For 1 Malaysia to succeed, we must get over Mahathirism — Khoo Kay Peng

March 01, 2011

MARCH 1 — I believe the current ruling regime and Malaysians must answer a very crucial question; is Mahathirism a catalyst or a barrier to 1Malaysia?

What is the main purpose of 1Malaysia? If it intends to forge greater unity amongst multiracial Malaysians the proponent of 1Malaysia must correct Mahathir’s statement which mentioned that other races must accept that this country belonged to the Malays.

Mahathir claims that Malaysia is successful today because the Malays are willing to share the country with others.

Firstly, Malaysia is not a property of any single race. Malaysia was established as a multiracial country. Post-independence generations in the country had adopted this country as their motherland.

Malaysia as a nation is a legal and geo-political creation. It was established in 1963 and this nation belongs to all Malaysians and not just the Malays.

Malaysia is successful because it had embraced multiculturalism. All races had contributed or are still contributing to its socio-economic development. Malaysia’s success was not due to the generosity of the Malays alone.

Mahathir, who has a Kerala parentage, was able to ascend to the highest political position in the country not because he was a pure Malay but a fact that this country, before his premiership, was willing to put the best Malaysian in the right position.

If 1Malaysia embraces all citizens of this country as equals, it should debunk the outdated Mahathirism which is still play off a race against another.

Mahathir’s tirade against Singapore, especially MM Lee Kuan Yew, is again a reflection of his hypocrisy.

Mahathir said that racism in Malaysia was clearly the result of Singapore’s short membership in the country, and not because the island was “turfed out” as suggested by the republic’s founding father Lee Kuan Yew recently.

It is unbelievable for Mahathir trying to pin the blame on Singapore’s short membership of Malaysia. It does not take a rocket scientist to tell Mahathir that Malaysia’s racism is the result of Barisan’s and Umno’s race based politics, policies and governance.

Mahathir said that Singapore is not truly multiracial because it is dominated by a single race. Malaysia is no exception. The difference is Singapore does not have a two-tiered nationality — Bumiputera and non-Bumiputera. The race dichotomy is most pronounced during Mahathir’s tenure.

For Malaysia to move on to achieve greater things, the country must lose its fixation with race which has created social polarisation which does not benefit anyone.

Mahathir’s insistence to create a permanent wedge between the Malays and non-Malays is damaging and destroying his legacy beyond any repair. Even the best spin doctor in the world cannot help to salvage his self inflicted destruction.

As a leader and an ex-premier, if Mahathir cannot even bring himself to respect his fellow citizens as equals what gives him the legitimacy or credibility to tell the Middle Easterners that their quest and struggle for freedom and greater democracy might be wrong?

The regime must address the issues of race inequalities and abuses and poor race relations seriously. Issues such as the controversial Interlok book, repeated racial abuses especially during elections, ‘Allah’ issue and others should not have been allowed to prolong if the government is serious about its 1Malaysia slogan.

Malaysia must move forward as a cohesive and united society. We must work together to reposition the country strongly in the new global economic landscape. Otherwise, Malaysia will be left behind and forgotten in the race for resources, investments and talents. —khookaypeng.blogspot.com

A promise broken thrice by BN

Zefry Dahalan | March 1, 2011

Merlimau Indians have been waiting for a Tamil school since the 1999 general election, says DAP.

MERLIMAU: The Indians of Merlimau have been hearing the same Barisan Nasional (BN) promise to build a Tamil school through three general elections, but nothing has materialised.

They are hearing the same promise again in the campaign for the March 6 by-election.

“Enough is enough,” said N Ghandirajan, Malacca DAP’s vice-chairman.

He told FMT he was not impressed by the ground-breaking ceremony that Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin conducted two weeks ago, saying it was 12 years too late.

He spoke in the presence of several companions who claimed to be representatives of the local Indians.

He said BN first made the promise in 1999, and again in 2004 and 2008, each time changing the proposed location of the school.

“Now, for the by-election, they are promising it again. The only difference is the ground-breaking ceremony was Feb 14.”

This time the proposed site is a football field belonging to Sime Darby.

The Merlimau Tamil School currently operates from a temporary building belonging to a secondary school.

Ghandirajan noted a discrepancy in recent announcements about the cost of the proposed school. Muhyiddin said on Feb 14 that it would be RM4 million, but a week earlier, Malacca executive councillor R Perumal said it would be RM6.1 million.

“I urge Perumal to explain the difference,” he said. “Did he give the statement only to please the Indians or is the plan real?”

He challenged Perumal and MIC vice-president S Subramaniam to ensure that the construction of the school begin within 100 days of the ground-breaking ceremony, which both of them attended.

“If they fail to do so, this will be another classic example on how the MIC and BN leaders simply take Indians for a ride and are never serious in helping them to gain proper and quality education,” he said.

“I urge the Merlimau voters – not only the Indians, but other races as well – to learn from the empty promises of BN.

