Posts Tagged ‘discrimination’

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mahathir on ISA

December 22nd, 2007
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TDM says if don't like ISA, don't vote for those who use them. So, asking people not to vote for BN?

Star, NST, and MK excerpts below:

The Star
On the Government using the Internal Security Act (ISA) against Hindraf leaders, Dr Mahathir said he himself had used the ISA before. 

"It is up to the government and the people to decide this. You see, we are a democratic country. 

"If the people selected to lead are the people who support the use of ISA, then they will use it. The choice is yours. I thought people approved the use of ISA when they supported me, so I implemented it." 

However, Dr Mahathir felt that problems felt by any community ought to be addressed in other ways and that public assemblies should only be used as a last resort.

NST
When asked on the government’s decision to invoke the Internal Security Act (ISA) on the group behind the activities which threatened public order and national security, Dr Mahathir said: “I used the ISA too.

“It is up to the government and the people to decide; as you know we are a democratic country. If you elect people who are supportive of the ISA, naturally the ISA will be there.

“If you don’t like the ISA, you have to elect people who don’t like the ISA. The choice is yours.”

According to Dr Mahathir, he was elected based on the fact that he supported the ISA.

“I was elected by the people, so I thought the people approved the ISA, that’s why I implemented the ISA,” he said.

On claims of ethnic cleansing here, Dr Mahathir said he read a lot about ethnic cleansing in Bosnia.

“I have yet to see a lot of Indians being killed here. Malays killing Indians and all that…I think that’s a bit absurd.”

On street demonstrations, he said the people were entitled to raise (issues) but there were other ways of doing it.

“Not unless they are prevented from making their presentation in other ways.

“If they don’t have a choice, of course, they may resort to demonstrations. But if they have a choice, they have their own leaders to explain their problems. I think that should be their first choice,” he said.

MK
Former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad said today demonstrations should only be held as a last resort when other avenues of communicating grievances are unavailable.

Mahathir said that as long as the channels are still open for issues to be raised and conveyed to community leaders, he is against demonstrations.

“They are entitled to raise (the issues), but there are other ways of raising it,” Mahathir told a press conference at his Perdana Leadership Foundation office in Putrajaya.

“If they have no other choice, of course, they may resort to demonstrations. But if they have a choice, they have their own leaders, they can meet (and) they can explain their problems, I think that would be the first choice,” he added.

Mahathir – speaking after the launch of a book on ‘The Third World and International Law’ by legal expert Tungku Sofiah Jewa – was commenting on the spate of public gatherings organised recently, such as by polls watchdog coalition Bersih and Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

Also present at the press conference were Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali and Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage Dr Rais Yatim.

While Bersih rallied about 40,000 people into the streets on Nov 10 in support of a petition to the King for electoral reform, about 30,000 rallied on Nov 25 in support of a Hindraf petition to the British embassy protesting discrimination against and marginalisation of ethnic Indians.

Following the crackdowns by the police on the events, civil society groups and organisations have pressed for the government to give greater freedom for public assemblies and to abolish laws requiring a police permit before public gatherings are held.

Vote wisely

Mahathir also denied that the Indian community had been refused opportunities to make their grievances known.

On claims of ethnic cleansing here as alleged by Hindraf,  Mahathir said he read a lot about ethnic cleansing in Bosnia.

"I have yet to see a lot of Indians being killed here. Malays killing Indians and all that….I think that's a bit absurd."

  Speaking on the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) against five Hindraf leaders, Mahathir said if people were against the ISA – which provides for detention without trial – they should not vote to power a party whose politicians are in support of the act.

“As you know, we are a democratic country. If you elect people who are supportive of the ISA, naturally, the ISA will be there. If you don’t like the ISA, you have to elect people who don’t like the ISA. The choice is yours,” he said.

“I was elected despite the fact that I supported the ISA. I was elected by the people, so I thought the people approved the ISA. That’s why I implemented the ISA,” he added.

