Letter to Tan Sri Khalid from HINDRAF

Y.B. Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim

Selangor Menteri Besar

Selangor State Secretariat Office,
Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah,         Tel: 03 5544 7013
40503 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan.                 Fax: 03 5519 0032

YAB,

Re: (1) Demolished Hindu Temple in Kg. Rimba Jaya, Kg. Karupiah, Kg Jawa Shah Alam was catalyst for Hindraf Peaceful Assembly on 25/11/2007 which led to 90% of Indians voting for Opposition in theMarch 8^th General Elections.

(2) PKR led Selangor State government has not properly rewarded Selangor Indians by merely repeating the 10,000 sq feet land and RM 40,000.00 promised by the previous UMNO led government.

With respect to the above mentioned matter we are disappointed at the mere reputation of what the previous UMNO government had previously already promised. (Tamil Nesan 18/03/08 pg 3). May we bring to your kind attention that it was the demolishment of this Temple that eventually led to 90% of the Indians in Malaysia voting for the Oppositions and as abovementioned. We hereby appeal that this Hindu Temple is retained at the existing and present site by the PKR led state government compulsorily acquiring the land (CPO) and awarding the same to the said Temple. This Hindu Temple is the heritage of the people of Kg Karupiah and means a lot to them.

 

In the alternative if this Temple has to be relocated it would only be fair and proper for the new Selangor State government to award the following:

1. Award a 1 (one) acre land for the reconstruction of this Temple.
2. This Hindu Temple should also have an adjoining wedding hall/community centre to serve the almost 10,000 Hindu community in the area.
   
3. The state government allocates RM 10 million for the construction of this new Temple and hall. (Note: Dato Seri S Samy Vellu allocated RM 8million for a mosque he personally designed and another RM 2 million for an Indian Muslim mosque both in Sungai Siput during the run up to the March 8^th General Elections).
4. The one acre land title is to be given to this Hindu Temple.
5. Please also rebuilt and give back to the people the kindergarden for the poor Indians that was ruthlessly demolished by the previous UMNO government.

By granting our appeal, the PKR government would prove it’s sincerity by putting into practice it’s election manifesto of a truly multi racial and multi religious Malaysian society and not merely preaching the same. Y.A.B. please prove that your government is different from the UMNO led government that has ruled Malaysia for the last 50 years.

We thank your goodselves in anticipation.

Thank you,

Yours faithfully

P.Waytha Moorthy

(Chairman)

cc: Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim      

Adviser                                          

National Justice Party

17, Jalan 16/2,

Petaling Jaya

46350, Selangor,

Malaysia

New politics and the Indian Malaysian

M Nadarajah | Mar 25, 08 12:21pm The facts of the 12th general election have been recounted several times, but not the meaning of events of the socio-political drama that unfolded and burst into the public arena over the last six months, leading up to polling day.

On the ground, the election results are the outcome:
(i) the history of what the Barisan Nasional (BN) government has actually done for the people and this nation since independence,
(ii) political and campaign strategies of the individual parties or their coalitions,
(iii) systematic manipulation of the voting system and constituencies and lastly,
(iv) easy access to new information and communication technologies by all political contenders.

Among the factors, it is in the history of this nation that we need to look closely and to identify definite trends that have given us what we are experiencing today. A few centuries ago, an European social commentator and revolutionary said ‘History moves forward qualitatively only on the side of and through the agency of the oppressed and marginalised. It is they who provide the social ground that offer History a new Future’.

In a sense, history had thrust upon the Indian Malaysian (specifically the Tamils) that special responsibility. The 12th general election was the temporal space where history conspired to give us the opportunity for that ‘an-other’ Malaysia to which many of us aspire.

Indian Malaysians have faired extremely well in that effort. They have pushed the agenda of a new politics for Malaysia. On hindsight, the rise of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) and later Makkal Sakthi, is undeniably a critical turning point in Malaysian politics.

They represent not just organisational politics but really the spirit of a marginalised community aspiring for fairness. With this development, emerged a social instrument that has now given us all an opportunity to break the hold of ethnocracy in Malaysia and dismantle the ethnic model of politics. We have an opportunity to look beyond that model, the limits of which was reached by the end of the last century.

One of the main icons of ethnic politics in Malaysia, the MIC and its head S Samy Vellu, supposedly represented the Indians in BN. But the increasing problems of the community and the inability of the MIC leadership to deal with these adequately only led to the accumulation of disenchantment.

The frustration, humiliation and disappointment Indians (in particular the Tamils) felt intensely was bound to take a social and communal form and it did. Indeed, Makkal Sakthi (people power) has become conscious of itself and its role.

The mainstream media, BN national leaders and Samy Vellu dismissed all these critical developments. One editorial in New Straits Times trivialised the anger of the Indian/Tamil people expressed through Hindraf.

Samy Vellu did not see what was coming his way. He even thought the observation of Thaipusam at Batu Caves was a success when the community knew it was not. He thought the Indians/Tamil would vote in the MIC leaders to power without carefully listening to the murmurings on the ground even among once-staunch MIC supporters. But it is all to clear now.

