Letter to UN High Commissioner on Human Right

HINDRAF
(Hindu Rights Action Force)
No. 135-3-A, Jalan Toman 7,
Kemayan Square,
70200 Seremban, Negeri Sembilan
Malaysia. Tel: +606-7672995/6
Fax: +6-06-7672997
Email waytha@hotmail.com

Hon. Madam Louise Arbour
United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights Palais Wilson 52 rue des Pâquis CH-1201 Geneva, Switzerland
17th April 2008.

Dear Madam,

RE: SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AFFECTING THE ETHNIC INDIAN MINORITY COMMUNITY IN MALAYSIA.
50 YEARS OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AND THE ETHNIC COMMUNITY REMAINS A PERMANENTLY COLONIZED COMMUNITY.
APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS AFFECTING THE ETHNIC MALAYSIAN INDIAN COMMUNITY.

I write both in my personal capacity as well as chairman of the above-mentioned organization.

Malaysia achieved independence in 1957 from the United Kingdom Government. 200 years ago the British colonial masters exported indentured laborers from South India into then Malaya and when the country achieved independence these ethnic Indians were left behind without their rights being adequately protected in the new Federal Constitution that was then drafted.

Over the last 50 years the ethnic Indian minority community has suffered various Human Rights violations under the hands of the majority Malay UMNO led political party who controlled other coalition political parties within the Government. Amongst the violations are as follows:

FREEDOM OF RELIGION

No Freedom of Religion, thought or conscience. Citizens are denied their right to renounce their religion or to revert to their original religion/faith.
Demolitions of places of worships particularly belonging to Hindus, which has been in existence since the time, they were imported as indentured laborers. It is believed that about 10,000 temples have been demolished over the last 50 years.
No new allocations in terms of funding and grant of land for erection of places of worships for the benefit of non-Muslims.
Christian churches are particularly targeted in that they are not allowed to build new churches though they have the necessary funding and land for those purposes.
Non- Muslims are compelled to seek redress in the Muslim syariah courts should either one of the spouse convert to the Islamic faith.
Islamic laws are deliberately imposed on non-Muslims.

EDUCATIONAL RIGHT
80% of the 523 Ethnic Tamil schools are poorly maintained and hundreds remain in a dilapidated condition. The Government has failed to take the responsibility for the Ethnic Tamil schools after independence and there is a silent agenda to permanently phase out these ethnic Tamil schools, which provided education in the mother tongue language of the Tamil community in Malaysia. Similar fate befalls the ethnic Andra, Malayali and Punjabi ethnic schools in Malaysia. No new Tamil schools are built by Government in new townships despite the ethnic Indian population increasing threefold since independence.

Indian students are denied places in Local Universities and higher educational institutions under the quota system which favors the Malays Muslim community which regard themselves as BUMIPUTRAS ( sons of soil) and hence they fill up most places of universities though they do not qualify for the respective courses.

No scholarships grants for education for ethnic Indian community either locally or overseas as provided for the Malay community.
No adequate grant/allocations in the annual budget for the building of new Ethnic Indian Schools or maintenance of those.

INTERNALLY DISPLACED COMMUNITY

The majority Indian community who belonged to the plantation sectors become internally displaced persons when their traditional plantation land is acquired by Government for purposes of development and their very social living lifestyle are disrupted. They are not provided adequate compensation for their contributions for the country’s economy over the last 200 years, not provided new job opportunities, training programs ect. No permanent alternative is given to resolve their housing problems and ultimately they end up as squatters in Urban and remain poor, underclass and neglected. No programs and schemes are introduced to uplift their economic condition as compared to what is done to the Malay community. When their plantation land is taken they lose their land, houses, temples, schools and end up a new poor class neglected society.

UNDOCUMENTED ETHNIC MINORITY MALAYSIAN INDIANS

Despite 50 years of independence, there are thousands of ethnic minority Malaysian Indians left being undocumented, without birth certificates, identity cards, marriage certificates ect. This in effect precludes and excludes them from even the formal primary schooling structure, obtaining licenses to run a business or from securing employment.

PATHETIC MONTHLY WAGES

After 46 years of independence the State has finally capped the monthly salary of the plantation workers at RM 325.00 (USD85.00) and RM 350.00 (USD 92.00) per month for rubber tappers who are mostly ethnic Malaysian Indians.

NO BUSINESS LICENCES/OPPORTUNITIES

Mearge or no business licenses, permits, business loans, opportunities, small businesses, commercial licenses for Malaysian Indians to run businesses resulting in less than 1% Indian participation in the country’s economic wealth.

KG. MEDAN “GENOCIDE”

The genocide by a state sponsored mysterious mob against the innocent and unarmed people of Kg.Medan in 2001 left 100 over killed and / or seriously injured still remains a mystery. The Malaysian Human Rights Commission refused to hold an inquiry while the state refused to hold a royal commission of inquiry. The Courts/Attorney General refused to hold inquests into the deaths contrary to Article 5 of the Federal Constitution and section 339 of the criminal procedure code. Worst still only USD 526 to a maximum of USD 6,578 for some victims being permanently maimed and/or loss of life cases was awarded for the said victims though RM136.8 billion was approved for the 2006 budget.

VICTIMISATION BY POLICE STATE

Indians formed about 60% of suspects shot dead by the police including an 8-month pregnant Indian lady, 60% of innocent people dying in Police custody, lockups and other detention centers.

The above are meant to give you an overview on the situation affecting the ethnic Indian community who has suffered for the last 50 years since Independence.

The Government of Malaysia portrays to the world that Malaysia is a multi racial and multi ethnic society that lives in peace and harmony. Unfortunately peace and harmony in Malaysia means the ethnic Indian community is compelled to remain silent on the atrocities that befall them and should they protest in a peaceful manner the Government takes severe action against them.

The recent attempt by HINDRAF to raise the violations against the Ethnic Indian community was seen as attempt to challenge the Malay Muslim supremacy UMNO led Government and hence our Organization was branded as an extremist organization. HINDRAF organized a peaceful gathering on the 25th November 2007 to submit a petition to Her Majesty The Queen of England and the event saw an unprecedented crowd of more than 100,000 people coming to the streets to protest the marginalization, oppression and suppression they suffered. This was seen as a threat and immediately within days our organization was accused falsely of having links to terrorists organizations.

On the 13th December 2007 5 key leaders of HINDRAF was detained under the draconian Internal Security Act which means detention without trial. This was deliberately done to instill fear onto the ethnic Indian community and to suppress the emerging “new voices of democracy” and to stamp out the democratic Movement.

We have suffered in silence thus far and when finally we came out to voice our dissatisfaction the Government attacked us with tear gas, chemical laced water cannons and baton beatings by the brutal Royal Police Force. Hundreds our peaceful protesters were arrested manhandled, beaten up, thrown into lock ups, humiliated for belonging to the ethnic Indian community, and slapped with trumped up criminal charges of attempted murder and denied bail. The State Attorney General took the trouble to personally attend these cases to show to the whole country how serious they are if their “might” is challenged.

The Malaysian ethnic Indian has no other choice but to seek redress and solutions at the doorsteps of the United Nations. On behalf of all those oppressed suppressed and marginalized ethnic Indian community I formally request that you exercise all powers conferred upon you by this most supreme world democratic organ to appoint a SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS AFFECTING THE ETHNIC MALAYSIAN INDIAN COMMUNITY who are and remain a permanently colonized community in Malaysia.

Thank you

Yours in service

P.Waytha Moorthy
Chairman
HINDRAF