Posts Tagged ‘Hindraf’

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Hindraf leaders apply to overturn restriction order

November 30th, 2007
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Hindraf leaders apply to overturn restriction order
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75485
Syed Jaymal Zahiid
Nov 29, 07 8:06pm

Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) today filed an application for revision with the High Court to invalidate the restriction order issued on Nov 22 prohibiting them from handing over a memorandum to the British High Commission.

Seven days ago, the Magistrate's Court had, upon the application made by Cheras police chief Ahmad Amir Mohd Hashim, issued a seven-day restraining order that prohibits Hindraf leaders from handing over a memorandum to the British High Commission.

However, the restraining order did not deter Hindraf members and some 30,000 protesters from gathering at the British High Commission last Sunday to support a US$4 trillion class-action suit against the British government for bringing the Indians as "slaves" to this country.

M Manoharan, one of Hindraf's lawyer said the appeal made to the Kuala Lumpur Magistrate's Court was to ask for a hearing and to argue that the restraining order issued was done with ill-intentions and therefore should be invalidated.

Asked why Hindraf lawyers were still pursuing the matter as the order expired today, Hindraf legal advisor P Uthayakumar said the appeal was done as a matter of principle, adding that such an order is deemed to be an infringement of human rights.

Other arguments to invalidate the restraining order include:

  • The restraining order did not specify the exact location and address
  • The magistrate who issued the order had acted beyond his jurisdiction
  • The magistrate did not give any reasons as to why the restraining order was made ex-parte (which excluded consultation with those who were issued the restraining order)

IGP's statement legitimises rally

Meanwhile, Hindraf counsel Gobind Singh Deo when met at the court lobby said that a statement made by inspector-general of police Musa Hassan today clearly showed that the restraining order was unnecessary.

According to a New Straits Times report, Musa was quoted as saying that the police were ready to negotiate with Hindraf leaders at the Sunday rally and allowed them to proceed with handing over the memorandum but could not do so as no Hindraf leaders were sighted.

The statement made by Musa was made in the context of government officials' allegations that the rally was not really intended to express the grievances of the Indian community but merely served as a means to fulfil the ulterior motives of Hindraf leaders.

"If Musa said he would negotiate with Hindraf leaders, what does that say? To me, it means that Musa had recognised the rights of the protesters to be there," Gobind reasoned..

Following Sunday's rally, more than 100 people were arrested and charged yesterday for illegal assembly though many have been released on bail.

Government leaders had accused the rally as being racially motivated but the organisers had argued that the rally was a reflection of the marginalisation suffered by the Indian community.

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IGP says organisers given choices

November 30th, 2007
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IGP: We gave them choices

source

BY JANE RITIKOS

PETALING JAYA: Organisers of the recent illegal gatherings were offered stadiums and other alternative venues to hold peaceful demonstrations but they rejected them. 

“The organisers were adamant to hold them in the city streets,” said Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan who revealed why the police rejected permit applications by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) for their gathering last Sunday and the Bersih coalition (on Nov 10). 

He said police investigations into the groups’ activities found that public security and peace could be threatened. “We cover their meetings and gather information.  “If we find their activities could be critical to public order we won’t approve them,” he said during question time at his talk on Democracy, Law Enforcement and Security: Perspective from the Royal Malaysia Police at the University of Wales Aberystwyth Alumni Club of Malaysia dinner here on Wednesday. 

Musa said the demonstrators wanted to be in the streets because “they want onlookers to join them”. “But not everyone likes demonstrations. When they gather in large numbers, they scare people and shops will close.  “They shout slogans that make people angry. They call the police ‘dogs’ but we keep a deaf ear.”  

Musa said the police had no problems allowing peaceful gatherings. “For example, we allow unions gathering to protest about their salaries.” 

The Hindraf gathering was to submit a memorandum to the British High Commission in relation to a class-action suit they had filed against the British Government for bringing in Indians to pre-independence Malaya as indentured labourers. 

The Bersih gathering called for clean elections and submitted a memorandum to the Yang di Pertuan Agong. 

Musa said prior to the Hindraf gathering, the organisers had gone to Penang and other parts of the country where they made fiery speeches. “If the authorities allowed Hindraf to go out in the streets to voice their dissatisfaction, others will make claims too.  “The Malays will say they had a good life during the Malacca Sultanate and you (the British) destroyed it … and it will go on and on,” the IGP said. 