The angry Indian/Tamil Malaysians have not only thrown Samy Vellu out of power but have also, directly and with help of other Malaysians, left the MIC in disarray. The party is now actually useless to the Indian Malaysian community, which also does not want MIC to represent it.

Common destiny

MIC cannot now claim to represent Indian Malaysians in the BN and the government. Whatever BN may do to include Indian Malaysians, the BN now cannot claim to run a successful ethnic consociational model of politics.

A new political language needs to be framed. And it must be framed by the new young parliamentarians who will now speak for all of us, including Indian Malaysians.

Along with many concerned citizens, the Indian Malaysian community has delivered to all Malaysians the opportunity for nurturing a new politics. And in this challenging interim period, they have done that at great risk and further marginalisation as a community, if those who have been elected to power i.e. the opposition, do not subscribe to a politics beyond the ethnic model and beyond ethnocracy or theocracy.

The Indian Malaysian community needs active intervention of parties like the DAP, PKR and PAS (if it really believes that the spirit of Islam is for all) to take up their cause. There is an urgent need to subscribe to politics that sees the problems and needs of Malaysians as the common problems and needs of a people governed by a common destiny.

While needs and problems can be specific to definite Malaysian communities like the Kadazans, Chinese, Indians or Malays, they need to be framed as national problems or needs and addressed with national concern and sensitivity. There is no room for ethnicisation and politicisation of the problems of the citizens, particularly when it involves access to basic goods and services, like water and housing.

For this orientation to really get rooted in Malaysia, we need that new political language of dialogue and inclusiveness urgently, knowing well that it is going to take some time and challenges to institutionalise it.

It is the responsibility of the opposition and the new set of young parliamentarians to give us this as soon as possible. They have to balance their social commitment, the demands of their parties and arrive at a workable minimum programme for inter-party relationship and cooperation.

We are at a threshold of a new future for the future generations and us. Can we nurture, shape and sustain it…together with single-mindedness?

---

DR M NADARAJAH is a sociologist by training. He belongs to the Asian Public Intellectuals Community, a community of filmmakers, theatre people, song writers, poets, activists and academics working in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines and Japan for a better Asia. His work focuses on cultural and sustainability issues.

HINDRAF seeks Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Y.A.B. DATO’ SERI ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI

Prime Minister of Malaysia

Block Utama,

Bangunan Perdana Putra,                                                                      Email: reduceredtape@pmo.gov.my

Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,                                         Email: abdullah@kdn.gov.my

62502 Putrajaya                                                                                     Tel: 03 8888 8000

                                                                                                                   Fax: 03 8888 3444

YAB,

 

Re: Truth and Reconciliation Commission on the discrimination and Maginalisation of Malaysian Indians

 

May we firstly congratulate your goodself and your party in winning the 12th General Election held on 8/03/2008. As your goodselves have acknowledged the winds of change and the past mistakes, may we humbly propose that your goodselves form the Truth and Reconciliation Commission with regards to the very sad state of affairs, discrimination and maginalisation of especially the 80% Malaysian Indian poor. With the sincere formation of this commission we hope to move forward and grow together from now onwards in the True spirit of oneness, and equality and equal opportunity for all the poor especially the Malaysian Indian poor and mostly importantly humanity. The Malaysian Indians have persistently complained about the following:

 

1. Hardly any kindergartens in Tamil schools as opposed to Malay schools and the kemas kindergartens, which literally excludes Indians.

 

2. After 50 years of independence about two thirds of 523 Tamil schools in Malaysia are not fully aided.

 

3. Indians are not allowed into Mara Junior Colleges, Fully Residential Schools, Giat Mara Technical Schools, Matriculation Schools, Islamic Universities and many other educational institutions save and except the very few to show color.

 

4. All deserving Indians unlike their Malay Muslim brothers are denied places in the local public universities especially in the critical courses like medicine, dentistry,engineering, bio technology, accountancy etc. on an equal opportunity basis.

 

5. Overseas posting, training, scholarships, placements are denied to all deserving Indian students on an equal opportunity basis.

 

6. 30% of this Indian population can’t even properly read and write in the National language.

 

7. 60% of deaths in police custody (one in every two weeks) and by police shooting (one in every week) and detainees in police lock ups and prisons are Indians when they only form about 8% of the total population.

 

8. Indians have the highest suicide rate (for every 100,000 there are 35 Indians, 8Chinese and 5 Malays).

 

9. Civil service jobs for Indians have dwindled from about 60% in 1957 to about 2% today in 2008 with very little promotion prospects.

 

10. Top executive and managerial positions in the civil, corporate, banking, government linked companies, small and medium sized industries are denied to all deserving Indians on an equal opportunity basis.

 

11. Hindu Temples are indiscriminately demolished at the rate of one Hindu Temple in every three weeks.

 

12. 40,000 children are without even birth certificate in the first place, in the state of Selangor alone (Estimated at least 100,000 nationwide) which is their innate birthright.

 

13. Direct discrimination, marginalisation and racism from the counter level onwards both at the public and private sectors.

 

14. 60% of police abuse of powers cases are against the Indians (unlawful detention and torture etc).