“During the Bagan Pinang by-election in October 2009, they promised to build a new Tamil school, but till today nothing has happened there.”

Uthayakumar: Police abusing powers under CPC

K Pragalath | February 28, 2011

HRP's P Uthayakumar says it is unprecedented of the police to use Section 105 of the CPC against protesters.

KUALA LUMPUR: Human Rights Party’s (HRP) pro tem secretary P Uthayakumar claims that the police are abusing Section 105 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) that provides for arrest to prevent seizable offences.

“This section has never been used before. It is unprecedented and a danger sign to Pakatan Rakyat and NGOs,” he said at a press conference at the HRP headquarters here today.

He also said that 14 people who held a candle light vigil in solidarity for those who were detained at the Jinjang police station were arrested and not allowed the right to representation.

“The police did not allow me to represent them. They were also not allowed to make phone calls,” he said.

One of the 14 is a 17-year-old youth V Pirasad who is reported to be missing, said Uthayakumar.

He also claimed that police did not allow outsiders into the station.

All 14 were forced to sit on the floor.

Uthayakumar was arrested and later released yesterday along with HRP pro tem president W Sambulingam and pro tem vice-president K Selvam. The latter two had related how they were beaten up while in detention.

Uthayakumar also said that Hindraf Makkal Sakthi would not be necessary if the Umno-led government resolved all the problems faced by the Indian poor.

“Resolve the Indian problems, and we’ll close shop,” he said when commenting on press reports that Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is willing to meet Hindraf Makkal Sakti leaders to resolve problems of the Indian community.

HRP Selangor chief arrested (Malaysiakini) - Police Brutality has begun

Police today arrested K Selvam, the Selangor information chief of the Human Rights Party (HRP), at his home in Kampung Benggali in Rawang.

According to HRP information chief S Jayathas, Selvam was picked up at 12.45 this afternoon and taken to the Selayang district police station for questioning.

“Three patrol cars stopped in front of his house while he was with his wife and children, and served him with a warrant of arrest,” Jayathas told Malaysiakini.

Jayathas said he understood that Selvam (right) would be charged under Section 43 of the Societies Act and would be brought before the magistrate’s court in Selayang at 2pm.

Selvam is to be charged with organising, participating and helping with illegal convoysof protesters.

Either HRP leader P Uthayakumar or HRP legal adviser M Manoharan is expected to represent Selvam.

On Feb 13, 59 HRP members in Selangor, Perak and Kuala Lumpur were arrested as police came down hard on their nationwide convoys heading for meeting to protest against the novel Interlok.

Later this afternoon, four more HRP activists were arrested. They are Jayathas himself, P Samy, R Nava and one Loshana, who is also said to be a Special Branch police officer.

Interlok: a foreigner’s perspective

“Either you allow everybody to insult each other or not at all,” said a German businessman in the aftermath of the attempted rally by the Human Rights Party (HRP) yesterday.

The man, who runs a local business and refused to be named, seemed surprisingly aware of the Interlok issue when asked to comment by Komunitikini.

“The Indians feel insulted because the book refers to them as pariahs. Obviously I can’t read the book, because its in Malay, but I’ve heard about it,” he said.

He believes that the system should be less selective when it comes to dealing with issues of ethnicity.
“Either you let everybody insult each other or you don’t allow anyone to insult each other. You can’t allow it on any one particular race alone,” he said.

He believes the authorities themselves have put the spotlight on Interlok in the way they have handled the issue so far, and in their clampdown on yesterday’s attempted demonstration.
“There were five of us who were at the (KLCC) area, and the police just picked up a couple of them (Indians) and started questioning them,” he said.

“If they let everyone walk by in peace, the matter wouldn’t be so dramatised. As long as the assembly is being made peacefully and without any weapons, there are no reasons for a clamp down,” he added.
He also showed some awareness of Malaysian law.

“Article 10 of the Malaysian Constitution grants the freedom of assembly, subject to them being peaceful,” he added.

His wife, a Malaysian, had even more to say in regards to the Interlok issue.

“It shouldn’t be in the syllabus, because tomorrow you’ll see the kids start using the word pariah on Indian youths. It will only offend people and break healthy relationships,” she said.

“It runs the risk of having Indians being generally termed as pariahs,” she added.
She had earlier had a couple of words for a police officer who had refused to allow the couple into KLCC compound.

“Is this how many police officers guard the streets everyday in Malaysia?” she asked when she was asked to leave.
When the officer promptly answered yes, she said, “That means your country isn’t a safe place to be in.”
She wasn’t however alone in criticising the manner in which the policemen asked questions on the day.

“Are they the only ones with powers in this country?” asked Gurdip Kaur, a wheelchair-bound lady.
She and her group of friends were travelling in their wheelchairs towards KLCC when they were stopped and asked to leave the place.

