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thaipusam at batu caves minus indians?

January 6th, 2008
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Hmmm..if many indians don't go to batu caves in two weeks time, pity all the foreign tourists! Perhaps the organisers can hire the many foreign workers and dark-skinned malaysians to provide cover, just in case.

businessmen may also think about setting up their stalls in other locations as a backup plan since even if the crowd is there, but don't spend much, will affect their business. Other locations like Penang, JB, Ipoh, Kuala Selangor, Teluk Intan, Port Klang, Klang etc will surely see bigger crowd this year.
 
 
Boycotting Batu Caves for Thaipusam?
K Kabilan | Jan 5, 08 4:23pm

A movement is fast gaining momentum on the ground to canvass support among the Indian community to boycott the Batu Caves temple for the Thaipusam festival which falls in Jan 23.

Short message services (SMSes) and emails are being circulated asking people not to fulfill their spiritual vows in Batu Caves following the temple committee’s role in allowing the police to violently disperse a gathered crowd in the early hours of Nov 25.

So far no one has claimed leadership or responsibility for the boycott call but the feedback from the ground seemed to indicate that it is a random act of protest propagated by unknown individuals.

“As mark of respect for all fellow brothers and sisters who were part of the Nov 25 rally, we will fulfill all our spiritual vows at other temples in Malaysia except Batu Caves during Thaipusam,” said one such SMS making its rounds in recent weeks. Other SMSes with similar messages have also been in circulation lately.

The SMSes refer to the violent dispersal by police of a large crowd who had gathered peacefully at the compound of the Batu Caves temple in the early hours of that day last year.

The crowd had arrived there prior to participating in the much-talked about Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) organised rally in Kuala Lumpur later that morning.

The police have said that they had acted only after they were called in by the Batu Caves temple management committee, headed by R Nadarajah.

Nadarajah (photo) had defended the temple’s actions by saying that the crowd had trespassed into the temple after closing hours and in the process had caused severe damages to the temple’s properties.

Thaipusam is one of the most important festivals for the Hindus. It is dedicated to Lord Muruga and celebrates the victory of good over evil. In Malaysia, Batu Caves has been the centre of the celebration for years, attracting about a million visitors on that day every year.

An angry community

One annual Batu Caves visitor, S Sivalingam from Pasir Penampang in Selangor told Malaysiakini that the calls for the boycott was likely to be heeded in his area.

“Every year bus loads of devotees from this place and the surrounding estates will make the pilgrimage to Batu Caves. This year lots of people are asking us not to go after what the temple has done to the people who were there on Nov 25,” he said.

He said that calls for the boycott has come not just via the SMSes, but also from local community leaders and from fellow residents themselves.

“They talk openly about Hindraf and how Nadarajah and his committee members have failed to support the fight for Indian rights,” he added.

He admitted the local Indian population in his area and the surrounding areas – which have long been strong BN supporters – were angry with the manner Hindraf supporters and protesters were treated in both Batu Caves and Kuala Lumpur city centre on Nov 25.

“The feeling is that our political parties have failed us. Our temples have failed too. So why must we continue giving our support to them,” asked Sivalingam, a 43-year-old businessman.

Bloggers too have joined along in asking the people to boycott Batu Caves this year.

“Perhaps we should teach them (the Batu Caves committee) by going to Penang and Malacca for Thaipusam. Let them lose their revenue,” wrote a blogger.

“Public solidarity is paramount in this symbolic effort to achieve the objectives and show that it is not easily quelled. Let's hit them where it naturally hurts most – $$$,” wrote another blogger.

Hindraf denies involvement

A priest in a small temple in Kapar K Munian said that he was worried that devotees from his temple would take “their fight against the wrong party”.

“The anger should not be focussed at the deity in the temple. It is after all Lord Muruga’s day. We go there to pray to him. If the anger is against the temple committee, find some other way to show it. Let’s not ask people not to go to Batu Caves to pray,” he pleaded.

Hindraf coordinator RS Thanenthiran (photo), when contacted, denied that his organisation was the mover behind the call for the boycott.

“How can we ask people not to pray. Of course we at Hindraf are angry with the Batu Caves temple committee, but that doesn’t mean we can ask people to boycott Lord Muruga,” he said.