 

15. Affirmative action programs e.g. PNB, Bank Pertanian, Felda, Felcra, Risda,UDA are completely closed to the Indians.

 

16. Licenses, permits, business opportunities are denied to all deserving Indians on an equal opportunity basis.

 

17. Distribution of contracts, projects, legal work, panel ship etc. both in private and public sectors almost always exclude Indians.

 

18. With this we hope from now onwards the Indians would be treated accordingly to Article 8 of the Federal Constitution (Equality before the Law). We hope for sincerity on your part. We hereby pray for an appointment to meet your good self with the sincere view to move forward.

 

Thank you,

 

Yours faithfully

P Waytha Moorthy

(Chairman)

Abandonment of MIC – An open letter

An open letter to Dato S Subramaniam and others WHO want to resurrect the now dead MIC

The abandonment of MIC by Malaysian Indians is surely a reflection that MIC has failed itself significantly in representing the very people it serves.

MIC failed the Indians, when did barely nothing to prevent the temple demolitions. MIC failed when its leaders did not ensure that budgeted allocations actually went towards needy Tamil schools. MIC failed when it’s leaders did not negotiate for better salaries for Estate Workers, or find jobs for displaced Estate workers. May we ask what MIC did towards halting the rising rates of gangsterism within the Malaysian Indian community?

We did not hear a squeak from MIC leaders when time and again Indians died in police custody. Once again where was the voice of MIC leaders when our deserving students did not get placement in the Universities? Neither did we hear our MIC representatives clamour to give housing for poor urban Indians. Where were the MIC leaders when our community were deprived of jobs and when the number of Indians in Government dropped alarmingly?

Sir, sorry to say, that our MIC leaders together with the ruling Government wilfully neglected the Indian community. So now you tell us, why do we Indians need such category of self serving leaders?

Though we Malaysian Indians had MPs and other leaders in Government, rarely did anyone take up their cause, a case in point, the hundreds of Memos sent in by Hindraf went virtually ignored and unanswered by all in government. When in actual fact, the MIC should have taken onus to address the problems enumerated in the Hindraf demands, this being specific Indian issue. Instead leaders went all out to demonise us, resorting to all manner of name calling from penyangkak to extremists to murderers even to the extent of our esteemed police force’s vivid and imaginary terrorist links.

Why you too Sir, did not make any efforts to take up the Indian cause, surely with your connections you could have highlighted the Indian plight, but then I guess all of you very busy pursuing your own personal and business interests. Why did you not use your influence with the Government to speak on behalf of the thousands of Indians who came out on the streets in a voice of discontent? Were you lounging in one of the hotels on Jalan Ampang watching us Malaysian Indians being jetted with chemical waters and tear gas?

Consider the 12th General Elections and see for yourself how the Indians rallied with the opposition especially in constituencies where MIC candidates were contesting. Indians tirelessly worked to ensure that MIC candidates failed to get elected. Is that not proof in itself, that the very people MIC represents, in effect ensured its failure? Otherwise how do you attribute that even the CEO of MIC and his deputy failed to get elected, it was not by coincidence but the very intention of frustrated and marginalised Malaysian Indians.

One of the main reasons for the debacle of the BN in this elections, is that the Indians previously complacent openly came out in large numbers to assist the opposition candidates, be it DAP, PAS or PKR, it did not matter to them whether the candidates were Indian, Chinese, Malay or any other, nevertheless Indians gave their whole hearted support to any candidate other than BN.

By now you should know that the reason for the component parties’ devastation in the 12th GE was primarily because the minorities felt that their leaders failed to represent and voice out the discontent of the people. This in turn effected the rise of the elite UMNO and their racial policies. Just to illustrate, when the Keris was raised, those who mumbled and grumbled a bit, were seen in the next days papers, smiling and shaking hands, with the keris wielding leader who today unfortunately still sits in cabinet, while the rest of us were furious and feared our very future in this nation.

To your question on who will represent the Indians, there are enough Indians in Parliament and the State Assemblies to ensure the welfare of the Indians. Right now there is a strong Indian presence in five state governments, so to you we say we have sufficient representation of Indians in whom we have placed our trust and confidence.

For the development of respective Arts and Culture, there should not be a problem to initiate societies and associations for the promotion of language, literature, culture, arts, music and dance.

It is timely that big industrialists and entrepreneurs come forward to develop, train and mentor the younger generation. I am equally sure that you should not have a problem with your expertise and being a person of influence to establish ways to promote economic growth of marginalised and deserving Malaysians irrespective of race or religion.

To Samy Velu, who today said “who will represent the Indians”? Go and seek penance in Kasi and prepare yourself to meet your maker, your end is nearing. Be sure you have answers for your bad performance and your major role in the making of a powerful opposition, for certain, they have already thanked you for this. Meditate how your devious actions led to the sad demise of MIC. By raising the tolls, in amassing huge amounts of wealth. We ofcourse in the elections did not forget how the Hindraf assemblers were treated at Batu Caves and we gave you the answer by booting you out. Be gone. You have negated all the the efforts and the good done by the early founders of MIC, you have dragged all their work into the stinking muck.

By the way, Dato Subramaniam and others you could earn back some semblance of respect if you could get not just the Hindraf 5 but also all other ISA detainees released. However if you wish to serve,let it be all Malaysians, not just one community, that is our sincere advice to you.

