Victims of the British Empire Seek To Correct Historical Injustice.
- a class action civil suit by Malaysians of Indian origin against British Government for negligence during their colonial past and the aftermath.
UK Solicitor and Lawyer, appointed by Hindraf Makkal Sakthi, are visiting Malaysia on a mission to familiarize themselves with the injustices on the ground and to meet potential class action clients who wish to participate with them in a suit to seek correction of this historical injustice . . .
Date: 14th August 2011
Time: 9.30am
Venue: Hokkien Hall, Klang, Selangor
It’s Hindraf’s stand that the British Colonial Government reneged on its moral and legal obligations and responsibilities towards the Indians they had brought in to Malaysia to man the colonial economy. When the British left in 1957 they left the Indians as part of a Nation State with major ambiguities and omissions in the Federal Constitution that subsequently enabled the Government of Malaysia to embark on a policy of systematically oppressing, suppressing and marginalising them. This policy has been institutionalised today with far-reaching implications.
It has been conservatively estimated that there are an estimated 350,000 stateless people among Indians in Malaysia. About 100,000 of these stateless are children who should be in school. More than 500,000 people have been displaced from plantations without compensation or resettlement programs. They continue to suffer without adequate housing, training opportunities and schools. Tamil schools are in dilapidated conditions. The Government of the day continuously and deliberately refuses to give equal funding to Tamil schools even as it leaches off the Indian community by way of taxes and other financial burdens. Hindu temples continue to be demolished while the Government pays lip service to the freedom of worship enshrined in the Federal Constitution. Thousands of Hindu temples have been demolished In Malaysia since independence. Indians are denied adequate economic opportunities. This includes permits to open even small scale businesses and obtain loans. Welfare aid is being denied to most eligible Indians on flimsy grounds. Students who excel in public examinations are denied scholarships and places in state universities where race and religion, not merit, is the main criteria for entry.
It’s clear that the Malaysian Constitution left behind by the departing British colonial administration failed to entrench Indian rights adequately. The provision in the Federal Constitution for a special position for the Malays and natives has been manipulated to deny basic rights to the Indian community. Provisions of International Law with regards to human rights are being violated.
This is the background to the class action civil suit instituted against the British Government to claim reparations for colonial wrong-doings. The Lawyers are visiting Malaysia to meet their clients and to learn and see for themselves the suffering of the Malaysian Indians.
Do attend the above meeting if you are a Malaysian of Indian descent and feel a compulsion to correct a major historical injustice.
This is not an event open to the public but an opportunity for all Indians to meet their Lawyers to pursue with this historic and unprecedented civil claim.
EVERY ONE MUST PLEASE TAKE NOTE THAT HINDRAF MAKKAL SAKTHI DOES NOT PROMISE ANY ONE PERSON EVEN A SEN FROM THIS CIVIL SUIT. WE ONLY PROMISE OUR COMMITMENT TO BRING JUSTICE FOR THE BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS OUR FOREFATHERS SHED IN THIS COUNTRY OF OURS.
BEWARE OF THOSE OUT TO MISLEAD YOU AND THEIR FALSE PROPAGANDA TO FRUSTRATE THIS HISTORIC CIVIL ACTION.
Please forward to all.
“Rights not Mercy”
S.JAYATHAS
Information Chief
HINDRAF & HRP
2 comments:
I went to the Post Office to register to vote; and upon checking my identity card, the Post officer asked which religion I belonged to. Why? I do not know. Therefore, we must reform the Department of Religion. Right now, only Islam is recognised as the religion in the Department of Religion. Therefore we need reforms. We need to divide the Department of Religion into two branches: one branch to deal with Muslim Affairs, and another branch to deal with non-Muslim Affairs.
Please make sure you go to the nearest Post Office to register to vote. Please exercise your right to vote.
If you do agree with me, please copy and remail it to whom it may concern. Those who receive it must in turn copy and remail it to whom it may concern. Let’s get the word around to as many people as possible. Let’s see what happens.
I’m sure that there are several reforms that Malaysia should undergo. Let’s at least get one thing reformed: education. As it is, there are three language streams in Malaysia. That, is, there are Malay-medium, Chinese-medium, and Tamil-medium schools currently operating in Malaysia. Then somebody decided to teach maths and science in English in all these three school systems. Next, somebody decided to flip-flop and remove the teaching of Maths and Science in English. What’s going on? They introduce English and then they remove it. There are too many flip flops.
Therefore, I read something interesting as a solution. Let me share it with you.
Firstly, lets leave the three language school system as it is.
Let’s focus on kindergarten schools. Let’s allow private kindergarten schools to have total autonomy from political intervention. If private kindergarten schools are allowed to teach the 3R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic) in English, then it may solve the problem.
Hopefully, the next generation of Malaysian children will firstly go for three years to an English kindergarten. After completing a stint in the English kindergarten, next the children will enter primary school. In primary school, they have to choose between Malay, Chinese, and Tamil medium schools. Eventually, they will complete secondary school education.
These students will be more multi-lingual and therefore will be an asset to the nation in a globalizing world.
In any case, almost all the universities (both government and private) use English language text books. Therefore, we have to connect English kindergartens on the one hand with English language text books in universities on the other hand. Do you see the connection now?
In any case, it is better than flip flopping. The bottom line is that I am sick and tired of politicians and bureaucrats constantly changing the public education system at the expense of the children of Malaysia. Somebody even put English as the only medium of instruction for Maths and Science only to be removed by another politician. So, instead of removing English I have decided to push English down to the kindergartens in Malaysia. The question is: should we push English up or down? I think we should push English medium down to the private kindergartens. This will be fair and square to everybody. Let's call this the MALAYSIAN MODEL. The Malaysian model means that Malaysian children will study for 3 years in English medium in private kindergartens. Then, they will be ready to enter the public school system. If the Malaysian model catches on it may be imitated by nations in ASEAN and the rest of Asia. Probably. I do not know. We will wait and see.
I fully agree that they should stop teaching Maths and Science in English in the public school system. Teaching Maths and Science in English would marginalize rural children who are mostly Malays. We want a system that does not marginalize. Solution: Malaysian Model. I suggest that all rural kindergartens be funded by the government and become English medium kindergartens. In fact, all government funded kindergartens should give early childhood education exclusively in English. I can tell you now that rural Malays will lag behind if they do not attach value to multi-lingualism. I can tell you that nobody can discern or predict on the massive market; and that the market makes and shapes the person.
Let us suppose that the university is at the top; and kindergarten will be known as the bottom. Both the top and the bottom would use English language textbooks. In between the top and bottom would be the Malay-medium, Chinese medium, and Tamil medium schools. This is the solution.
If you do agree with me, please copy and remail it to whom it may concern. Those who receive it must in turn copy and remail it to whom it may concern. Let’s get the word around to as many people as possible. Let’s see what happens.
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