They had to call for a special van to take them away from the place, and she was seen involved in a heated exchange with a plainclothes officer later

News Flash 1.30pm : Racist UMNO police to arrest Nava, Samy(Kapar), S.Jayathas & Loshana(SB)

March 1st, 2011

UMNO Indian mandore policemen said is coming to arrest S.Jayathas in One hours time.

News Flash 1.10pm: UMNO Police petrol car tailing Hindraf Makkal Sakthi Secretary P.Ramesh in Ipoh

March 1st, 2011

News Flash 12.15pm: Arrest warrant served on Hindraf Cordinator K.Selvam to be taken to IPD Selayang.

March 1st, 2011

News Flash 11.45am : 3 UMNO’s Police patrol car infront of Hindraf Selangor State Coordinator K.Selvam house at Rawang

March 1st, 2011

Hindraf march: Why double standards? (Malaysiakini)

Hindraf march: Why double standards?

(Malaysiakini) The mass arrest of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) activists who were trying to hold a rally on Sunday has raised questions over police treatment of peaceful demonstrations.

Coalition of Malaysian Indian Associations secretary G Gunaraj said the arrest of 108 Hindraf activists smacked of double standards because pro-government activists were allowed to demonstrate unobstructed.

“I recall the day when Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin (right) led some 8,000 people to protest Israel's attack on the mv Mavi Marimara in front of the United States Embassy last year.

“Instead of being detained for questioning, Khairy was given police escort. However, in Hindraf's case, they applied for a permit, but this was rejected on the eve of their peaceful march,” he said.

Gunaraj said the activists were all behaving in a peaceful manner and the amount of force used against them was disproportionate.

Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) human rights committee chairperson Liaw Kok Fah expressed shock that the police arrested Hindraf legal adviser P Uthayakumar at his home.

“How could the police do that? At Uthayakumar's home? I mean, the police should at least wait until he attended the march… pick him up there, with the rest of the crowd,” said Liaw.

MIC leader: Police colour blind

Liaw said that such arbitrary arrests showed that the authorities did not respect individual rights and echoed Gunaraj's views about the double standards of the police force.

“Back in 2009, protesters with a cow's head hurt the feelings of the Hindu community. They were spitting and kicking it but no one was handcuffed or shoved into police trucks.

“Was that what (the authorities) call a peaceful demonstration, as compared to what Hindraf was trying to achieve yesterday?” he asked.

However, two MIC leaders contacted both believe that the police acted appropriately.

“Police had given their warning earlier for them not to carry on with the rally as Hindraf is illegal. Hindraf does not respect the police or the rules and regulations in Malaysia.

“The police force is blind, it does not see colour, race or religion,” said MIC information chief V Mogan.

MIC Pariah Indians Comment
Deputy Minister in the Prime Minsiter's Department T Murugiah said the police had acted appropriately and did not manhandle any protester.

Murugiah said the protest had tarnished Malaysia's image.

'Interlok should be withheld for now'

On Sunday, Hindraf had initially planned a rally from KLCC to the Dang Wangi police station to lodge a police report against the Form Five Malay literature textbook Interlok.

The group, along with other critics, has been arguing that Interlok portrays the Indian and Chinese communities in negative light and should thus be withdrawn.

Gunaraj said the authorities should rightfully withdraw the book completely, instead of continuing to discuss the matter.

“I do not see any point in the novel still being used in schools in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor and Negri Sembilan.

"What is their (BN government's) motive? What is their agenda? What are the benefits for these three states to continue using that novel?

"The government had better do something fast about this matter as it has been months. Even their own MIC partners are not agreeing with themselves on this issue,” Gunaraj pointed out.

Mogan said the MIC has taken steps to “remedy the matter” and that the party's proposal would be forwarded to the prime minister and education minister.

Berita Harian: Banci benci HINDRAF oleh Racist UMNO

Berita Harian Online - PARIAH PAPER

www.bharian.com.my

Bancian

Apakah tindakan paling wajar dikenakan terhadap pemimpin dan pengikut pertubuhan yang diisytiharkan haram oleh kerajaan seperti Hindraf atau Al-Arqam yang masih aktif dan menggugat keamanan negara?

Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA)

Perintah Buang Daerah

Didenda

Diberi amaran

Keputusan bancian

Police Brutality under Najib

Racist UMNO PM Najib Razak orders brutal police force against Hindraf co-ordinator and HRP Vice President K.Tamilselvam & scores others. (Tamil News 28.2.2011 Headlines)

This is the exact UMNO Racism that Hindraf/HRP is fighting against.

P. Uthayakumar’s police report against P.M. Najib Razak and UMNO racism against Malaysian Indian poor.

Hindraf hails rally a great success

(see www.freemalaysiatoday.com 28.2.2011)

Hindraf says it has evidence to show the police have been brutal to the Indian community during the Feb 27 protest.

KOTA KINABALU: Hindraf Makkal Sakthi hailed its planning for the Feb 27 anti-racism rally at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) as a great success.