“When the police wanted to speak to the leaders of the Sunday gathering, they were no where to be found. They only came at 1.30pm.  “We offered to escort them to the high commission but they said they did not want. They said they wanted to send the memorandum to the Queen, instead,” he said. 

On Bersih, Musa said: “We gave them an alternative venue but they insisted on gathering in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
“They are stubborn and that is the problem. We said they need not gather 20,000 or 40,000 people to submit a memorandum to the King and offered to escort them,” he said. Musa added that the police were still waiting for the Attorney-General’s Chambers to decide whether those arrested in the Bersih-organised gathering would be charged in court. 

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umno youth on hindraf

November 30th, 2007
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Hisham: Don’t blame the Indians

source

By KAREN CHAPMAN

PUTRAJAYA: People have been urged not to blame the Indian community for the illegal gathering organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) last Sunday. 

Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, who is the Education Minister, said Hindraf did not represent many Indians. “Our enemies are not the Indians, so everyone must remain rational,” he said after chairing his ministry's post-Cabinet meeting here yesterday. The majority of Indians love the country and want stability, he added. 

He urged Hindraf not to play with fire. “Who in their right mind would accuse us of demolishing a temple every three weeks or say there is ethnic cleansing.” 

Meanwhile, in Sungai Petani, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Johari Baharom said the Government planned to seek compensation from Hindraf and those involved in the recent illegal gathering for damage to public property. 

In CAIRO, Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin said several groups of students who met him expressed their anger over Hindraf leaders’ move to ask Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II to intervene in Malaysia’s internal affairs. 

He said they were angry that Hindraf had ignored the Yang di- Pertuan Agong in highlighting the problems faced by the Indian community in Malaysia. 

Hishammuddin: No need to get emotional over Hindraf

source

PUTRAJAYA: Malays have been advised not to get emotional over the accusations made by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf). 

Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said although the contents of Hindraf's letter to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown incited racial and religious sentiments, they were also "illogical". "It did not represent the views of all Indians in Malaysia. In this matter, our enemy is not the Indian community. Hindraf doesn't represent all Indians, so be rational. "Don't get emotional. Don't get trapped in Hindraf's political strategy. There are masterminds behind them who are just out to create a confrontation," he said yesterday.

Reading from a copy of the letter purportedly signed by Hindraf's legal adviser P. Uthayakumar, Hishammuddin said the group had accused the Malaysian government of being backed by Islamic terrorists, and of carrying out ethnic-cleansing and a mini-genocide of the Indian population.
 

"Who in their right mind will say that we have a shoot-to-kill policy against Indians, that one person is killed every two weeks while in police custody, or that every three weeks one Hindu temple is demolished? "They have a clear objective which is to cause trouble. Unlike other protests, this clearly touches on race and religion." He said Umno Youth would not be cowed by or taken in by Hindraf's claims which were aimed at sowing dissent.

He added that whatever grievances the Indian community had, they were not the only ones sounding out a "cry of desperation".  "We hear this cry from all races too. Our policies address all races and such issues have been and will continue to be addressed. But we can't satisfy everyone overnight."

Umno Youth deputy chief Khairy Jamaluddin said the party should take legal action against members of Hindraf for alleging that Umno was responsible for the killing of Malaysian citizens during the Kampung Medan incident. He said this allegation was not true. "We have to set the record straight, otherwise many people will have negative perceptions of Umno," he said. Khairy hoped Umno members — particularly Youth members would react in a mature way to the provocation.

He acknowledged the possibility of foreign influence being behind the group. "I deny the allegation that Indians are treated like slaves in Malaysia. The Barisan Nasional government is for everyone," he said. Khairy added that certain quarters wanted to show that the people are upset with the government since elections would be held soon.

He also reiterated that Hindraf members did not represent the majority of Indians in Malaysia as those who participated in the illegal rally numbered a few thousand compared with the millions in the country," he said. "I am sure that the majority of Indians support the government and Umno."

In Sungai Petani, Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum said the police would file a suit against Hindraf for the damage it suffered while handling the illegal assembly. Besides damage to properties owned by the police, many policemen were also injured in the illegal gathering on Sunday, he said, adding that the police were assessing the damage.

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youths not bothered to register to vote

November 30th, 2007
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one benefit of rallies like bersih and hindraf is that youths may be attracted to register as voters and get to know about local politics.

