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Posts Tagged ‘Waytha’
collection of hindraf related news on malaysiakini
November 27th, 2007 | Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email
Fearless Indians fight for rights
November 26th, 2007 | Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email | Fearless Indians fight for rights http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75289 |
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news analysis “Let’s see how makkal sakti (Tamil for ‘people power’) works now,” was Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy’s reaction, just after he and two other key leaders were arrested 48 hours before the rally planned by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf). And on Sunday, the people – almost all from the Hindu community – responded impressively by taking part in the rally which attracted an estimated 30,000 from all over the country.
In the process, Hindraf has tapped the anger within the community, and it was shown by those who participated in the rally and the thousands of others who were prevented by the police from entering Kuala Lumpur. The real heroes, though, were the protesters.
So, they had no hesitation about accepting Hindraf’s invitation to come to Kuala Lumpur to express their anger despite the prior warnings issued by the polic and political leaders – and in defiance of a restraining order that could see them jailed for contempt of court. As many told Malaysiakini, the most recent demolition of a Hindu temple in Klang was the catalyst for their presence. ‘Hear our voice’ Many of the protesters were out-of-towners. They have been deprived of a forum and the opportunity to say their piece. Many are also MIC supporters, now with full regret that the only Indian-based party in the Barisan Nasional has been helpless in stopping temple demolitions. “This is the end. We have come here to protest against how the government treats us. They can beat us today. They can put us in prison. We don’t care. We want to tell the government that we are fed up,” said 52-year-old S Aiyakannu from Old Klang Road. His son Palani led a three-bus convoy from up north. “For us, it is like a life or death situation. If our voice is heard today, good. Otherwise, this frustrated community will have to show that we can’t be taken for a ride at all time,” he added.
“We have had enough of this bad treatment. They (government) can’t push us any lower. This is the limit. I am not here to support Hindraf’s suit against the UK government but I want to be here to show my anger,” said K Suresh from Sungai Petani. The majority of the crowd was well-behaved, showing expected grit in the face of the heavy police presence and eventual use of water cannon and tear gas. Every time they were sprayed with chemical-laced water and tear gas, they retreated only to come forward, in a bigger number.
The protesters gathered at about nine locations around Jalan Ampang and the KLCC . Every time there were stopped from marching forward, they would disperse and regroup at another spot. (See map below) Ready for battle Eyewitnesses say that reports of protesters hurting the police are exaggerated. In most spots, it was the other way round with the protesters taking the brunt of tear gas and chemical-laced water.
Even as they were being arrested, many submitted without resistance or complaint. One old man was heard saying that he was proud to be arrested over a cause for his community. Similar sentiments were heard when the protesters were hit with water and tear gas. “We are people who work hard to live. We don’t work in air-conditioned offices like the KL people. We work under the sun and rain. We are hardy. Let them hit us with anything. We will stand still,” said Raman, a bus driver from Batang Berjuntai, Selangor. Comical moments Although emotions sometimes ran high, there were some light-hearted moments at the expense of the police, which lifted the spirits of the protesters.
Seeing the men-in-blue running helter-skelter brought them joy, as much as seeing a Caucasian jogging in the middle of a stand-off between protesters and the police, oblivious to the tension around him! The police did their best to disperse the crowd. After realising that tear gas, water cannon and arrests were not doing the job, they started telling the protesters that Hindraf leaders had submitted the memorandum as planned to the British High Commission. They also said that Hindraf leaders had called for the protesters to disperse. The protesters however were not buying any of this, telling the police to just let them march to the high commission and disperse from there.
By the end of the six-hour cat-and-mouse game, it were the police who grew tired. Towards the end, they only concentrated on protecting their cordon around the high commission. Wake-up call One thing is sure. This was not a political protest. This was a protest against the marginalisation of the Indian community. It was a case of the community hitting the streets because they have no where else to take entrenched problems.
Government leaders and the police can insist that the gathering was illegal but an overwhelming people power proved on Sunday that sentiments on the ground should not be neglected. The Hindraf rally was the second mass protest this month – after the Bersih rally on Nov 10 – and the third if we include the lawyers’ ‘Walk for Justice’ in Putrajaya last month. The protesters on all three occasions had no fear whatsoever in making their stand – and at each event, the police could not find a definitive tactic to put them off their purpose. If the momentum continues, the people power as envisaged by Waythamoorthy, could well lead to changes that are long overdue.
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Waythamoorthy (right) and his brother Uthayakumar (left)are the prime movers behind Hindraf. Apart from often being the first to react with a grassroots presence whenever an incident involves the community, they have also held a successful nationwide roadshow to remind Indians of their rights. 
This was a crowd which is angry with the way Indian Malaysians are being treated. They are fed-up with being downtrodden. They are frustrated with being treated as third-class citizens in their own country. 
Others shared his sentiments. Many have not seen Waythamoorthy or his brother Uthayakumar but have heard of their movement to mobilise the community fo the rally. 
Many carried posters of Mahatma Gandhi to symbolise their pacifist stand, and carried none of the banners and posters usually associated with political rallies. 
While no one disputes that police response had initially been retrained, the kid gloves came off the moment they started arresting the protesters for breaching the court order that banned the rally. Some were dragged along the road and hurled into waiting police trucks. 