The ad hoc apolitical human rights movement dismissed the police claim that they had thwarted the rally “as a mixture of outright lies, half-truths and propaganda”.

“We have documented enough evidence to show how brutal the police and Umno can be,” said Hindraf man P Waytha Moorthy early today from London from where he stage-managed the Feb 27 event via the Internet.

He was commenting on Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s statement to the press last night that Hindraf was out to paint the country in a bad light abroad and that it was an unlawful organisation.

Najib has been reported as also saying separately that the Indian community did not need Hindraf.

Waytha Moorthy said that Najib was trying to link the country with the fate of his party, Umno, “which was responsible for racism, racial prejudice and racial polarisation”.

He also dismissed Najib’s claims that Hindraf Makkal Sakthi was an unlawful organisation.

Explaining the status of his movement, Waytha Moorthy claimed that Hindraf was declared unlawful in late 2008 even before the Registrar of Societies responded to its application for registration as a human rights society.

Movement’s legitimacy

The “banned” Hindraf, according to him, has now been replaced by Hindraf Makkal Sakthi which is pending registration. The so-called ban on Hindraf, he added, doesn’t apply to Hindraf Makkal Sakthi.

“Late last year, we held our first national convention at the Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur,” said Waytha Moorthy.

“Why didn’t the police stop our national convention then on the grounds of it being an unlawful organisation?”

He reminded the press and police that Umno had been declared unlawful by the Kuala Lumpur High Court and that the Umno Baru which replaced it had long since ceased to be active.

Waytha Moorthy denied that he was getting into semantics. Instead, he urged that the media focus on Umno and not question his movement’s legitimacy.

“We don’t deny that we are after Umno. We are determined to expose the evil that this party has become in the country,” said Waytha Moorthy, citing the controversial novel Interlok as an example. “Umno is a menace to Malaysia and the future of us all.”

As an example, the Hindraf chief pointed at the racial profiling of Indians by the police and their behaviour towards the community as a manifestation of the deep-seated racist mindset of the Umno government.

“As our various live feeds and video hook-ups of Feb 27 show, the police did not conduct themselves with respect towards the Indian community and the handicapped,” said Waytha Moorthy. “They went after any Indian, mostly innocent ones, found within the vicinity of KLCC.”

He asked whether it was the policy of the government to deny Indians even the right to wait at a bus stop to take a ride to wherever they were headed.

International community

Asked what Hindraf intended to do with the evidence it had gathered on the Feb 27 rally, Waytha Moorthy said that his NGO intended to present it to the international community.

“We will work closely with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and human rights defenders,” said Waytha Moorthy. “They recognise us although the Malaysian government keeps saying that we are an unlawful organisation.”

Post-Feb 27, Hindraf’s first order of business would be to seek a meeting with Najib to present him with the report on the proceedings of a conference it held in Kuala Lumpur on Jan 23.

The meeting, which focused on the marginalised, disenfranchised communities and minorities in Malaysia, also drew participation from the Orang Asli and representatives from Sabah and Sarawak.

“Najib wants us to send him another memorandum on our problems. So, we will send him the Jan 23 report,” said Waytha Moorthy. “He’s still sitting on our memorandum from last year on our 18-point demand and the list of over 100 problems besetting the community.”

Hindraf plans to hold a series of rallies nationwide calling for “an end to Umno’s racism”. Waytha Moorthy declined to disclose when and where the next anti-Umno racism rally will be held.

“Interlok is a manifestation of the racism of Umno,” said Waytha Moorthy. “We will not be deterred. We will risk detention and arrests. We are prepared to fill all the police lock-ups in the country.”

The Hindraf chief does not rule out a situation where the police would have to stop fighting crime and just watch Hindraf all the time.

Hindraf blames cops for failed march

(see www.malaysiakini.com 28.2.2011)

The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) blames the police force for the failure of yesterday’s "People’s March in Solidarity Against Umno’s Racism".

"The march was unsuccessful because we were arrested (on the spot) by the police force, and we were outnumbered," Hindraf coordinator W Sambulingam said in response to Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein’s comment last night.