Spot Light: Youth apathetic and lazy when it comes to votingsource
By : Dharshini Balan

ONE-THIRD of Malaysians aged 20 to 35 have not registered as voters according to a recent opinion poll. And around half of the young voters feel there is little they can do to hold the government accountable between elections.

Thirty-six per cent of the 1,508 respondents in the National Youth Survey 2007 had not registered, saying they have no time to vote, or they are not interested or too lazy.

Others said voting is not important, and some said they do not know where to vote.

A few said their votes would not make any difference to the outcome of the upcoming election.

The telephone survey was conducted by the Merdeka Center with the support of the Asia Foundation. The respondents were randomly selected from all over the country.

Merdeka Center director Ibrahim Suffian said these figures show a lack of awareness among the youth of the importance of exercising their right to vote, and a strong tendency to leave any problems to the government to solve.

Some 39 per cent of those not registered as voters cited lack of time, and 17 per cent said they were uninterested or lazy. Seven per cent didn't know where to vote.

"The youth are disconnected from what is happening, even though they are concerned by the impact of the economy or social problems," said Ibrahim, adding that this lackadaisical attitude was becoming a culture.

"Some expressed that their freedom of speech is stifled due to many restrictions set by certain organisations," he said.

While the majority of young voters feel that voting is important, 52 per cent thought there is little they could do to hold the government accountable between elections.

Asked how much of a difference their votes made in influencing the government, 45 per cent of the respondents who are registered voters felt it made a lot of difference. Thirty-six per cent thought it made some difference, while 11 per cent said little difference.

Some five per cent of the respondents thought it did not make any difference at all. The remaining four per cent either did not know or had no response."There is an apparent gap between youth and the government as the youth do not have keen interest in politics," said Ibrahim.

Despite many programmes organised by the government to encourage youth to be more wholesome individuals, there was a lack of chemistry between the youth and the government, creating a void that must be addressed soon, he said. Ibrahim commented that these figures were likely to change after recent events like the Bersih and Hindraf rallies.

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PKR says got body contact

November 30th, 2007
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PKR rebuts IGP's 'no body contact' claim
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75481
Andrew Ong
Nov 29, 07 6:42pm
PKR today said it has evidence to disprove Inspector-General of Police Musa Hassan''s claim that the police made 'no body contact' in relation to the mass rally on Nov 25.

Contrary to the police chief's assertion that his personnel exercised restraint, PKR supreme council member S Manikavasagam said the heaviest police action took place in Batu Caves on the night before.

"About 100 people were hurt when they were assaulted by the FRU (riot police) and police during a gathering at Batu Caves. One of them is warded in the Intensive Care Unit," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

According to Manikavasagam, a crowd of 3,000 – mostly from neighbouring states – had gathered inside the Batu Caves compound to spend the night before the rally.

He said at about 3am, the police allegedly fired tear gas and water cannons over and through the gates of the compound on the crowd which had nowhere to run.

Previously, Musa denied the use of tear gas and water cannons in the Batu Caves compound, which is Malaysia's most popular Hindu shrine.

Video evidence

Manikavasagam claimed that he has video and anecdotal evidence to back his claim and that this would be presented to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) tomorrow.

Apart from this, the PKR leader added that he has evidence of excessive force being applied by the police during the rally on Sunday morning.

In one example, Manikavasagam showed reporters pictures of B Arumugam, 27, who was heavily bandaged on the nose.

Arumugam, from Seremban, was among the thousands who had gathered at the crack of dawn near the iconic KLCC Twin Towers.

Manikavasagam claimed that Arumugam was hit by a tear gas cannister while seated in a crowd and sustained injuries that required 27 stitches and further surgery.

"The best part is, the police took him away, gave him RM20 and told him to take a taxi to the hospital… They don't want the public to see what had happened to him," he alleged.

Temple called the cops

When contacted, Batu Caves temple committee secretary M Devarajoo confirmed that it was the temple committee who called the police.

"There were a lot of people outside the temple (around midnight). We could not control the crowd, so we called the police," he said.

Devarajoo claimed that the police arrived at the scene after 1am to disperse the crowd.

"We opened the back door to allow people to leave," he said, denying that the police had entered the Batu Caves compound.

He also denied news reports that the damage in the compound added up to RM10,000 and that a bus was torched in the incident.

"There were minor damages to the gate and a fridge. There was no major damage," he said.

The rally was organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf)to support a lawsuit by Hindraf against Britain for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years.

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