often the opportunities to build their capability and capacity are not there.

There are similar cases, not just among poor Malays but also among many displaced Indian plantation workers.

A key issue has been why these families are unable to access the Welfare Department for direct assistance or unable to access the poverty-eradication programmes meant for the urban poor.

Access and inclusion are the keys to empowering the poor. It is not through handouts but by being shown the way to a better life that these families can break the cycle of poverty.

Why are the cries of the poor not heard or entertained? Is there some form of discrimination because they are poor or powerless? Why is this so when so much funds are being set aside, both by the public and private sector?

Suhakam calls on the relevant public sector agencies, especially the Welfare Department and the social-development section of Kuala Lumpur City Hall, to review this situation and ensure that these poor families in Taman Sentul Utama are not further marginalised.

The right to development is a fundamental right and the poor must have opportunities to enhance their economic and social rights.

Suhakam also calls on the government to immediately establish a task force, especially in the urban areas which are under the purview of local governments, to identify the poor and ensure they have access to a better quality of life.

Also, the government’s Economic Planning Unit should review the poverty line income and methodology in identifying the real poor. In addition to the income measure, other qualitative or quantitative indicators must be used to ensure greater inclusion and access.

We must establish fair and equitable mechanisms in addressing the root issues and concerns of the urban poor.

There has been repeated calls to reevaluate the poverty line because its ridiculous to set it between RM600 and RM700. The poverty index should include location, number of dependents (and their status) and income.

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Hindraf to sue Utusan

October 5th, 2008
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Probably Hindraf should sue all those ministers who commented as well 🙂 Waytha dares the media to publish proof of the unruly behavior of Hindraf supporters who attended the Hari Raya open house at PWTC. So, far photos in Malaysiakini and those received via email paint a different story compared to the yarn spun by Utusan.

Waytha says:

So visiting the PM on a Hari Raya (Eid) is a grave sin committed by HINDRAF. An act of betrayal and insult to the Islamic religion. the masterminds should be arrested under the ISA or prosecuted under the existing Laws – so say the Malay extremist and fundamentalists organisations. Cabinet Ministers claim HINDRAF was extreme in barging into the PM’s open house and presenting a memorandum. Their seditious criticisms. were carried out by the none other than the UMNO controlled daily Utusan and TV3.

So it was a grave sin. I challenge these fools to obtain evidence from over 30 odd TV crews and pressmen (both local and International media) and the numerous Police Special Branch units who covered , recorded and filmed the entire episode to make public their recordings so that the whole world could see the foolishness and low mentality of Malaysian politicians and their UMNO coolies who stir up racial sentiments for their own political survival.

There is no doubt that whenever there are serious problems within UMNO, the best solution (idiotic though) is to stir racial tension among races. UMNO creates problems and misleads the public with the strength and might of their media.

Let us see the pictures below which our supporters recorded.

It is for you to judge whether HINDRAF presence at PM’S OPEN HOUSE IS as an INSULT TO ISLAM ?

This card is interpreted by the Cabinet Ministers as memorandum. I wonder if they know what they are talking about. The simplest greeting card prepared by a 6 year old with the help of adult to express the feeling of HINDRAF supporters to the PM-And this is interpreted as an insult to the Islamic faith???

Salam Aidilfitri
Semoga di hari mulia ini YAB akan diberkati rahmat Tuhan dan membebaskan semua tahanan ISA dan mendengar rintihan masyarakat India di bumi tercinta Malaysia. Maaf Zahir batin.

P.Waythamoorthy
Hindraf Chairman
Currently in London

Note: The images are in this PDF file (3MB).

Now, there’s a possibility of Utusan getting a RM1 million lawsuit soon. Malaysiakini reports that the issue is being discussed by HINDRAF lawyers. National coordinator RS Thanenthiran said that HINDRAF was very disturbed by the Utusan reports which he claims were tainted by lies and distorted facts.

A commentary in Utusan by Baharom Mahusin deserves a police investigation or even detention under ISA due its contents. I guess the writer may need police protection.

Hindraf was particularly offended by Baharom’s comment which stated that ‘ Kalau penyokong Hindraf melakukan penghinaan seumpama itu di kawasan-kawasan pendalaman yang menjadi kampung halaman orang Melayu, mereka sudah pun diajar tentang makna dan akibat berperangai kurang ajar.’ (If Hindraf supporters pour such insults in the interior areas dominated by Malays, they would have been taught a lesson on the meaning and consequence of misbehaviour.)

Thanenthiran asked, “What is the writer trying to instigate here?
‘Communal conflict? Racial hatred?”.

“Baharom’s comment was most unprofessional and unethical”, Thanenthiran told a press conference in Butterworth.