Yesterday, Bernama reported that Hishamuddin said the effort by Hindraf failed as there was poor response.
Human Rights Party (HRP) chief P Uthayakumar (right) said it was impossible to proceed with the peaceful march, considering that Inspector-General Police Ismail Omar rejected their police permit.
On Feb 11, Hindraf submitted an application to the IGP for a permit to hold the peaceful march, but it was rejected by Dang Wangi police on Feb 24.
It does not make sense to say the peaceful march was a failure, Uthayakumar said, since police rejected the application and stopped and gave a stern warning to those intending to support the march.
"None of this (the arrests) would have happened if they approved our application. All we asked for was a permit to march peacefully, to show what we are upset over and present our demands… and our permit was turned down," Sambulingam said, adding that the peaceful march was never scheduled for any bad intention.
18 still being detained
All Hindraf supporters who were arrested during yesterday’s march attempt were freed in stages yesterday, except for 18 supporters who showed up for a candlelight vigil outside the Jinjang police station last night.
"They were released about 3pm today, including 17-year-old Virasanth Visvanathan, who had been held at the Sungei Besi station," Uthayakumar said.
Yesterday, some 200 Hindraf supporters made their way to the Jinjang police station, demanding the release of their leaders.
At 8am yesterday, Uthayakumar was intercepted and arrested by four plainclothes police officers as he left his apartment in Pantai Hillpark, Kuala Lumpur.
Asked to comment on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s statement that "Hindraf wanted police to use force on them", Uthayakumar denied the accusation, saying the Hindraf march was to be held peacefully.
Apart from that, Uthayakumar said, the movement was willing to meet the prime minister, whenever it suited him.
"We will kuburkan Hindraf, provided the prime minister obliges to our 18-point demand. We are giving Umno a tip for on how to kuburkan Hindraf… just answer our demands on what has been done, what is being done and what will be done for the Indian community," he added.

18-point demand of community

On July 28, 2007, Hindraf submitted a memorandum to then Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, making an 18-point demand for the Indian community.

Among the demands are:

• The Umno-controlled government sets up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the ‘Kg Medan mini genocide’, condemns the violence, apologises to the Indian community for this, undertakes not to repeat the same in future and pays a compensation of RM1 million for each and every citizen killed, permanently maimed, maimed or injured in this tragedy.

• All forms of racial and religious discrimination, oppression and suppression of the Indians/Hindus in both the public and private sectors be stopped with immediate effect. A Race Relations Commission Act 2007, an Equal Opportunities Commission Act 2007 and a Freedom of Religions Commission Act 2007 be enacted. These should be powerful commissions to give effect to anti-racism, anti-Islamic extremism and anti-direct discrimination practices by the Umno-controlled government, in both the public and private sectors.

• A minimum of 20 Opposition Members of Parliament be elected exclusively by the Indian community to represent their interests at the highest political level and also as a parliamentary democracy check-and-balance. This should be safeguarded and entrenched into the Federal Constitution, and increased proportionately with the increase in parliamentary seats.

As for now, the movement will not hold any form of demonstration.
Asked if Hindraf had a time frame for an answer from Najib, Uthayakumar replied, "We will wait and see, as we have been waiting for the past three years for a change. But, Umno must stop all their wayang kulit and take this seriously, as we do not like to demonstrate for no reason. No one likes to do so."

Hindraf brought down ex UMNO PM Badawi. Najib?

(see UM 28/2/2011 at page 4)

mi1: Sleeping Beast finally woke up

Hindraf II: Police learn from history

Interlok might only be a novel recently prescribed as a school textbook, but its impact on the Indian community at large was palpable today as the Human Rights Party (HRP) attempted to organise the biggest anti-Interlok march in Ampang, only to be scuppered by the police.

HRP, and its ally, Hindu Rights Actions Force (Hindraf), had called on all Indians to march against the inclusion of the Interlok novel as part of the national school syllabus, which it said is offensive to the Indian and Chinese communities. It was also protesting against what it described as Umno’s ‘racism’.

But swift police action at dawn, including the arrest of HRP secretary-general, P Uthayakumar, at his Pantai Hillpark residence, pre-empted the protest. Some 130 arrests were made throughout the Klang Valley.

A few individuals were even stopped from alighting from a city transit bus, with officers forcing them to stay in the bus.

Roadblocks were erected all over the Klang Valley, and apparently cars with Indians in them were being pulled over.

Officers checked cars and bags for Hindraf or HRP T-shirts. Those who were found possessing the t-Shirt were promptly arrested.

One protestor who had stood his ground at KLCC area and demanded the officer explain to him why he had to leave the area, he was arrested.

A volunteer photographer, who was helping out a Makkal Osai reporter, was arrested because he was unable to produce a press tag.

Three Malaysiakini citizen journalists (CJs), Mathavan Velayutham, Thiagarajan Marrapan and one Veeramani were arrested while shooting footage of the protest.

This was despite the CJs producing their press tags to the cops and wearing their ‘Citizen Journalist’ T-shirts.

Mathavan, Thiagarajan and Veeramani were released about five hours later, at 6pm.

Indians and 1Malaysia

“Is this what they call 1 Malaysia? Can’t we even stand here?” asked a couple of middle-aged women when met by Komunitikini at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) bus stop early in the morning.

The women looked visibly intimidated as officers stopped almost every Indian person at the KLCC area.

“Will they arrest us too?” one of the women, who had come to witness and show solidarity to the campaign, asked.

The march was supposed to begin at 9am, beginning at the Renaissance Hotel in Jalan Ampang, before passing through KLCC and subsequently making its way to the Dang Wangi Police Headquarters.

