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PM should head Cabinet Task Force to end marginalisation of Indians and all marginalised groups

The MIC Cameron Highlands Member of Parliament S. K. Devamany had let down the 30,000 Indians at the Hindraf demonstration on Nov. 25 with his regret and apology when it is the Barisan Nasional leadership which should express regret and apologise for its denial syndrome in refusing to acknowledge the long-standing marginalization of the Malaysian Indians into a new underclass.

These are the newspaper headlines today on Devamany’s meeting with the Barisan Nasional Whip Datuk Seri Najib Razak in Parliament yesterday over his remark during parliamentary question time the previous Monday that the fact that 50,000 people showed up at the Hindraf demonstration showed the Government’s failure in distributing wealth equally:

Continue reading “PM should head Cabinet Task Force to end marginalisation of Indians and all marginalised groups”

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3 critical issues which Cabinet cannot continue to procrastinate tomorrow

There are three critical issues which the Cabinet cannot delay and procrastinate tomorrow, viz:

  • A New Deal to end the long-standing marginalization of the Malaysian Indians and all marginalized groups;
  • Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape scandal and restore the national and international confidence in the independence, integrity and competence of the judiciary; and
  • Make public the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) Bill.

If there is no immediate announcement of the establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry after the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, on its composition and terms of reference, the Malaysian public and international community cannot be blamed for coming to adverse inferences about the bona fides and political will of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to come to grips with the nettlesome problem of the 19-year degradation of the system of justice.

Malaysians had been expecting announcements from the Prime Minister about the Royal Commission of Inquiry since last Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting but the past week had passed with the daily disappointment of no news on the matter.

Although the past week had been overshadowed by the after-effects and shocks of the 30,000-strong Hindraf demonstration on November 25, with almost daily condemnation by the Prime Minister of the Hindraf allegation of “ethnic cleansing” of Indians in Malaysia, it is a grave misjudgment for anyone to think that the issue of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Lingam Tape and to restore the independence, integrity and quality of the judiciary could be sidestepped and even swept under carpet as a result of the Hindraf furore.

Let me remind Abdullah that Malaysians expect positive and concrete announcements about the establishment of the Royal Commission of Inquiry after the Cabinet meeting tomorrow or it will be another blackmark on his administration. Continue reading “3 critical issues which Cabinet cannot continue to procrastinate tomorrow”

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A Plea for our Malaysian Indians

by Azly Rahman

The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor–not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules.

—– Albert Einstein. in “Why Socialism?” (1949)

What do I think of Western civilization? I think it would be a very good idea.

—— Mohandas K. Gandhi

Will Queen Elizabeth II of England pay for the 150-year suffering of the Malaysian Indians? How would reparations be addressed, in an age wherein we are still mystified by newer forms of colonialism — The English Premier League, Malaysian Eton-clones, Oxbridge education, and British rock musicians such as the guitarist-astrophysicist Dr. Brian May of the better-than-the-Beatles rock group Queen (recently appointed chancellor of a Liverpool university)?

Who in British Malaya collaborated with the British East India company in facilitating the globalized system of indentured slavery?

Will the present government now pay attention to the 50-year problem of the Malaysian Indians? Continue reading “A Plea for our Malaysian Indians”

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Extremist demands for removal of cross and demolition of Christian statutes in mission schools

There is growing intolerance and increasing extremism in Malaysia which are inimical to successful nation building and the latest instance is the demand for the removal of the Christian cross and the demolition of Christian statues in mission schools.

I raised this issue in Parliament this morning during the winding-up of the Education Ministry in the 2008 Budget committee stage debate by the Deputy Education Minister, Datuk Noh Omar and expressed my concern why the Education Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had not said anything to dissociate the government from such extremist demands.

During the policy debate on the 2008 Budget on Oct. 29, 2007 the Barisan Nasional Member of Parliament for Parit Sulong, Syed Hood bin Syed Edros, supported by the BN MP for Sri Gading, Datuk Haji Mohamad bin Haji Aziz called for the removal of the Christian cross and the demolition of Christian statues in the mission schools.