We have now reached a mature stage whereby we the people, Malays, Chinese, Indians and others will directly involve ourselves with our elected representatives to ensure that all our interests are taken care of. We have made our voice heard in this elections and we say once and for all, be gone all yea who want to encourage racism and partisan politics in Malaysia, that was once and no more shall the people let self-serving politicians divide us.

Why have you not heard our loud “NO TO RACISM, NEPOTISM, WASTEFUL EXPENDITURE AND CORRUPTION.

Right now, there are stalwarts who are true patriots, working to ensure the success of the Barisan Rakyat.

Barisan Rakyat is the only way forward for Malaysia.

From:I am of one race – Malaysian

JOINT STATEMENT BY PKR, DAP and PAS

PAS, KeADILan, DAP setuju erat kerjasama, Wan Azizah Ketua Pembangkang

Dalam satu keputusan bersejarah malam tadi, para pemimpin KeADILan, PAS dan DAP bersetuju untuk membentuk satu barisan yang lebih padu bagi memenuhi tuntutan sebuah ‘kerajaan menunggu’ di peringkat Pusat dan negeri-negeri.

Sehubungan itu, parti-parti terbabit juga sebulat suara bersetuju mencadangkan Presiden KeADILan, Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail yang juga Ahli Parlimen Permatang Pauh sebagai Ketua Pembangkang Parlimen Malaysia sehinggalah Ketua Umum KeADILan, Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim layak bertanding untuk kerusi Parlimen.

Berikut disiarkan kenyataan penuh tiga perenggan pemimpin-pemimpin parti terbabit:

Adalah diumumkan bahawa kami Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang dan Ustaz Abdul Hadi Awang pagi pihak Parti Keadilan Rakyat (KeADILan), Parti Tindakan Demokratik (DAP) dan Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) bersetuju dalam satu pertemuan pada malam 18 Mac 2008 bahawa hasrat rakyat sebagaimana yang ditunjukkan dalam pilihanraya ke-12 baru-baru ini perlulah dihormati dan dilaksanakan oleh kami dan parti-parti kami.

Kami bersetuju bahawa kerjasama yang lebih erat perlu dipertimbangkan dengan serius dengan mengambil kira hasrat rakyat untuk mewujudkan kerajaan Persekutuan dan negeri-negeri yang baru dan boleh membawa perubahan-perubahan besar kepada rakyat.

Kami juga bersetuju mencadangkan YB Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Presiden Parti Keadilan Rakyat, iaitu parti pembangkang terbesar di Parlimen ke-12, sebagai Ketua Pembangkang Parlimen Malaysia yang baru, sehingga Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim layak bertanding untuk kerusi Parlimen

Anwar Ibrahim
Lim Kit Siang
Ustaz Abdul Hadi Awang - tajdid

Source:Harakah Daily

Makkal Sakthi fever hits Penang

Anil Netto

“Makkal Sakthi (People Power)!” thundered speaker after speaker.

“Valga (Long live)!” roared back the crowd.

I thought I would check out the atmosphere at the DAP ceramah at the Penang Chinese Town Hall in George Town tonight to gauge the mood among voters. The theme: “Bebaskan Hindraf 5 (Free the Hindraf Five).”

When I arrived at the hall at around 8.00pm, it was full. More people were arriving and soon they were spilling out of the hall, where two screens had been put up for those outside to watch the proceedings.

The total turnout was around 3,000, including the few hundred outside the hall.

This was not your typical DAP ceramah. I had covered ceramahs in Penang, including those held at the Chinese Town Hall, for some years – but this was unlike anything I had seen. Instead of an 80 per cent ethnic Chinese crowd, this time Indian Malaysians made up more than 90 per cent of the crowd. Instead of speaking in English and Chinese, the DAP speakers spoke largely in Malay and Tamil and some English.

The Chinese Malaysians who turned up looked bemused and a bit taken aback to find themselve in a minority this time. One Chinese woman, a stranger, turned to me and remarked, “After 50 years of Independence, you have finally woken up” – which sounded a bit strange; she was talking as if I represented the entire Indian Malaysian community in the country!

I was more interested in observing the crowd. Of course, the middle-class were represented, but I saw many, many men and women who looked like they had come from tough or difficult backgrounds, the lower-income group. Were they manual labourers, casual workers, factory workers or unemployed, I wondered.

Many of them looked like they were coming to a political ceramah for the first time. How many of them were actually registered voters? All the same, they seemed eager to snap up reading material such as The Rocket and Aliran Monthly, which were being sold outside. I saw a few young Indian Malaysian men wearing the familiar red and pink Abolish ISA badges.

You could almost feel the air of excitement hanging over the crowd.

The DAP made a conscious effort to project the Indian Malaysian faces in their ranks such as Karpal, Kula, Prof Ramasamy, Guna, Sivanesan and Rayan. Also on stage were Kit Siang, Guan Eng, Chong Eng and was that Jeff Ooi?

Guan Eng told the crowd he had asked quite a few Hindus what they were praying for on Thaipusam and they replied, “For the release of the Hindraf Five.”

“But what did Abdullah Badawi give you?” he asked. “A public holiday!”

He also poked fun at Lingam’s “it looks like me; it sounds like me”.