However, the heavy clampdown by police, including arrests of key leaders, ensured that the march never took off as planned.

It wasn’t until the protestors regathered at the compound of the Kottumalai Pillayar Temple in Pudu that they suddenly seemed invigorated.

Initially a crowd of some 30 individuals chanted ‘Haramkan Interlok, jangan hina kaum India’ (Ban Interlok, don’t insult Indians), while accompanied by Kota Alam Shah assemblyperson, M Manoharan.

But when the crowd began marching to the Dang Wangi police headquarters, the crowd quickly swelled to some 200 people.

Temple-goers joined in the chant and picked up flyers condemning the novel, while most of them were heard saying, ‘We have nothing to lose now.’

Even as news of the number of arrests spread, many seemed unintimidated by the prospect of spending a night in the lock-up.

“Let them arrest, if they want to arrest us, they need to do to all of us. Let’s see how far they can go,” said one temple-goer.

Even several wheelchair-bound individuals decided to give a piece of their mind, as they dovetailed behind the crowd with a van of their own, shouting ‘Haramkan Interlok’ as they went.

The disabled individuals, numbering about ten, had earlier attempted to march to KLCC from Renaissance Hotel along with others but were stopped by the police.

After being warned, they mounted a strategic retreat to a restaurant.

Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) officers greeted the group with water cannons at the gates of the Dang Wangi police headquarters.

Ironically, a group of police officers were earlier overheard discussing the Interlok issue among themselves at the KLCC area, saying the novel had been equally offensive to all three Malay, Chinese and Indian races. Some said that the novel does not reflect the present generation of Indians.

One HRP supporter, who refused to be identified, told Komunitikini that Indians ought to show even more solidarity to the issue.

“People only care for their families [but] they don’t care about the society,” said the man.

“The book insults us by describing us as ‘pariahs’, and these people are not doing anything to try and prove otherwise,” he added, suggesting that people should get over their fear and unite for a cause.

An activist who was met later questioned why the Chinese community has not taken to the streets in a show of solidarity against the book, while some questioned the apparent absence of Pakatan Rakyat leaders.

All of those arrested were detained under Section 27 (5) of the Police Act for gathering in an illegal assembly, and under the Societies Act, said Kuala Lumpur Police Chief Zulkifli Abdullah. The demonstrators were detained at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre and in Jalan Pudu from 8am were between the ages of 18 and 66.

HRP members had earlier applied for a permit to hold the march at the Dang Wangi Police headquarters, but their application was rejected.

Bernama reports that police have since freed 101 people who were detained after completing investigations.

However, eight others, believed to be leaders of Hindraf, the banned Hindu Rights Action Force, and the Human Rights Party, were still being investigated, police said.

P.Uthayakumar finally released

http://www.malaysiakini.tv/video/21120/puthayakumar-finally-released.html

Hindu rights group rallies in Malaysia, 100 arrested

February 28th, 2011

(see www.indianexpress.com 28.2.2011)

Police arrest a member of Malaysia’s Human Rights Party during a protest in Kuala Lumpur. Reuters.

Malaysian police on Sunday arrested 109 members of a group linked to a banned Hindu rights outfit of ethnic Indians for participating in a rally here to protest the introduction of a controversial book in the country’s school curriculum.

Those arrested belonged to the Human Rights Party (HRP), an offshoot of the outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf). Later, 101 activists were released by the authorities. However, eight others, including P Uthayakumar who heads the HRP, were still being investigated. “They will be freed once the investigations are completed,” police said in a statement here.

The protesters, mostly ethnic Indians, were against the introduction of the Malay language novel Interlok in the senior school curriculum. A section of the minority community, including the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) — the country’s largest ethnic Indian political party, believes the book contains offensive words like ‘pariah’ which they say connotes a caste system that they claim does not exist.

International Crooks

Hindraf vows to disband if demands met

By Melissa Chi

February 28, 2011

Hindraf protesters gather outside the Court Hill Sri Ganesar Temple in Pudu, February 27, 2011. — Picture by Clara Chooi

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) today pledged to stand down for good if the prime minister fully addresses the group’s claims of Indian marginalisation.

Hindraf legal advisor and the Human Rights Party secretary-general, P. Uthayakumar, told reporters they only want for their 18 demands concerning the Indian community — submitted to the government in a 2007 memorandum — to be met.

“Umno wants to ban Hindraf but Umno must accept that as long as the genuine grievances of the Indians on the ground are not solved, Hindraf will continue to get support,” he said.

He claimed nearly a fifth of Indians were denied birth certificates, identity cards and citizenship.

Yesterday, hundreds of protesters gathered in separate locations in Kuala Lumpur in an attempt to voice out Indian outrage against the controversial Interlok novel and to condemn “Umno racism”.

The protesters’ attempts were, however, thwarted due to heavy police presence at several checkpoints across the city.

Police action had also rounded up 109 protesters, including key leaders of the now-banned movement.

