Hindraf's ethnic cleansing claims 'exaggerated'

Hindraf's claims that the Malaysian Indian community was being ethnically cleansed by the ruling BN coalition was “exaggerated”, and could “erode public sympathy” for the NGO's legitimate cause, according to a leaked US embassy cable dated December 2007.

“The small NGO Hindraf has unquestionably succeeded in dramatically raising awareness of ethnic Indian grievances through the November 25 (2007) demonstration.

“However, the manner in which Hindraf has pursued this goal, including exaggerated claims such as 'ethnic cleansing', has raised concern that interethnic tensions could reach a flash point and has eroded Hindraf support among otherwise sympathetic elements of Malaysian society,” read the cable released on Wikileaks this week. The cable, sent to the US State Department on Dec 16 a few weeks after the massive Hindraf rally in Kuala Lumpur in 2007, gave a post rally assessment that concluded that Hindraf members did not “appear to have a coherent strategy” and could lead to a potential “backlash”.

“By provoking a national conversation over the status of Indians in Malaysia, Hindraf has accomplished what MIC has long failed to achieve, but the potential backlash to Hindraf's tactics also could set back efforts to achieve racial equality,” read the cable.

While noting that the rally had provoked resentment among certain Malay quarters and calls for “Malay street demonstrations to reiterate Malay supremacy” the blame, it said, lay in the government's tough stand and heavy handed action against Hindraf, it said could backfire on the BN.

BN partners spooked

The cable also revealed that the rally had an impact within the BN, with second largest coalition partner MCA refusing to swap seats with the MIC for fear that the rally had affected Indian support for coalition.

BN insiders, according to the cable, were “quite concerned about Indian voters in the upcoming elections” in 2008, that eventually saw the BN losing its two-thirds parliamentary majority in what has been dubbed the 'political tsunami'.

“Where once the large majority of Indians were assured of supporting MIC and other National Front (BN) candidates, coalition partners can no longer depend on Indian swing votes in tight races.

“In one instance, MCA reportedly refused to trade constituencies with an MIC parliamentarian in recent seat allocation negotiations because the high number of Indian voters in the district threatened any BN candidate that would run,” read the cable.

It added that an “informed” MCA member had said, "The Chinese understand and agree with Indian grievances; it is just too bad that it took Hindraf to raise these issues with the government.”

The cable also cited an advisor to then PM Abdullah Ahmad Badawi revealing that the premier had mulled giving a second ministerial post to an Indian in the future, “so that Indians are no longer solely represented in the cabinet by MIC”.

Prime Minister Najib Razak, who took over the post from Abdullah after the BN's disastrous outing at the 2008 GE, has recently done the same by giving a ministerial post to MIC chief G Palanivel in what critics called a feeble attempt to regain the support of the Indian community.