The crowd laughed, knowingly, at the farce.

As for the detained Hindraf leaders who are now on a hunger strike, the joke going around is that if ever Uthayakumar, who is a diabetic, needed a blood transfusion, the authorities would be wary of appealing to the public for blood donations. That’s because they might have to call in the FRU to control the thousands who would turn up to donate blood!

All the DAP speakers received a rousing welcome as they entered the hall, including a big cheer for Karpal, who is the senior lawyer for the detained Hindraf leaders. Karpal, speaking while seated on stage, told the crowd the DAP was “adopting” Makkal Sakthi.

To me, there are pros and cons of a popular movement such as Makkal Sakthi being institutionalised as or within a political party. We saw that during Reformasi, when Keadilan was set up to institutionalise the movement and take the struggle to a political level.

An anonymous popular movement is spontaneous, dynamic and organic, representing “people power” from the bottom up.

In contrast, a political party tends to be structured and organised while decisions are made at the top. This makes it less spontaneous and more predictable. It also makes it easier for tacticians in the Barisan Nasional, who have mastered the art of our unfair electoral process and campaigning, to read and analyse and deal with during the general election.

That is why reformasi was exciting and unpredictable and dynamic, but once it was institutionalised within a political party (Keadilan), the movement lost some of its dynamism and spontaneity. In fact, my guess is that the BN would be much more comfortable dealing with opposition parties than with anonymous popular movements such as Reformasi and Makkal Sakthi.

Still, I suppose political parties have a role to play in putting across the people’s aspirations into the official policy formulation process. But it would be a great pity if the politicians were to take over in such a way as to leave the people – who have only just tasted a sense of liberation from their metaphorical shackles – feeling disempowered once again.

Okay, back to the ceramah: Karpal also informed the crowd that there was a high probability that Guan Eng would stand as a candidate in Penang in the general election.

Outside the hall, a couple of DAP volunteers at a desk were giving out forms to those who wanted to sign up as polling day volunteers to assist the party. About half a dozen young Indian Malaysians were busy filling up the forms.

I asked the DAP volunteer at the desk how many people had signed up. She flicked through the stack of forms and counted around 30. Others had taken forms, promising to return them later, she said.

From the back of the hall, I could see the a sprinkling of folks who had come in the orange attire of Makkal Sakthi, including the Makkal Sakthi T-shirts.

A visitor from KL marvelled at the mood here in Penang, which he said seemed more enthusiastic than in KL. “Perhaps it’s because the folks over in KL have quite a few different events to choose from.”

I left the ceramah before it ended, convinced that there has been a major swing within the Indian Malaysian community.

On my way back, I walked past the Pitt Street Corner Bar, a stone’s throw from the Chinese Town Hall. It is usually an oasis for those seeking “refreshments” on a Saturday night. Today, it looked rather quiet – a few empty seats around metallic tables inside – despite the presence of a large crowd nearby.

Even as more Malaysians were being detained in KL earlier today, the mood in Penang – at least among these 3,000 people – was one of newfound strength and solidarity in a community that has awakened from it slumber. More than that, a sense of empowerment has descended on the people – a feeling that I can and will make a difference, and what I do really does matter.

And this mood was infectious. Even the Chinese DAP volunteers outside the hall found themselves calling out, “Makkal Sakthi!“

Valga!

Source: Malaysia Today

Indians’ ‘pre-emptive’ message to MIC, Samy

Barry Michael Raj | Jan 25, 08 3:54pm

It’s Thursday morning Pacific time in the US, almost 48 hours after the Thaipusam celebrations in Malaysia, and I still can’t believe what the Indians in my country have done as I sit to write this.

During the more than 30 years I had lived in Malaysia, I had often wondered which was the bigger enemy to the Indians there – the institutionalised discrimination by Umno in the form of the NEP or the dismal lack of unity among the Indians themselves. My musings were hardly unique. Neither did they belong to the exclusive domain of intellectual thinking. Any average Indian Malaysian you meet, right from Jitra to Johor Baru, will tell you he envies the unity that has made the Chinese in the same country progress and prosper, and wishes that his community could be more like that.

When I left for the US a few years back, I was convinced there will never come a day when my people will band together as Indians for a cause, without putting forth ethnic subdivisions, religious differences and other inherent prejudices. I could also visualise the MIC and its Jurassic-like leader telling the Indians in Malaysia for many more years to come that there can never be a fairer and more caring government than the Barisan Nasional.

Thus, when the Hindraf protests first hit KL last November, I was as amazed as other Indian Malaysians living abroad over the resolve that seems to have formed among our people back home to fight the marginalisation in their masses. With this week’s widely-boycotted Thaipusam celebrations in Batu Caves, my amazement turned into pride as I realised that the Indians in Malaysia today are more united than they ever were in the country’s 50-year history as an independent nation.

To me, the Batu Caves boycott is more significant than the preceding Nov 25 Hindraf rally in KL which actually gave birth to the current proactive movement among Indian Malaysians. Both events were sparked by perceived attacks on Hinduism and its worshipers in Malaysia, which probably explains why the current movement is called Hindraf rather than �Indraf� (for Indian Rights Action Force).