“It is a temple and we will not stop people from praying there. But if it is their choice to boycott, we can’t do anything about that,” he added.

Batu Caves temple officials when contacted said that they are aware of the calls to boycott the temple for Thaipusam.

“But we are not worried about this. We are sure the devotees will continue to come here to worship,” said an official.

Protest the right way

Similar strong sentiment was espoused by MIC vice president S Veerasingam, who was confident that devotees will not boycott Batu Caves for Thaipusam.

“As usual thousands will turn up at Batu Caves and other places to fulfill their vows. Do not bring negative thoughts into religious festivals,” he told Malaysiakini.

A long time kavadi-bearer at Batu Caves, P Batu Malai said that he would surely fulfill his vows by carrying a kavadi this year too at Batu Caves, although he was angry with the manner the temple committee handled the crowd on Nov 25.

“I was in the crowd and I know how the temple committee worked hand in hand with the police in getting us out of the temple compound,” he claimed.

“But that will not stop me from going there for Thaipusam. However I will not pay a single sen to the temple for any of its projects and charity drives. Neither will I be standing around to hear MIC president S Samy Vellu’s annual speech for Thaipusam at Batu Caves,” he added.

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hunger strike ends in singapore

January 5th, 2008
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Artist ends hunger strike for Hindraf 5
AFP | Jan 5, 08 11:34am

A Singaporean artist today said he had ended a five-day hunger strike in support of five Hindu Rights Action Force activists detained under tough Internal Security Act.

"I'm finished," Seelan Palay told AFP by phone from outside the Malaysian High Commission, where he had been fasting since Monday.

Palay, 23, said he planned the fast to last exactly five days – one day for each detained member from Hindraf.

The five – P Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, R Kenghadharan, V Ganabatirau and T Vasanthakumar – have been detained under the Internal Security Act last December for allegedly being a threat to the national security. They have been detained for two years at the Kamunting Detention Centre.

They were detained after they enraged the government in November by mounting a mass rally alleging discrimination against ethnic Indians in Malaysia, where the majority are ethnic Malay Muslims.

Police used tear gas, water cannon and baton charges to break up the street protest by at least 8,000 people, including Palay, a member of Singapore's ethnic Indian minority.

"I feel that this is a sign of solidarity," he said. "It brings the issue back into light."

Palay said about 35 people, mostly Malaysians, had helped him mark the end of his protest, saying his hunger strike could inspire others to take further action.

"I'm feeling fine," he said Saturday before eating anything. "I don't have the craving for anything yet."

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media statement by waytha on AP interview

January 5th, 2008
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Waytha Moorthy's Press Statement (not published by local dailies in Malaysia, but widely distributed in the biggest newspaper in the world – the Internet email system)
  
(Email details deleted.)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          From: waytha moorthy <waytha@...> To:Subject: HINDRAF STRUGGLE TO CONTINUE- PRESS STATEMENT 3.1.08 Date: Fri, 4 Jan 2008 03:15:26 +0800
MEDIA STATEMENT BY HINDRAF
 
 
RE: HINDRAF’S PEACEFUL STRUGGLE FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE MINORITY INDIANS WILL CONTINUE TO THE END
HINDRAF WILL NOT GIVE UP EVEN IF WE ARE FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE.
MY STATEMENT TO AP TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT
 
On the 30th December 2007 I was interviewed by a journalist from the AP who had spent about 1 ½ hours interviewing me. I am equally disappointed that a small portion of the interview had been blown out of proportion to mean I am giving up the struggle of Hindraf or that the struggle is likely to die soon.
 