Uthayakumar had been arrested early yesterday morning as he was leaving his house on the suspicion of violating Section 45(1) Societies Act 1996, linking him to Hindraf Makkal Sakthi and Section 27 (5) Police Act.

Later, he had lodged a police report against the prime minister, the Inspector-General of Police, and the Attorney-General for “abuse of powers in committing unconstitutional and unlawful acts of institutional and state-sponsored racism against the minority Indian poor on a day-to-day basis and from womb to tomb.”

“Yesterday while we were detained, there was a group outside Balai Polis Sentul in Jinjang who held a peaceful candle light outside, 14 of them were arrested including a 17-year-old was arrested,” he said.

“Until now they were not released, [and remain] incommunicado; we don’t know where they are,” he said.

After the government banned Hindraf in 2007, the group resubmitted their registration under Hindraf Makkal Sakthi to the Registrar of Societies (RoS) in 2009. However, it remains to this day an outlawed organisation.

W. Sambulingam, national co-ordinator for Hindraf and the president of HRP, said they were only asking Barisan Nasional to address what he said were the fundamental problems of the minority Indians.

“That is the only way they can get rid of Hindraf,” he said.

Hindraf - News Images around the Globe

Police arrest a leader of Malaysia's HINDRAF during a protest in Kuala Lumpur Reuters via Yahoo! News - Feb 26 09:00pm	Supporters of the Malaysia's HINDRAF chant slogans during a protest in Kuala Lumpur Reuters via Yahoo! News - Feb 26 08:58pm	Police arrest S. Jayathas, a leader of Malaysia's HINDRAF, during a protest in Kuala Lumpur Reuters via Yahoo! News - Feb 27 12:45am
Supporters of the Malaysia's Hindu Rights Action Force, Hindraf, chant slogans during a protest in Kuala Lumpur Reuters via Yahoo! News - Feb 26 08:55pm	Members of Malaysia's Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) hold posters during a rally against racism in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011. AP via Yahoo! News - Feb 26 09:32pm	Members of Malaysia's Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) shout slogans during a rally against racism in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011 AP via Yahoo! News - Feb 26 09:36pm
A member of Malaysia's Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) holds a poster as he shouts slogans during a rally against racism in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia AP via Yahoo! News - Feb 26 09:32pm	A member of Malaysia's Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) lies on the ground as he is detained by police officers during a rally against racism in Ku AP via Yahoo! News - Feb 26 09:36pm	Jayathas AP via Yahoo! News - Feb 26 09:36pm

Hindraf-HRP to be neutral in Merlimau

Athi Shankar | February 1, 2011

Seeing no difference between Pakatan and BN with regard to the Indian community, P Uthayakumar says a decision has been made to stay out of the contest.

GEORGE TOWN: The Human Rights Party (HRP) – Hindraf Makkal Sakti political axis will take a neutral stand in next month’s Merlimau state by-election.

HRP pro-tem secretary-general and Hindraf legal adviser P Uthayakumar said the stance was adopted due to the indifferent attitude shown by Pakatan Rakyat towards the Indian community.

“We will not participate in the campaign to woo Indians for Pakatan. So long as we are not there, Pakatan will never secure the majority Indian votes,” he told FMT, adding that HRP-Hindraf would never back Barisan Nasional either.

The Election Commission fixed nomination day for the Merlimau by-election in Malacca on Feb 26 and polling on March 6.

The seat fell vacant after the death of its BN assemblyman Mohamad Hidhir Abu Hasaan, 54, on Jan 20. In the 2008 general election Hidhir defeated PAS candidate Jasme Tompang with a majority of 2,154 votes.

Merlimau has 10,679 registered voters consisting 64.69% Malays, 21.11% Chinese, 14.16% Indians and 0.04% others.

Indian support has shifted

Uthayakumar pointed out that the Bagan Pinang, Hulu Selangor and Sunday’s Tenang by-elections showed that Indian support had shifted from Pakatan.

He warned that the trend would continue in Merlimau unless Pakatan worked with Hindraf–HRP.

He insisted that Hindraf–HRP would never work with the Umno-led BN due to its “racist policies and massive discrimination” of the Indian community for the past 53 years.

But he said that did not mean Hindraf – HRP would support Pakatan blindly without securing any political and socio-economic concessions for the Indian community.

He said Pakatan had so far refused to acknowledge the strength of the Hindraf–HRP axis to galvanise Indian support.

Therefore, he said that Hindraf-HRP would continue to work on its own 15/38 political agenda and not help Pakatan to regain lost ground among Indian voters.

“We won’t back anyone in Merlimau,” said Uthayakumar.

Referring to the Tenang by-election in Johor, he pointed out that 62.6% of Indian voters moved from Pakatan to BN.

His calculation was based on balloting results in the Indian-dominated Ladang Labis Timor, in which only 40 voters backed Pakatan on Sunday, a huge dip from 107 in 2008.