The November rally was primarily motivated by anger over the destruction of Hindu shrines in Malaysia, the latest being a Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Shah Alam, which devotees say is a century-old. This week�s Batu Caves-boycott was a direct response to the colluding by that temple�s MIC-appointed caretakers with police in tear-gassing, water-cannoning and arresting people who had broken their journey there en-route to the November rally.

Both incidents appear to have been sparked by what happened at two temples but there is a difference in their significance. The November rally was an �after-the-fact� response to the humiliation that Indians in Malaysia had been suffering for decades. The Batu Caves boycott, in contrast, was a �pre-emptive� message to the MIC and its goons on what �People Power – called �Makkal Sakti� in Tamil – is like.

And that power was demonstrated despite the Barisan Nasional throwing a public holiday to the Indians in the hope that all would be forgiven and forgotten.

Having spent almost all my life surrounded by Hindus, I can understand the great sacrifices many of them have made in staying away from this year�s Thaipusam at Batu Caves. Among those who made this painful decision was a swami who had been carrying a �kavadi� to the Murugan shrine atop that limestone cave for almost 40 years now. This man once told me tears of joy well in his eyes the moment he steps past the main entrance of the Batu Caves temple and his mind conjures the majestic image of Lord Muruga.

Such was his devotion to the place. And this was the same man who decided this year to join the Thaipusam celebrations in Penang instead, after the tidal wave of handphone text messages from Indian youths calling for a boycott of Batu Caves. Speaking of Indian youths, my friends in KL tell me they have noticed another trend � a positive one � that has emerged since the Hindraf rally and the detention without trial of the movement’s main luminaries, including leader P Uthayakumar.

Gang fights, once notorious among Indian youths in Malaysia, are hardly reported these days, my friends say. It appears that the Indian has suddenly realised that his enemy is not another Indian. It�s needless to say who he now thinks the enemy is.

The MIC and its insurmountable S Samy Vellu, meanwhile, are trying to do all they can to put a respectable sheen on what happened � and did not � at Batu Caves this year. I smiled as I read the MIC president�s utter denial that there had been a boycott, and that the damning text messages had failed to do their job.

My sister-in-law who went to Batu Caves out of sheer curiosity said she saw huge pockets of emptiness in places that were usually teeming with people during previous year celebrations. Someone else told me over the phone that he took his elderly mother up the caves to perform her prayers and was down within 45 minutes – a record, considering that the same feat took two and a half hours the previous year.

This person also said he only saw dozens of make-shift stalls set up for business this year inside the temple compound � compared to the hundreds visible in previous years. As for Samy Vellu, those boycott messages that also called on people to pelt him with sandals � as reported by AFP � should give him an idea of how immensely popular he is.

Bahasa Melayu

Melayu lebih buta sejarah tak mau mengakui hampir seluruh kebudayaannya berasaskan kebudayaan hindu/india dan kini inging dibersihkan dengan meniru kebudayan arab.

Tak tau malu. diri sendiri pun di gelar BUMIPUTERA, satu gelaran 100%bahasa Sanskrit. malah perkataan “bahasa’ itu pun adalah sanskrit.

kamu semua ingat begitu pandai. suba pikir sikit apa pendapat orang lain bila kamu cuba jadi “tuan”baru sedangkan bahasa sendiri pun di ciplak dari kaum India????

Bapa bahasa kamu ialah Munshi Abdullah – SEORANG TAMIL dari India!!! ini kamu tau tak? ini bukan bohong. tapi buku sejarah disekolah tak pernah mengajar ini.

Selalu kamu semua bercakap seolah olah kamu je yang pandai sedangkan seluruh kebudayaan kamu adalah kebudayan ciplak dari India, Arab atau Cina!

Sarapan pagi setiap hari? ROTI Paratha? haa.. itu namanya dari mana?

Sapa kamu? bumiputera? oh… itu namanya dari mana?

Apa nama bandar kamu? Putrajaya? itu namanya dari mana?

Apa nama kereta nasional? Wira? itu perkatan dari mana?

Apa nama kaum kamu? Melayu? itu kamu tau tak perkataan Tamil yang bermaksud negeri orang gunung/orang bukit???

Apa satu satunya kesan perniggalan zaman lama di malaysia? Candi lembah Bujang? itu apa tu? KUIL HINDU la bro, kuil hindu…

Semuanya dari INDIA bro, dari INDIA jadi ada tak terpikir pa sebenarnya org India fikir pasal kamu semua?

BODOH SOMBONG!!!

Ada satu kala pengarah DBP kamu mau membersihkan bahasa Melayu dari perkataan asing, lalu saya berbincang dengan kawan dari india dan berkata bahawa kalau itu dibuat, hanya perkataan bodoh saja akan tinggal dalam kamus dewan bahasa. tau tak apa jawapan kawan saya dari India. Dia tertawa berdekak dekah dan berkata bahawa perkataan “booh” tu pun dari bahasa India jugak. ALAMAK!

Conclusion.

Kamulah yang buta sejarah. utk kamu sejarah hanya 500 tahun. Untuk org India sejarah ialah 5000 tahun!