I wish to clarify the following:
a) I will continue to lead HINDRAF even if I’m on the move throughout the world.
b) HINDRAF’s struggle will not die “soon”  as I have many plans lined up and will reveal to the Malaysian Indians in stages and with the support of  PEOPLE POWER which we are witnessing now we will together continue to advocate and assert the rights of the Minority Indian community.
c) I will do all possible within my means to lobby support from the British Government Parliamentarians and Human Rights Organizations and these include our demand that the 5 Leaders of Hindraf be released unconditionally and the Minority Indian Rights which has been neglected over the last 50 years be protected. Thereafter I plan to continue the lobby to Europe, United Nations in Geneva, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
 
d) HINDRAF would also be organizing various peaceful protests throughout the country to highlight the plight of the 70% poor underclass Malaysian Indian society and for the release of the 5 Leaders of which I would announce the first plan on Monday 7th January 2008.
 
e)      In the interview I was questioned what if after years (5-10years) of campaigning and lobbying the Government still doesn’t budge?
My answer was even if we are fighting a losing battle we will continue with the battle because not all battles are meant to be won. Great warriors do not worry about dying in the battlefield. If we are meant to loose we will loose so that someone else who take up the cause after us will win the war. If we loose after years of campaigning so be it we will call it a day. No one organization (including HINDRAF) can ever claim we are here forever and will continue forever. Nothing is permanent in this world and it also applies to HINDRAF.
 
PEOPLE POWER can continue with the struggle but the ultimate power lies in the Government. In Malaysia Indians are minority and the reality is we can’t form a Government to change the situation. So the responsibility lies in this Government to make the necessary changes in the interest of the minority Indian community.
 
 
f)        In the said interview I repeated my statement which was given to the AFP about 2 years ago when I commented on the issue of temple demolition. I had then said that (on the issue of temple demolition) eventually we too would fail the community but I fear the outcome after that. “At the moment devotees are crying and begging but eventually they would not plead and cry any more”.
 
My fear which I had highlighted about 2 years ago came true when we all saw what happened at Padang Jawa Temple demolition. Devotees who were for the first time protecting the temple with their bare hands and yet the authorities had violently attacked them and though devotees were injured in the attempt they were arrested and charged with criminal offences.
I again wish to reiterate my fear. The Government has successfully locked up voices of peaceful struggle for democratic rights and dissent. People have no one they can trust to lead them as they are all locked up. All their hundreds of appeals, memorandums and letters to the Prime Minister written on their behalf by these leaders have gone to waste bins. What can you expect them to do next? These are poor people who are not educated to articulate their grievances in a refined manner. In these circumstances I honestly feel our “chapter” (HINDRAF’S peaceful struggle) has been forcibly closed by the Government and so they must expect a new chapter to be opened but we are not part of that chapter. If a new undesirable chapter is opened in the history of Malaysia then we hold the Government solely responsible for they have killed legitimate voices of dissent and peaceful democratic struggle by HINDRAF.
 
g)      I was also quoted to have said the following, “…..if they can give us real concessions we are willing to keep our mouth shut I don’t look at myself as a sacrifier”.
 
1 ½ years ago I was interviewed by members of the Police Special Branch who had wanted to know my intentions of leading HINDRAF and my activities. Everyone would know that at that time HINDRAF was practically dealing on issues of Religious conversions (Article 121 1(A)) and Temple demolitions. Yes I did tell the Special Branch then  that if the Government resolves at least the temple demolition issue and permanently gazettes all temples existing prior to independence I will “keep  my mouth shut” and leave the public scene.
 
h)      I will never regret for initiating HINDRAF and leading it to its current struggle. The Malaysian Indians have been cheated by the UMNO led Government over the last 50 years using “coalition” Indian political parties to pacify the Indian community whenever they complain their rights are trampled upon. The UMNO Government’s “divide and rule” policy seemed to have succeeded but not any longer. The Indian community can no longer be cheated
 
But my heart goes to the 5 HINDRAF leaders who have been made scapegoats by the Government. The irony is even our legal advisers namely Mr.R.Kengadharan and Mr. M. Manoharan who were purely acting for HINDRAF as legal advisers were not spared. They were both vigorously and couragesly defending us when various sedition and criminal charges were levelled against us. Their incarceration in particular are not acceptable for it goes against all tenets of basic Human Rights to detain lawyers who defend their clients. It proves the Government is vindictive and malicious and had intended to warn would be advocates of HINDRAF to “stay away” from representing us.
 
 
P.Waytha Moorthy
Hounslow
Middlesex
 
As i mentioned earlier, NST took the news from Deccan Chronicles which in turn refered to AP's interview, which came out in IHT. Confused?
 
