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).
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.
“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 filed the suit and we have proof […] complete with the Queen’s stamp, a civil suit number and the receipt of payment,” he said.
“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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