Tamil youth of Malaysia: question of culture and empowerment

If it could be realized that development, social empowerment and even winning a struggle are rather cultural than economic or political, then it won’t be difficult to see that the problems of the Tamil Diaspora all over the world are more internal than external. The Tamil culture is one of the classical cultures of humanity. But if there is anything wrong in its contemporary manifestations, one shouldn’t shy away from reform. The global Tamil Diaspora should come together in this regard and help each other by commonly addressing the cultural problems. The privileged and developed sections of the Tamil Diaspora bear more responsibility in this regard, writes Opinion Columnist Ampalam.

—Opinion Columnist Ampalam —-

The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is one of the most impressive centers of the world’s air traffic today. Its transit and departure terminal is a mini city by itself.

However, anybody who is familiar with the multicultural fabric of Malaysia may wonder how the Tamil community that consists of nearly nine percent of the nation’s population is not duly represented among the modern and dazzling lineup of ethnic food, curios and international chic.

Other than a single bookshop, there seem to be no other business establishments run by Tamils. Even the bookshop, which displays books on world’s languages, doesn’t have one book on Tamil. At the same, one would be surprised to see that all the numerous toilets in the Airport are invariably maintained by Tamils.

This is just a representative picture of the development disparity among the communities of modern Malaysia today, which is obvious for any outsider to understand.

* * *

We are told that the thousands of Malaysian Tamil youth who went on a protest march against disparity in development carried pictures of Mahatma Gandhi and Pirapaharan. This led to paranoid elements in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia becoming panicky and jumping to hastily drawn conclusions. It is now the beginnings of the demonisation of the Tamil identity beyond Sri Lanka.

It is said that the youth carried those pictures as emotive symbols of extremity to highlight the choices left to them in the course of their struggle. If that was so, a structural interpretation would tell us that the frustration and resentment was directed more against India than against Malaysia, because both the symbols are meaningful antitheses especially to the Indian establishment today, which despises Gandhi secretly and Pirapakaran openly.

* * *

Another noticeable feature of the protest was the Hindu banner under which it was carried out. If the protesters thought that a Hindu label would attract more attention and help from India, they were making a grave mistake. The Tamils in Malaysia in their origins don’t belong to the social or economic elite of Hindus in India, in order for them to evoke sympathy from the Indian establishment.

Only India might gain bargaining power by selling out the interests of its own Diaspora. Those who doubt this can always learn by seeing the example of the treatment meted out to the upcountry Tamils of Indian origin in Sri Lanka, whose rights were swapped in exchange for the global ambitions of India, right from the time of Nehru.

The Hindu label for the protest march is also misleading as it doesn’t include the Muslims, Christians and Sikhs of South Asian origin. The label is definitely not the appropriate symbol to represent the nature of the grievances of the oppressed masses of South Asian origin in Malaysia. It may only invite unwanted animosity from the Malay Muslim majority and serve those who exploit religious sentiments for political ambitions nationally and internationally. One has to go beyond religious fundamentalism to fight against it.

The Tamil culture was never confined to a single religion in its long heritage. The Tamil language served a medium to almost all the major religions of the world, whether Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam or even to atheism.

* * *

Ever since Narayanasamy Pillai, the lieutenant of Colonel Ruffles of the English East India Company brought in the labour force from his native place of Naakappaddinam, it was largely the poor, oppressed sections of Tamil people from the famine-stricken villages of Tamil Nadu who migrated to Singapore and Malaysia, then known as Straits Settlements, mostly to work in the tin mines and rubber estates.

Many Tamils of Malaysia and Singapore may wonder how Thaippoosam, has today become the most important Hindu festival, nationally recognized in Malaysia and Singapore, whereas it has no significance in India, not even in Tamil Nadu.

The full moon day of the month of Thai (Jan-Feb) in the Tamil luni-solar calendar, which occurs with the moon’s transit through the Poosa constellation, was essentially an ancient Tamil festival of thanksgiving mentioned in the Theavaarams (the Tamil-Chaiva devotional hymns). If Thai-pongkal, the first day of Thai, is to offer new rice at home after harvest, Thai-poosam, the full moon day of the month is to offer it at temples. Even though both are non-Brahmin festivals, the latter is highly localized today and confined only to the agrarian folk in certain pockets in the Kaveri delta in Tamilnadu and Jaffna. It is also associated with the cult of the Tamil god Murukan.

The prominence given to this festival by the Tamils of Malaysia and Singapore and the way it is celebrated reveal the socio-cultural context of the origins of a great portion of them and the myths of the subconscious mind that direct them. Understanding the background and the mindset is important to the Tamils as well as others in grasping what to look for and where to look for, to resolve matters related to the grievances of the Malaysian Tamil youth.

The resentment of the Tamil Diaspora in Malaysia is not an isolated case. It is the same story all over the world with the Tamils. Disparity within the Indian community has even classified the gods and temples in Mauritius into two categories: ‘Hindu’ and ‘Tamil’. The success of a few Tamils, belonging to the elite, priestly or mercantile communities, shouldn’t be generalized as reflective of the condition of the Tamil Diaspora.

* * *

The Naakappaddinam port in Tamil Nadu, from where the bulk of the South Asians went to Malaysia and Singapore in the colonial times, is the nearest point of navigation to and from Southeast Asia, following the Ten Degree Channel. The ship service was in operation until recent times.