Read what Waytha's immediate response was, and also the articles written by NST and Star at:
 
Article by MK is below.
 
'I'm not giving up Hindraf struggle'
Yoges Palaniappan | Jan 4, 08 12:57pm
Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) chairperson P Waythamoorthy, who is currently in United Kingdom, has claimed that he was misquoted in an interview conducted by the Associated Press (AP) on Dec 30.

In a statement released from Hounslow, London today, Waythamoorthy said his comments to AP was "taken out of context".

"I am disappointed that a small portion of the interview had been blown out of proportion to mean I am giving up the struggle of Hindraf or that struggle is likely to die soon," he said.

In the interview which was widely published both locally and in international media, Waythamoorthy was quoted as saying, among others, that Hindraf has to close the chapter and that it would not be part of the next chapter if there is any.

Clarifying today, Waythamoorthy said: "The government has successfully locked up voices of peaceful struggle for democratic rights and dissent.

"People have no one they can trust to lead them as they are all locked up. All their hundreds of appeals, memorandums and letters to the prime minister written on their behalf by these leaders have gone to waste bins. What can you expect them to do next?

"These are poor people who are not educated to articulate their grievances in a refined manner. In these circumstances I honestly feel our "chapter" (Hindraf's peaceful struggle) has been forcibly closed by the government and so they must expect a new chapter to be opened," he said.

However, he added, if a "new undesirable chapter" is opened in the history of Malaysia, the organisation would hold the government solely responsible for they have killed legitimate voices of dissent and peaceful democratic struggle.

The government's responsibility

He said that he was also asked in the AP interview on Hindraf's position if the government failed to make any changes even after five to 10 years of campaigning.

"My answer was even if we are fighting a losing battle, we will continue with the battle because not all battles are meant to be won.

"If we lose after years of campaigning so be it, we will call it a day. No one organisation (including Hindraf) can ever claim we are here forever and will continue forever. Nothing is permanent in this world and it also applies to Hindraf," he said.

He added that it was the responsibility of the government to make the necessary changes in the interest of the minority Indian community.

"People power can continue with the struggle but the ultimate power lies in the government. In Malaysia, Indians are minority and the reality is we can't form a government to change the situation," he added.

He also said that he was misquoted when he told the interviewer that he would keep his mouth shut if the government agrees to give them (Indians) two or three real concessions and that he did not look at him as a sacrificer.

He explained that was what he had told a police special branch officer who interviewed him one and a half years ago that he would "keep his mouth shut" and leave the public scene if the government resolved at least the temple demolition issue and permanently gazetted all temples existing prior to independence.

"Everyone would know that at that time Hindraf was practically dealing on issues of religious conversions and temple demolitions," he said in his statement today.

Struggle to continue

He reiterated that he will continue to lead Hindraf even if he was on the move throughout the world.

He stressed that Hindraf's struggle will not "die soon" as reported in the AP article.

"I have many plans lined up and will reveal to the Malaysian Indians in stages and with the support of people power which we are witnessing now we will together continue to advocate and assert the rights of the minority Indian community," he said.

"I will do all possible within my means to lobby support from the British government parliamentarians and human rights organisations and these include our demand that the five Hindraf leaders be released unconditionally."

"Thereafter I plan to continue the lobby to Europe, United Nations in Geneva, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand," he said.

In his statement, Waythamoorthy said that he "will never regret for initiating Hindraf and leading it to its current struggle".

"The Malaysian Indians have been cheated by the Umno-led government over the last 50 years using coalition Indian political parties to pacify the Indian community whenever they complain their rights are trampled upon.

"The government's divide-and-rule policy seemed to have succeeded but not any longer. The Indian community can no longer be cheated," he said.

Peaceful protests
He also said that he felt sad for the five Hindraf leaders who have been made scapegoats by the government.

The five – P Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, R Kenghadharan, V Ganabatirau and T Vasanthakumar – have been detained under the Internal Security Act last December for allegedly being a threat to the national security. They have been detained for two years at the Kamunting Detention Centre.