Many quarters have criticised the government’s detention of the ‘Hindraf 5' under the ISA as an act of ‘desperation‘.

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Gerakan leader Paranjothy attacks UMNO

December 21st, 2007
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I read with amazement the report below. Is Paranjothy committing political suicide or is this a case of "miscommunication" between him and the journalist?

Gerakan rep: Umno incites racial sentiments
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/76305
Dec 21, 07 6:23pm

In an audacious move, a notable Gerakan politician has taken Barisan Nasional coalition leader Umno to task for inciting racial sentiments among Malays to gain political mileage. 

“They incite racial sentiments among their community in a petty attempt to further their political career,” Gerakan Youth vice-chief S Paranjothy alleged today.

Such attempts, he said, include taking potshots at other BN component parties which draw their support from non-Malay communities. 

“Umno leaders are very found of picking on component parties and use them as their punching bag or stepping-stone to gain popularity in their community,” Paranjothy said in a hard-hitting four-page statement entitled ‘Discrimination from Womb to Tomb’.

and his deputy Khairy Jamaluddin’s claim that non-Malays would take advantage of a weak Umno leadership, as prime examples of racial posturing. 
 
He also cited Khairy’s speech at the Umno general assembly last month, during which he blamed newspaper vendors for not wanting to work on Deepavali day. He made a pointed reference to the fact that the sector is predominated by Indian Malaysians. 

(Each year, the print media takes a break during the major festivals. This year, Deepavali fell during the week of the Umno general assembly, and there was no publication on the day following the delivery of the presidential address.)

“Umno is fond of playing up sensitive issues among Malaysians. Statements and decisions made by Umno politicians have been (discriminatory) and contain a lot of racial slurs. So who is playing racial politics in Malaysia?… So who is causing racial disunity?” asked Paranjothy.

He warned that national unity would be elusive as long as political parties and politicians continue their communal approach towards politics.

“Politicians always feel (they) must fight for (their) own party. Since we have mostly ethnic parties, they are fighting for their ethnic group. It is difficult to achieve any kind of consensus.”

He stressed that the 14 BN component parties must consolidate into a single party in order to “end racial manipulation in politics”.

“In a multiracial party, if a politician wants to succeed, he would need to prove his ability and win support from all races, not just his own,” he explained.

‘Fourth-class citizens’

Commenting on the Nov 25 Hindraf rally, Paranjothy said the 30,000 Indians took part to express their “frustrations and anger” because the community has been “marginalised, oppressed and ignored”. 
 
Paranjothy said Indians form the most neglected group in economic terms, as shown by key performance indicators such as tertiary education.

“(They) are treated as fourth-class citizens. Where the Indians predominate over their fellow Malaysians is mostly in prison, violent crimes, gangsterism, suicide and social ills. Government policies have failed to improve (their situation).”

On the government’s hardline stance against public demonstrations, Paranjothy said the government has practised double-standards in the issuance of police permits.

“I have participated in street demonstrations and rallies organised by Barisan Nasional Youth, spearheaded by Umno Youth, to handover a memorandum… over certain issues that had taken place (abroad) which I believe would not have benefitted Malaysia.

“Did BN Youth obtained a permit to hold the rallies or demonstrations?… Looks like the government is one-sided when it came to the issuance of permits for public gatherings. BN started this culture of street demonstrations and now others have emulated it.”

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Shaving head to support Hindraf

December 21st, 2007
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Oh no! If i shave my head for any other reason, it may be taken as supporting Hindraf! 🙂 Hmmm…what if all those who shave their heads during Thaipusam do it as a support for Hindraf. That would mean thousands of people!!!

Hindraf supporters shave heads to protest detention
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/76265
Dec 20, 07 2:13pm

More than a dozen ethnic Indian activists shaved their heads outside Batu Caves temple today to protest the detention of their leaders under the tough Internal Security Act (ISA).

Five leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), calling for an end to alleged discrimination of Indians in multi-racial Malaysia, were held last week under the ISA which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

More than 100 Indians gathered on the banks of a river near a temple at Batu Caves, just outside Kuala Lumpur, where 16 people shed their hair.