The Tamils of Jaffna origin in Malaysia and Singapore, disassociate themselves from the Indian Tamils and maintain a Ceylonese identity today. They are grouped along with Eurasians within one percent of the population in matters related to reservations. But, the Jaffna Tamils also migrated from the same Naakappaddinam port. The only difference was that their journey originated from the Kaankeasanthu’rai port in Jaffna to board the ship at Naakappaddinam. The two ports are only few miles apart on the opposite coasts of the entrance to the Palk Strait, and in those days it cost a mere 25 cents (one quarter of a rupee) of Ceylon money to travel from Kaankeasanthu’rai to Naakappaddinam by sailboats.

Though they were only separated by a few miles of sea, there was a huge gulf in the status of the two Tamil communities. The educational institutions of Jaffna made all the difference at that time and there was no compulsion such as poverty as was in the case of the Indian Tamils. Today, the same situation has been reversed: migration forced upon by a civil war, coupled with declining educational opportunities and the resultant contemporary culture, has made recent sections of the Sri Lankan Tamil Diaspora suffer all over the world.

* * *

If it could be realized that development, social empowerment and even winning a struggle are rather cultural than economic or political, then it won’t be difficult to see that the problems of the Tamil Diaspora all over the world are more internal than external.

The Tamil culture is one of the classical cultures of humanity. But if there is anything wrong in its contemporary manifestations, one shouldn’t shy away from reform.

The global Tamil Diaspora should come together in this regard and help each other by commonly addressing the cultural problems. The privileged and developed sections of the Tamil Diaspora bear more responsibility in this regard.

By ‘culture’ the writer doesn’t refer to what is commonly assumed: temples, festivals, dance, music, attire, obsolete ways of life and so on.

Today what is meant by culture revolves around education, healthcare, social equality, gender equality, harmony with environment, freedom to choose the ways of life, economic and human resources, elite formation in the society, and above all, the capability of a society to contribute to humanity in general.

The Diaspora Tamils should not expect much of these to come from India or Tamil Nadu. What is exported in the name of culture to the Diaspora is a combination of colonial Orientalism and Brahminism on one hand and the rhetoric and media of the Dravidian movement on the other hand which ultimately amuses us with the Sun TV brand of culture.

* * *

Mr. Badawi has a great responsibility to handle the matter delicately. Development is always comparative. This is a question of disparity in the development of a national community which is backward in education, employment and resources, needing conducive institutions of contemporary culture. The discrepancies have to be acknowledged first.

Show of violence by one side and oppression in handling it by the other are capable of producing backlashes. The Tamil community needs to be sympathetically helped and strengthened through proper social, cultural and economic institutions. If there are any hurdles for the self-generation of such institutions by the community itself, they should be given the priority for removal.

The people to people contact of Tamils and Malays in ancient times contributed to the emergence of the first states in the Malay Peninsula. The Malay language and culture bear considerable traces of the long interaction with Tamils. Those who are familiar with Malay history will acknowledge that even the advent of Islam in the Sultanate of Malacca is traceable to the Tamils of Naakappaddinam. The present day Tamils, who shared a common colonial oppression along with the other communities of Malaysia, contributed immensely to the nation-building of Malaysia through hard labour. It is now Malaysia’s turn to help them becoming on par with the other communities.

As for the Tamil youth of Malaysia, it is futile to look upon the establishments at Delhi, Chennai or any other power centre of the world for help. For those who are seriously seeking inspirations, a corpus of international scholarship is already available to rediscover what is culture for social empowerment.

Source:tamilnet.com

Umno must stop blaming Indian community

Kaken | Jan 9, 08 2:48pm

The recent Hindraf rally has shown another failure of the Umno-led government of the past 50 years. But unfortunately, the government does not want to learn the lesson. They blame demonstrators, calling them racists and gangsters.

Is preserving one’s rights considered racist? What about the people who administrate along racial lines? What about those waving the ‘keris’ in the air, shouting ‘Ketuanan Melayu’, threatening to bathe the ‘keris’ with Chinese blood? Clearly, Umno itself is the real racist, not those who try to end racist policies.

According to Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, it is lawful for every citizen to assemble peacefully. Thus, the government’s move against peaceful demonstrators is not just against human rights but also in contradiction to the constitution.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak has even asked the Hindraf rally organisers to pay compensation. It is definitely unreasonable as the chaos during the rally was mainly caused by the police’s excessive use force, tear gas and water cannons. The police turned a peaceful rally into a chaotic one. Therefore, it is the government that should pay compensation.

I am very proud of the Indian community which has made history for their ethnic community by exercising their rights, unlike the MIC who are Umno’s servants more worried about their own interests and benefits. Shame on the MIC leaders who fear Umno leaders too much.

The MIC is merely a puppet to mislead Indians and the world community that the Malaysian government is fair to all. It claims to represent Indian Malaysians but in the reality, it does not work at all.

Umno leaders must not continue to blame the Indian community. The government has to abolish their discriminatory policies and apologise to the Indian and Chinese communities for marginalising them since the independence of Malaya 50 years ago.

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place-Mahtma