"The irony is even our legal advisers Kenghadharan and Manoharan who were purely acting for Hindraf as legal advisers were not spared. They were both vigorously and couragesly defending us when various sedition and criminal charges were levelled against us," said Waythamoorthy.

He also said that Hindraf would be organising various peaceful protests throughout the country to highlight the plight of the underclass Indian society and for the release of the five Hindraf leaders.

He said he would be announcing his next step of action next week.

AP interview excerpts

Some excerpts from Waythamoorthy's AP interview :

"We are fighting a losing battle, we know. We try our level best but if we don't succeed, we have to call it a day, isn't it?"

"We have to close the chapter. There may be a new chapter, but we may not be part of the next chapter… I know, eventually we will also fail."

"We want the minority Indians to be given their basic rights If they can give us two or three (real concessions), we are willing to keep our mouth shut."

"That's what I don't understand: why isn't the government conceding? We are not asking for super rights, we are asking for basic rights."

"What we can, we will still do. But if the whole struggle is going to die, what can we do?… As it stands now I don't think we can accelerate."

 
 

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waytha moorthy replies on Hindraf status

January 3rd, 2008
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This is the reply from the man himself (edited):

From: waytha moorthy <waytha@hotmail.com>

Date: Thu, 3 Jan 2008 10:38:11 +0800
Subject: RE: [malaysiafm] AP Interview: Malaysia's Indian protest movement
likely to die soon, says leader

#It was written out of context. I will struggle to the end as long as the people support our cause.

waytha moorthy



funny thing is NST took it from Deccan Chronicle who took it from AP. AP's site did not have the interview. The closest I got to was on IHT's site. 


What the NST wrote:


Hindraf chief calls it quits 


S. Retna, BERNAMA



PUTRAJAYA, Thu.:


 The self-exiled leader of the Hindu Rights Action Front (Hindraf), P. Waytha Moorthy, has conceded that the cause of the unregistered organisation is as good as lost. 






 In a sharp and surprising twist of events, Waytha Moorthy, who is chairman of Hindraf, said in an interview published in today's Deccan Chronicle, the highest-selling English language newspaper in Hyderabad in the southern Indian state of Andra Pradesh, that the movement had to close its chapter.


 "There may be a new chapter, but we may not be part of the next chapter. I know eventually we would fail," he was quoted as saying in today's edition of the newspaper.


 Hindraf created a furore in Malaysia after it held a rally in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 and made several claims which have since been described as preposterous by most people and denied by the authorities. It also submitted a memorandum to the British High Commission here.   


 Five of those involved in organising the rally have since been detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) after they were found to have touched on religious sensitivities. Waytha Moorthy left the country for India soon after the rally and subsequently turned up in the United Kingdom to drum up international support.


 The Deccan Chronicle article revealed that Waytha Moorthy is now living in the London suburb of Hounslow, where he is reportedly staying with friends.


 Conceding that Hindraf was fighting a "losing battle", Waytha Moorthy said the struggle of the organisation was likely to die soon. "We are fighting a losing battle, we know. We tried our level best but if we don't succeed we have to call it a day, isn't it ?" he told the newspaper.


This what appeared on the  Deccan Chronicle, Page 13 :








Indians' battle in Malaysia may end 




 









  


London, Jan. 2: Minority ethnic Indians are fighting a "losing battle" for equal rights in Malaysia, and their fledgling protest movement against the Muslim-dominated government is likely to die soon, a protest leader said.  Ultimately, only the government — not the people — can bring about real change by giving concessions to ethnic Indians, said Mr P. Waytha Moorthy, the chairman of the Hindu Rights Action Force group that is leading the Indian movement.


"We are fighting a losing battle, we know. We try our level best but if we don't succeed, we have to call it a day, isn't it?" Mr Moorthy said in the interview this week in the London suburb of Hounslow, where he is living with his friends in self-imposed exile. "We have to close the chapter. There may be a new chapter, but we may not be part of the next chapter," a tired-looking Mr Moorthy said during the chat at a McDonald's restaurant. "I know, eventually we will also fail." Ethnic Indians form about 8 per cent of Malaysia's people. 