HINDRAF also chastised and ridiculed the Home Minister and others who did not understand the difference between Hari Raya card and a memorandum.

Charles Hector raised a similar question to mine in his blog – Why no coverage of the Free RPK group nor a warning to them in Utusan and NST? Is it discrimination? He also wrote few more important points.

Utusan, meanwhile, continuous with its tirade. The protection and freedom given to this paper is unprecedented. If this was some other paper, it would have closed shop ages ago. On Saturday, Utusan says “Hindraf diberi amaran” (HINDRAF warned) which reported on Home Minister hinting that the illegal organization (no other paper uses the word “illegal”) HINDRAF faces police investigation over the Raya visit. The article in Utusan is really an insulting peice of work. I won’t bother reproducing it here lest people start to burn Utusan paper in public or throw cocktails (Is it the trend nowadays?). I guess even ISA may be used against the key persons. Among the names being bandied about was Shanti, Waytha’s wife and Thanenthiran, the National Coordinator. I guess even the 6 year old daughter may be detained as potential future threat! Other articles in Utusan with similar hateful words are here and here. Take a deep breath before reading them.

Meanwhile Samy says he will continue to fight for the release of Hindraf 5 even with the “problem” given by HINDRAF.

He said he was taking “other action” besides appealing to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and the BN supreme council that the Hindraf leaders be set free from their detention under the Internal Security Act.

Samy Vellu however declined to give details. He said he was only trying to help the family of the detained men.

He said their wives were happy and hopeful since he began to work for their release.

“MIC is going all out until we get them released. We are getting help from others to get them out. When they are released, I don’t need anything from them. I’m not doing this for popularity, I’m doing it for the community.”

He also said that MIC won’t pressure the Home Minister or place any conditions. He said he will meet Syed Hamid next week to discuss further.

According to Samy Vellu, the MIC’s effort is in line with its objectives to defend and protect the rights of the Indian community in this country.

“The MIC also wants to pursue this on humanitarian grounds as the families of those involved are suffering and need assistance,” he said.

He added that it was mischevious to suggest the party’s effort was to gain publicity or become popular.

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50 percent bumi housing quota in Kedah

October 5th, 2008
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I fail to see the logic of this move by PAS-led Kedah. This Pakatan Rakyat state announced that its new policy is to have 50% bumiputra quota for housing schemes. The Menteri Besar said that it was to compel developers to build affordable homes for all Kedahans, while EXCO Phahrolrazi said:

among the policy’s main objectives was the need to check racial polarisation as racial homogeneity could be observed in some new housing schemes.

He said housing schemes should have a healthy mix of people from various religious and racial backgrounds to promote racial integration, tolerance and understanding.

The Menteri Besar, Azizan Abdul Razak, was also quoted in NST that the policy would not deprive other communities of the right to own houses. He said that this decision was made because it was found that many Bumiputeras could not purchase houses because the quota was already taken up.

A majority of 1.5 million people (out of the estimated two million people) are Malays and the rest a mix of Indians, Chinese and others, and we have proof that when a Bumiputera wants to buy a house, the developer would say they have been sold.

In other words, the MB says that developers are lying in order to maintain a certain exclusivity for the housing projects.

The MB disagreed with the comments made by Housing Developers Association of Malaysia (Rehda) Kedah/Perlis chairman Ricque Liew that property developers in Kedah might have to close shop if the state government did not revoke the policy.

Liew had said that the state government should stick to the national policy where the Bumiputera quota was fixed at 30 per cent because even some Malays did not want to buy Bumiputera lots as they could not make much of a profit when they sold them later on.

He had said that the value of Bumiputera units did not appreciate much and buyers often had problems reselling them as they must sell to Bumiputera buyers only.

Liew added that “such a policy will only restrict the Malays from making a profit at market value.”

Now, the idea that this policy would not deprive other communities is a joke. You are taking a bigger slice of the pie, and there’s no indication that the pie is getting bigger. So, essentially, you are reducing the leftover pie. Unless there is proof that non-bumiputra units are not sold completely, indicating lack of interest, its pretty clear that this is a discriminatory and depriving policy. So, I hope the MB can clarify.

Secondly, why not get rid of the such handout mentality, and just have a policy based on income-level? In this way, the poor Chinese, Siamese, Indonesians, Indians and others can also benefit. Isn’t that more fair, even in Islam? Hopefully the mufti or other learned people can explain better?

Let’s see now what Pakatan Rakyat team members (DAP and PKR) have to say. Also, Waytha of Hindraf may want to issue a media statement on this. Then, it will be the turn of the opposition parties – MCA/Gerakan/MIC to attack PAS. There’s a caveat though, there must be numbers to substantiate the demand for houses in Kedah for both bumiputra and non-bumiputra lots in the past few years.

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