Posts Tagged ‘Hindraf’

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kit siang suggests parlimentary committee to investigate indian community problem

November 27th, 2007
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this can be one of the recommendations that MIC can make use. save their time trying to think what to suggest!

Lim: Don't ignore cry of desperation
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75326
Nov 27, 07 1:41pm

If the cabinet is truly serious about addressing the long-standing grievances of the Indian Malaysian community, it should back a proposal for a parliamentary select committee. 

Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, who issued this call after earlier mooting the idea, said the ‘committee on the marginalisation of the Indian community’ should have three months to come up with a report.

He described the Hindraf rally in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, which drew some 30,000 Indian protestors from all over the country, as a “cry of desperation”. 

The rally was in support of a US$4-trillion class-action suit filed against the British government for bringing the Indians here as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years.

“The Barisan Nasional leaders, led by Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, should stop their truculent and confrontational responses to the demonstration,” Lim said in a statement today.

“Instead of threatening all sorts of dire consequences against the Hindraf organisers and supporters, the cabinet should acknowledge the legitimacy of the long-standing grievances of the Indian community (which is) becoming the most marginalised group.”

Other ways of showing that the government is serious, he said, is by releasing all 136 Hindraf supporters arrested during the demonstration and not to charge the organisers. 

The government should also hold an open inquiry into allegations of excessive force by the police, which saw water cannon being deployed and teargas being fired during the six-hour stand-off with protesters. 

Urgent issues

In listing the issues that the select committee should address, Lim added that it should be sufficiently empowered to make recommendations on: 

  • Increase in the number of Indian youth dying in police custody
  • Worsening socio-economic inequality between the Indian poor and rich and between other communities
  • Ineffective redress of social ills in the community
  • Policy on financial allocation for Tamil schools
  • University intake policy, which is a major source of distress for the community
  • State unwillingness to help resolve the Maika scandal
  • Closure into the Kampung Medan killings, as a public inquiry has not been held into the racially-motivated incident of 2001
  • Low-cost housing needs of the Indian poor
  • Aggressive displacement of the Indian rural poor due to the breakdown of the plantation economy
  • Rampant demolition of Hindu temples and disregard of the religious rights and sensitivities of the Indian community

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I will hand over says samy

November 27th, 2007
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Samy Vellu unperturbed by Hindraf protest

source


KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 27, 2007): MIC president Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu today dismissed his community's biggest anti-government protest as an opposition ploy and denied he was out of touch with the increasingly agitated Indians.

Sunday (Nov 25)'s Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force) rally by more than 10,000 people, who defied water cannon and tear gas to protest racial discrimination, could pose a headache for the government ahead of early polls as Indians are traditionally seen as a vote-bank for the ruling coalition.

In an interview with Reuters, Samy, the combative head of the main ethnic Indian party and Malaysia's longest-serving minister, branded protesters as "trouble makers" and said he was not losing sleep over the bloody demonstration.

"We have fought worst battles than this during elections," the ebullient 71-year-old leader said.

"We don't worry about this. We are confident of winning the next elections handsomely," said Samy, the Works Minister and an architect by training.

"They (the protesters) are fighting to create problems. They are trouble makers," said Samy, dressed in a smart black suit and red tie, as he attended to a handful of Indians in his ministry. His luxurious Mercedes Benz was parked on the driveway.

He has been leader of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and a cabinet minister since 1979. MIC is a junior partner in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's ruling coalition, which is set to call general elections in the next few months.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition dominates the 219-seat parliament with 199 seats.

His friends regard Samy as the "champion of Indians" but foes say he stands in the way of solving the many socio-economic problems facing Malaysia's 1.8 million Indians.

The community, which forms just 7% of Malaysia's 26 million people, is in a parlous state, said a Hindu rights group which called the protest.

It said Indians lacked educational and business opportunities, adding that a government affirmative action policy in favour of majority Malays had marginalised them.

The Indians have always struggled to air their grouses openly. The community's economic clout is a scant 1.5% of national wealth and that too is in the hands of a few top businessmen.

UNFINISHED JOB

Many blame the MIC and Samy, known to some for his authoritarian style, for not quickly solving their woes.

And Sunday's protest, which attracted Indian doctors, lawyers and other professionals as well, could be an eye-opener to the BN, politicians said.

A senior leader of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the bulwark of the 14-party BN coalition, said BN should study the Indian grievances and try to overcome them.

"We have to look at the real issues, what is causing this unhappiness and I think BN has to pay attention to it," he said. Samy took the criticism in his stride.

"To me, I can throw the records on the floor on what I have done. I am not a man on the streets. I am a man on the job. There's always unfinished business." But he gave no hint when he would step down.

"I have been around for 29 years. At an appropriate time I will hand over." – Reuters

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map of hindraf rally

November 27th, 2007
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courtesy of malaysiakini

The picture has been modified to show movement of our photographer, Then.

1 – frm kg batu lrt to jln tun razak.
2- along jln yap kwan seng until cross-junction of klcc.
3. cross-junction and into klcc
4. along jln ampang until just before the zouk.

HINDRAF Rally Map

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MK report on Hindraf trio discharged from sedition

November 27th, 2007
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Hindraf trio discharged from sedition
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75273
Soon Li Tsin
Nov 26, 07 12:45pm

Three key leaders of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) were today discharged without being acquitted by the Klang Sessions Court from the sedition charge they faced. 