He claimed that the Ladang Labis Timor voting trend was a reflection of current Indian sentiments nationwide.

He stressed that only the Hindraf–HRP political axis could check and reverse the trend, as in 2008.

“But Pakatan leaders are not interested because they know we will never become their mandores,” he said, adding that there was no difference between BN and Pakatan with regard to Indians.

“If this attitude continues until the next general election, Pakatan can never end BN’s reign,” he said.

Malaysia anti-discrimination rally sparks mass arrests

Members of Malaysia's Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) hold posters during a rally against racism in Kuala Lumpur.

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian police on Sunday arrested more than 100 Indian activists as they tried to hold an anti-government rally over alleged discrimination against their ethnic minority.

Members from the Human Rights Party organisation were to have gathered at the iconic Petronas Twin Towers for the "anti-racism rally", but it was aborted after 109 people were held, including the group's leader.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak regards the action by Hindraf members as deliberately creating bad publicity for Malaysia through the international media.

Bernama news agency quoted Najib as saying that the group was actually hoping the police would use force on them so that the Malaysian government would be seen as a brutal and autocratic regime.

"We don't want to use force, but they are hoping we will do so as they want to exploit the situation by painting a bad picture of Malaysia through the international television channels," he said after attending a gathering with Felda Jengka 25 residents in Temerloh on Sunday.

Najib was referring to the incident where Hindraf members were arrested by police for holding a demonstration protesting against the novel "Interlok" at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) grounds.

Multiracial Malaysia was hit by deadly race riots in 1969 and race relations remain often fragile, with religion and language still sensitive issues. The arrests are among the biggest such incidents in recent years.

The 109, including eight women, were picked up at various locations around Kuala Lumpur as they tried to march to the Twin Towers, which had been cordoned off and where at least 10 police trucks and water cannon vehicles were on standby.

Police were also seen telling ethnic Indians, suspected to be demonstrators, to leave the vicinity.

"We are investigating the 109 detainees for participating in an illegal assembly," Kuala Lumpur city police chief Zulkifli Abdullah told AFP.

"We have made it very clear that this rally is illegal and we have repeatedly warned them not to do this but they came, and they attempted to hold a rally so the police had to take action," he said.

S. Indradevi, wife of the group's leader P. Uthayakumar, said her husband was arrested by police in their apartment car park about 90 minutes before the rally was scheduled to start.

"We were just leaving our apartment to go to Twin Towers and we walked into the car park, we saw the police were there already. My husband was handcuffed and was taken to a police station," Indradevi told AFP.

The rally was sparked by anger over the government's refusal to drop a school textbook that contains references to the traditional Hindu caste system which the protesters said were racially insensitive to ethnic Indians.

The government has set up a panel to look into the complaint and said the book would continue to be used but amendments would be made to several aspects considered sensitive by the Indian community.

- AFP/Bernama/wk/de

mi1: Malaysian Police are cowards showing their strengths to disabled

I would like to see the government suffer a right and proper trouncing. like Libya

As has been the case for decades now, there is no protection against the trampling of the fundamental rights of minorities in this country.

I was born in this country. I am Malaysian but all of us ethnic Indians feel like second class citizens because of the dominant Malays.

I would compare the Indians here to dogs at the receiving end of scraps at a table full of Chinese big businessmen and Malays. When we ask for a bigger slice of the economic pie, we are told to appreciate the fact that we are even here at all.

As an Indian, I would even find it difficult to secure a personal loan. It is much more difficult for ethnic Indians to get help unless they are well connected.

So I support the Hindraf [the Hindu activist group] cause.

The present political atmosphere is one of a growing sense of despair among the people I know.

HRP/ HINDRAF Press Conference (28/02/2011)

No.6, Jalan Abdullah, Off Jalan Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel: 03-2282 5241 Fax: 03-2282 5245
Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com Email: info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com
Your Reference :
In Reply :
Date : 28/2/2011
HRP/…

More ► More ▼

No.6, Jalan Abdullah,
Off Jalan Bangsar,
59000 Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
Tel: 03-2282 5241
Fax: 03-2282 5245
Website: www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com
Email: info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Your Reference :
In Reply :
Date : 28/2/2011

HRP/ HINDRAF Press Conference (28/02/2011)
Re:
1) Hindraf 14 more arrested including one juvenile- MIA from police custody since at 2.30a.m last night.

2) Police brutality and one more notch down for human rights and civil liberties in Malay-sia because a citizen can now be arrested even before and/ or because “he intends” to attend a Peaceful Rally.

3) Police unprecedentedly abusing Section 105 of the Criminal Procedure Code for this purpose. Press Conference by P.Uthayakumar.

Date : 28/02/2011 ( Monday )
Time : 12.30 p.m
Venue: Human Rights Party HQ,
No 6, Jalan Abdullah,
Off Jalan Bangsar.
Contact Num: 03-22825622, 03-22825241 – HRP HQ