And this was the The AP's Interview:


AP Interview: Malaysia's Indian protest movement likely to die soon, says leader  


 source
The Associated Press 
Published: January 2, 2008 
  


LONDON: Minority ethnic Indians are fighting a "losing battle" for equal rights in Malaysia, and their fledgling protest movement against the Muslim-dominated government is likely to die soon, a protest leader told The Associated Press.  


Ultimately, only the government — not the people — can bring about real change by giving concessions to ethnic Indians, said P. Waytha Moorthy, the chairman of the Hindu Rights Action Force group, or Hindraf, that is leading the Indian movement.  


"We are fighting a losing battle, we know. We try our level best but if we don't succeed, we have to call it a day, isn't it?" Moorthy said in the interview this week in the London suburb of Hounslow, where he is living with friends in self-imposed exile.  


"We have to close the chapter. There may be a new chapter, but we may not be part of the next chapter," a tired-looking Moorthy said during the chat at a McDonald's restaurant. "I know, eventually we will also fail."  


Ethnic Indians form about 8 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people, and complain that the government denies them opportunities in jobs, education and business. They say that years of systematic repression have kept them at the bottom of society. The government denies this and says all Malaysians have benefited from the spectacular progress of the export-driven economy since independence in 1957.  


"We want the minority Indians to be given their basic rights If they can give us two or three (real concessions), we are willing to keep our mouth shut," Moorthy said. 


"That's what I don't understand: why isn't the government conceding? We are not asking for super rights, we are asking for basic rights."  


Ethnic Indians, most of them descendants of 19th century plantation workers from southern India, also accuse the government of turning a blind eye to the destruction by local civic authorities of Hindu temples. 


Moorthy's statements are the most honest and frank assessment of the reality faced by the minority community who have little economic or political clout. Malaysia's majority Malay Muslims, who are 60 percent of the population, control the government, while the ethnic Chinese — who are a quarter of the population — dominate business.  


The Indian frustrations took public shape for the first time when Hindraf organized a massive rally on Nov. 25 of about 30,000 people in defiance of a government ban. 


Moorthy fled the country fearing arrest but five other Hindraf leaders were subsequently detained under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite jail without trial. They were accused of being a threat to national security but no charges have been filed.  


Moorthy said public support for Hindraf has increased after the arrests, but the movement was "stagnant" now. 


"What we can, we will still do. But if the whole struggle is going to die, what can we do?" he said. "As it stands now I don't think we can accelerate."  


He said he doesn't regret starting the movement. 


"I will never regret but I feel sorry" for those detained and "frustrated with the system, the government." 


He said his biggest worry is that when Hindraf fails, the poor and uneducated Indians will come to hate the government even more, and may resort to violence. He added he does not condone or support violence in any form.  


He said he plans to stay in London for now and continue lobbying internationally. 


"I would prefer to keep pushing, keep the people's spirit high. The safest thing to do is to conduct prayers." 

			


			

        

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singaporean hunger strike enters 3rd day

			January 2nd, 2008 

			


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Hunger strike for Hindraf 5 enters Day 3







Jan 2, 08 2:58pm






A Singaporean’s hunger strike in protest of the detention of five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders in Malaysia is into the third day.
  
Actor-cum-activist Seelan Palay, 23, has spent the last two nights sleeping on a straw mat outside the Malaysian High Commission and consuming only water.  


Seelan intends to keep up the hunger strike for five days – one for each of the five Hindraf leaders being held under the Internal Security Act at the Kamunting detention camp in Perak. 
The leaders – P Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, R Kenghadharan, V Ganabatirau and T Vasantha Kumar – were  detained on Dec 13, allegedly for reasons of national security. 


On Nov 25, some 30,000 Indian Malaysians had taken part in a street demonstration organised by Hindraf. Palay had previously told the press that he too had attended the rally.  


According to Singapore Democratic Party member Yap Keng Ho, who accompanied Seelan last night, numerous Singaporeans and Malaysians have also visited the latter to lend support. 


“Earlier, about 20 Malaysians came on motorbikes. It was very encouraging,” said Seelan in recorded message posted by Yap on his blog.  


Sporting a ‘Give them fair trial’ poster across his chest, Seelan hopes to raise international awareness about the detentions.







			


			

        

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