Judge Zunaidah Mohd Idris ordered the discharge as the prosecution had failed to submit the original Tamil transcript of the alleged seditious remarks made by P Uthayakumar, P Waythamoorthy and VS Ganapathy Rao.

The prosecution led by DPP Ishak Yusoff has also failed to get the Malay translation of the allegedly seditious speeches officially certified by relevant bodies.

“The court and the (defence) lawyers are not convinced that the speeches were seditious because the Malay translation is not clear.

“What is important is the actual Tamil text with a certified translation (into Malay). Is the prosecution basing the offence on the original words in Tamil or the translated version in Malay?

“I believe the gist of the offence is not stated here. I cannot see what (allegedly seditious words) the prosecution is focusing on,” Zunaidah said, before discharging the trio.

She, however, said the prosecution can recharge the three once the documentation has been sorted out.

They were originally charged last Friday under Section 4(1)(b) of the Sedition Act, based on police investigations pertaining to reports lodged against them in relation to their speeches made between 8.30am and 11.15pm at a forum in Batang Berjuntai, Selangor on Nov 16.

The offence is punishable with a fine not exceeding RM5,000 or a maximum jail sentence of three years, or both.

‘Return bail money’

Zunaidah had also ruled that bail money held by the court over the weekend was to be returned.

Hindraf legal adviser Uthayakumar and lawyer Ganapathy had posted bail of RM800 each on Friday, but chairperson Waythamoorthy had refused the bail offer as a mark of protest.

The trio were represented by a team of lawyers including M Manoharan, A Sivanesan, S Surendran, Gobind Singh Deo, R Kenghadaran and M Kulasegaran.

Amer Hamzah Arshad and Ramdas Tikamdas appeared for the Bar Council and National Human Rights Society respectively.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng were among political leaders who were present in court today.

A crowd of about 100 inside the courtroom erupted in cheers when the judge discharged the trio. They were then hoisted on the shoulders of supporters and paraded victoriously down Jalan Dato Hamzah – also known as Little India – bringing traffic to a standstill.

A larger crowd – estimated to be around 4,000 – had gathered at the nearby Padang Chetty watched by an equally strong presence of the Federal Reserve Unit. The crowd dispersed after several speeches were made by the Hindraf leaders.

During an impromptu press conference in front of the Sri Nagara Thandayuthapani temple adjacent to the field, Waythamoorthy broke his three-day hunger strike amidst cheers from supporters.

“It (fasting) was a good experience,” he told Malaysiakini with a smile.

His brother Uthayakumar insisted that he will “continue to speak the truth” and said he was not deterred by the sedition charge.

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rally affects economy says DPM

November 27th, 2007
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the thing is when we look at public perception and surveys, many people are worried about bread and butter issues. the rural folks and the urban poor want to have chance to make a living. they are not worried about international issues or things that happen to the rich and well-off. elections are won by making sure the issues that are local to the area are taken care off – electricity, school, roads, surau, community centre etc. now, when the people want to air the grouses on their issues, they are asked to think and consider about tourism, national image etc. of course they don't care bit.
to handle the crowd, the govt should focus on solving or placating their "local" issues, and not ask them to think about economy affected, tourist run away etc. those thing won't register with the peaceful, simple-way-of-life indians who come from the outskirts of big towns.

meanwhile, koh tsu koon suggests that more peaceful way such as signature campaign to be used instead of assemblies and rallies.

Illegal rallies 'will affect economy, people's lives'

By : Shamini Darshni

PETALING JAYA: The government will not back down from the political challenge posed by the Hindu Rights Action Force, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.

"We will meet the challenge. We will not back down from a political challenge," he said.

Asked to comment on Hindraf leader P. Uthayakumar's assertion during an interview with Al-Jazeera that the group's intention was to embarrass the government, Najib said: "His intention is political. If we were one-sided, there is no way the Indian community would have supported us, and the Barisan Nasional would not have won. "Suddenly, he wants to raise this issue. It is just politically motivated," Najib said after witnessing the handing over of three Dauphin helicopters from Eurocopter Malaysia to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. He said illegal street demonstrations could severely affect the economy and people's everyday lives.
 

More than 240 were arrested as thousands of protesters, organised by Hindraf to deliver a petition to the British High Commission, clashed with police on Sunday. Police had cordoned off a 4-km radius from the high commission, leaving the usually busy Jalan Ampang devoid of weekend traffic and shoppers.

In George Town, Gerakan's message to Hindraf supporters was to engage in constructive dialogue. The party's acting president, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, yesterday said there were always many peaceful channels for the Indian or other communities to resolve problems. Koh said the BN was open to suggestions and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had a soft spot for the marginalised. "Taking to the streets is a dramatic way of expressing one's feelings which can only lead to many other problems. "It is Gerakan's hope that the community can come together with concrete solutions to solve their problems.  "Any problems which affect a community affects the country as a whole.

Although the MIC has and will continue to take the lead in helping to resolve issues faced by the Indian community, other BN component parties also have an important role to play," he said after the state legislative assembly meeting here. Koh admitted that while the Indian community was well represented in certain professions and businesses, there were also many areas where the community was left out. "Let us always go back to the New Economic Policy (NEP) spirit, with the sole objective of wiping out poverty and re-arranging the different communities in the country. "We should also look at the issue from all aspects and have a pragmatic approach to address it," he said, adding that the idea of petitioning Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was unrealistic.

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