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.