On one occasion, police fired rounds of tear gas at their own men, totally missing about 1,000 protesters standing in the vicinity. 
“Never mind about the memorandum. Just let us walk peacefully right up to the high commission,” said a young man who was soon arrested for breaching the court order. 
The show of force must surely be a wake-up call, not just for the community but also for MIC and the government. 
Hindraf trio discharged from sedition
November 26th, 2007 | Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email | Hindraf trio discharged from sedition http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/75273 |
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Three key leaders of 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 Tamil translation of the alleged seditious remarks made by P Uthayakumar, P Waythamoorthy and V Ganapathy Rao. The trio were charged under Section 4 (1B) of the Sedition Act on Friday based on police investigations pertaining to reports lodged against them in relation to their speeches made at a recent forum in Batang Berjuntai, Selangor. However the cased was adjourned to today after there were some discrepancies in the charge sheet and the prosecutors submissions. Hindraf legal adviser Uthayakumar and lawyer Ganapathy were released on a RM800 bail while the moverment’s chairperson Waythamoorthy refused to the bail offer as a mark of protest. Translation not clear This morning Sessions judge Zunaidah told the prosecutors that she was not convinced with the seditious charge levelled against the trio. “…the translation given too is not clear,” she said. She however said that the prosecution can file a recharge against the Hindraf leaders. The court ruling today allows the prosecution to bring the trio back to court to be recharged as they have not been acquitted. PKR’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim and DAP’s secretary general Lim Guan Eng were among political leaders who were present in the court today. A strong crowd of about 100 inside the courtroom erupted in cheers when the judge discharged the accused persons. A larger crowd – estimated to be around 4,000 – had gathered outside the court, watched by an equally strong presence of the Federal Reserve Unit. The 'victory' parade is now slowly moving toward a Hindu temple located a few kilometres away. |
speak up but stay within the law says Najib
November 25th, 2007 | Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email People can speak up, but stay within the law, says Najib
ALOR STAR: Malaysians have every right to speak up but it is against the law to utter seditious words that could lead to racial clashes, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, “People can speak up, but they can’t break the law,” he said. Najib said this when asked to comment on the three members of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) who were charged under the Sedition Act 1948.
The three accused – lawyers P. Waythamoorthy, P. Uthayakumar and V. S. Ganapathi Rao – claimed trial to the charges. The three members allegedly uttered seditious words during a gathering in Batang Berjuntai in Selangor on Nov 16. “Action was taken against the Hindraf members because of the seditious speeches and not because of their plan to organise an illegal gathering in front of the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. “Regardless of who they are, we will take action under the Sedition Act against those who utter words that could stir anger among other races,” Najib said, describing the speeches made by the three men as very seditious.
Najib was speaking to newsmen after opening the Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) Entrepreneur Carnival at Darul Aman Stadium here yesterday. On the planned gathering, Najib said those involved would have to face the music because the police did not grant them a permit. “The law is very clear. Those who want to hold gatherings must get a police permit first. People cannot hold such gatherings without a police permit. This is against the law and those involved should face the risk.”
The group had planned to stage the assembly to submit a petition with 100,000 signatures to Queen Elizabeth II to appoint a Queen’s Counsel to represent the Indian community in a class action suit against the British government for bringing Indians as labourers to the then Malaya and exploiting them. The suit, filed at the Royal Courts of Justice in London by Waythamoorthy in August, seeks compensation of up to US$4tril (RM13.5tril) or US$1mil for every Indian in Malaysia.
Hindraf says just give us an hour to hand petition
November 25th, 2007 | Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email Hindraf: Just give us an hour to hand petition
KUALA LUMPUR: The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) will go ahead with its gathering today and has asked to be given “one hour maximum” to hand over its petition to the British High Commission.
A. Sivanesan, one of the lawyers representing the three Hindraf members who were charged with sedition at the Klang Sessions Court on Friday, said the gathering would go ahead as planned.
He noted that on Friday, a huge crowd had gathered in Klang outside the court and made its way to the Sri Rajeshwari temple a kilometre away and “not a single flower pot was damaged.”
“The Government need not fear. It is an orderly crowd,” he said of today’s planned gathering.
“It is away from the city and 60% of the shops in that area are closed on Sunday. We are not going to be a nuisance to the people,” he added.
Sivanesan believes the police had overreacted by having roadblocks all over the city.
“The duty of the police should be to control the traffic – nothing more than that.
“Just give us a chance. It will be an hour maximum. We will hand over the petition to the British High Commission, speak to the crowd, and then we will go back,” he said.
Meanwhile, the five lawyers who were served a restraining order on Friday morning barring them from organising or participating in the rally have asked for an immediate hearing to appeal against it.
The five – P. Waythamoorthy, P. Uthayakumar, V. S. Ganapathi Rao, R. Kenghadran and M. Manoharan – faxed 10 copies of their notice to the Kuala Lumpur High Court.
Waythamoorthy, Uthayakumar and Ganapathi Rao were charged with sedition later that day.
The law firm, which applied for the notice of appeal, said the five were dissatisfied with the magistrate’s court decision to issue the court order against them.
They asked the court for immediate decision in view of the fact that the planned gathering was today. The courts are closed on weekends.