"The 16 of us have shaved our heads as a protest against the detention of the five leaders of Hindraf who are being held under the ISA," said activist S Jayathas.

"We do not believe they are a threat to national security and we think the ISA should be abolished," he added.

According to rights group Suaram, 89 people are currently being held under the ISA with almost half of those held being alleged Islamic militants.

Gandhi posters

The group then carried pictures of Indian non-violence Independence leader Mohandas K Gandhi as they headed towards the temple where prayers were held.

"In the Hindu religion, people shave their heads as a sign of mourning," said opposition PKR leader Sivarasa Rasiah, who was present at the event.

"Here, it reflects the sadness over the detention of the leaders and that protests against their detention and the fight against discrimination will continue," he told AFP.

Hindraf enraged the government last month by mounting a mass rally alleging discrimination in Malaysia, which is dominated by Muslim Malays.

Police used tear gas, water cannon and baton charges to break up the street protest, which drew 30,000 people and came just two weeks after another rare demonstration organised by electoral reform campaigners.

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68 percent of indians subscribe to Astro

December 17th, 2007
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I read with interest the interview with Astro's CEO on last Saturday's BizWeek section in the Star. The interview highlighted few numbers which I think is worth thinking about. Now, the accuracy of the numbers is based purely on what the CEO says, so we assume it to be true. Let's see what she said below:

CEO: There are 5.8 million TV households in Malaysia and we have about 2.2 million customers. That's about 39% household penetration. That's overall, but now we start slicing and dicing. If we look at spoken language, we have 37% penetration for the Malay language customers. For the Chinese-speaking customers, we have 48% of total Chinese households in Malaysia. For the Indian-speaking customers, we have about 68% of the total Indian customers in Malaysia. 

For a minority race, we are nearly double of the majority race in terms of astro subscricption. The breakdown did not specify in terms of cost, but I suspect that most indian household would have taken the cheaper packages between RM37 and RM89 or so. This is because the Tamil channels are free (excluding the impending Maharajah package). This may be the same for the Malays. So, I can assume that the Chinese are the most contributing customers since their packages cost a lot. Next question is why are many Indian households subscribing to Astro? One can easily say that the Indians are doing well, not marginalised, are richer than the bumiputeras etc. But I suspect that there's nothing worth watching in the free channels (RTM, TV3, etc.), causing Indians to fork out extra cash to watch Tamil programs. There seem to be less Tamil movies or shows (yeah, there one on saturday midnights I think). There are Hindi movies which take up the Indian slots. The gradual reduction of Tamil programs sound like marginalisation and discrimination to me. Hindraf might call it ethnic cleansing 🙂

Are all those mega serials and Kodambakam movies good for the community? I personally feel no, but the current trend shows that the community needs (or wants?) entertainment. Old folks want to watch serials, the rest watch movies or songs or the variety of shows over the 6 channels.

If we assume 4 people in an Indian household, 1.8 million will translate to 450,000 households. 68% of that is 306,000. Meaning there are roughly 306,000 Indian houses that has Astro!

CEO: The next way of slicing and dicing is to look at the rural and urban segments because people in the two segments look for different content. We have 51% of total urban households in Malaysia about 17% of rural households.

This seems clear cut. Those in the urban areas are more educated and exposed to global issues. Thus, with higher disposable income, they are able to subscribe to Astro packages. Those in the rural areas may feel satisfied with the local Malay programs and not interested in global issues or international channels.

 

CEO:Simplistically, our growth for the past year has been from the Malay customers. In our last quarter, we added 94,000 customers, of which 10,000 are Indian customers and the balance are primarily Malay households. And that has been the trend for the last couple of quarters. 

If you ask me who will be our next 1 million customers, they will be predominantly Malay households and more and more semi-urban. We've already got 51% penetration in the urban areas and we have to know that we will be going more into the semi-urban to rural market. 

What that means to us is one thing – our sales and distribution network will have to be realigned. If it's predominantly urban today, we've got to shift that to where our next customers will be, by geography and by the marketplace that we're looking at.

Indians are still subscribing to Astro, but soon the market will become stagnant as the subscription rate increases to 80% or more. Then, we can see more segmentation – mini packages to cater for various subgroups and ages.

CEO: For instance, we are very strong in Chinese content. Among our 645,000 Chinese-speaking customers, we have a viewership rating of 80-odd%, which means more than 80% of the time, a Chinese-speaking customer is watching Astro. So, only less than 20% is spent watching free-to-air. It's even higher for the Indian-speaking market – 90% of the time, they're watching channels such as Vaanavil, Sun TV and Vellithirai. They are watching Astro.  Our issue now is the Malay customers. They come on to Astro because they like the fact that it is a multi-channel platform and all that, but the free-to-air TV is fairly strong. Our viewership number for the Malay customers is about 55%. Since they form 1.1million of our total households to date, which is half, our challenge is to increase our relevance and viewership among our Malay customers.

This seems to reinforce my suspicion that the average Indian has nothing to watch in free channels and is regularly glued to Astro whenever he/she has a chance. Same goes for the Chinese. Astro have them covered, now is to target the Malay market. Thus we can see more concentrated efforts to capture the semi-urban and rural households, and at the same time try to increase the viewership from 55%.

In addition, we'll look at the Astro brand. What is the Astro brand? What is its value proposition? At which point does the Astro brand extend to other areas? Recently, we launched AstroView (an entertainment magazine, previously called Astro Guide, that serves as a viewing guide for Astro subscribers) because we see it as an extension of the Astro TV experience.

The CEO forgot to mention that the magazine is not free after being relaunched as AstroView. Its free for a period of time, and then the customers will be charged.

Full interview is at http://biz.thestar.com.my/bizweek/story.asp?file=/2007/12/15/bizweek/19771336&sec=bizweek

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US panel expresses concern over discrimination

December 8th, 2007
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US panel concerned over temple demolitions
http://www5.malaysiakini.com/news/75763
Dec 7, 07 11:06am

A US Congress-appointed commission has expressed concern over the destruction of Hindu temples and other forms of alleged discrimination faced by religious minorities in Malaysia.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom urged the administration of President George W Bush to raise the matter with Kuala Lumpur and "insist that immediate measures be taken to protect sacred sites and prevent further destruction".

It expressed concern over recent Malaysian government actions against the Indian Hindu minority "curtailing their human rights, including the freedom of thought, conscience, and religion".

"Continued discrimination against members of the ethnic Indian Hindu minority, including the destruction of sacred places and images, only fuels religious unrest and intolerance," said commission chairperson Michael Cromartie.

At least 30,000 Indians protested on the streets of Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 to highlight racial and religious discrimination by the Muslim Malay-dominated government of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

The Hindu Rights Action Force, which organised the rally, has claimed that, on average, one temple is demolished every three weeks.

Police dispersed the crowd with water cannon and tear gas, and witnesses said some demonstrators were beaten with batons.

The ISA threat

Abdullah has since accused Indian activists of stirring up racial conflict and threatened to use a draconian security law to detain protestors indefinitely without trial.

The US commission, a non-partisan panel appointed by the US president and leaders of Congress, noted that in late October, Malaysian authorities demolished a 100-year-old temple in Selangor.

The panel asked the Bush administration to get an assurance from the Malaysian authorities that no charges would be filed against the organiser of the demonstrations.

"Malaysia should ensure that internationally protected rights to peaceful assembly, expression, and freedom of thought, conscience and religion are protected," it said.

The commission also noted that Kuala Lumpur's Syariah courts have expanded their jurisdiction in recent years, threatening secular civil courts and the country's commitment to religious pluralism.

"[…] the Syariah courts have weighed in on a number of high-profile cases involving conversion, marriage, divorce, child custody, and burial rights of non-Muslims," it added.

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