The loyalty of mission schools was questioned, with the baseless allegation that they refuse to observe Aidilfitri public holiday and close the schools. There was even the preposterous accusation that the mission schools were administered by churches outside the country, including the Vatican.

I asked Noh Omar whether he is aware that the extremist demands by the two BN MPs have created a furore, particularly on the Internet, and why the Education Ministry was condoning such extremism by its silence when such statement should be denounced without equivocation. Continue reading “Extremist demands for removal of cross and demolition of Christian statutes in mission schools”

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Zero-negligence in hospitals and not Chua Soi Lek’s “medical mistakes inevitable”

The Health Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek’s statement in the press yesterday that “medical mistakes are inevitable” however careful the doctors are is most regrettable and must be deplored by all MPs as it is tantamount to giving a blank cheque for hospital negligence endangering lives and welfare of the people seeking medical treatment.

We claim to want to be a first-world developed nation which is not matched by a first-world mentality and mindset, such as making an important distinction between mistakes and negligence in hospital. The former is understandable and acceptable but the latter, i.e. negligence, is totally unacceptable and unforgivable.

Tragic cases like the baby girl Lai Yok Shan who lost her left forearm because of a chain of negligence at the Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Hospital in Klang or a private hospital nurse Kalaiyarasi Perumal, 44, who went through the nightmare of a pair of forceps left in her abdomen after an operation at the Sultan Aminah Hospital in Johor Baru cannot be accepted as unavoidable incidents. Continue reading “Zero-negligence in hospitals and not Chua Soi Lek’s “medical mistakes inevitable””

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Malaysia’s Identity Crisis

TIME
Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007
By Hannah Beech/Kuala Lumpur

Revathi Masoosai should be the perfect embodiment of Malaysia. Her ethnic Indian parents were both born in the ancient port of Malacca in 1957, the very year the colony of Malaya gained independence from the British. Her father was Christian, her mother came from a Hindu family, but they both officially converted to Islam, the religion practiced by Malaysia’s majority Malays. Yet Revathi does not feel welcome in her ethnically and religiously diverse homeland. According to Malaysian law, Muslims can only marry other Muslims. Revathi, who was actually raised in the Hindu faith, had fallen in love with a Hindu man. But because of her parents’ earlier conversion, she was deemed a Muslim and a judge refused to change her religious status. Revathi’s marriage was never recognized by the state, nor was her daughter’s birth. Earlier this year, an Islamic Shari’a court ordered her to spend six months at a Faith Rehabilitation Center, where she had to wear a Muslim headscarf and pray five times a day. “The constitution says there’s freedom of religion in Malaysia, but I have not felt that freedom,” says the 30-year-old homemaker. “How can they force me to believe something I do not believe? What has happened to my country?”

Malaysia commemorated 50 years of independence this past summer, but the celebratory pageantry masked an underlying identity crisis. In many ways, the country is a success story, the very model of a modern Asian nation. Buoyed by oil revenue, capital Kuala Lumpur bristles with skyscrapers and industrial parks, while a massive administrative capital called Putrajaya has risen from what were palm-oil plantations two decades ago. In September, Malaysia’s first astronaut blasted into space, his flight mirroring the nation’s ambitions. Poverty has been reduced from half the population at independence to just 5% today, as an affirmative-action policy created a prosperous Malay middle class that had never before existed. In Asia, only the nations of Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Brunei rank higher than Malaysia in the U.N.’s Human Development Index. Most impressively, while other multiethnic nations like Yugoslavia, Sri Lanka and Rwanda fractured into conflict, Malaysia has largely kept peace between groups that include Muslim Malays (about 50%); Buddhist and Christian Chinese (roughly 25%); Hindu, Sikh and Muslim Indians (less than 10%); and indigenous peoples, who abide by many faiths including animism (around 10%). “Our biggest achievement is that we have not only survived but we have progressed and thrived,” Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told TIME in a written statement in August.

Yet for all these accomplishments, Malaysia is suffering from midlife anxiety. Increasingly, the nation’s diverse ethnicities live in parallel universes, all Malaysians, yes, but seldom coming together as they once did for meals or classroom discussions. Religion, too, has divided the nation, as some Malaysians assert that a conservative strain of Islam is causing a segment of the faith’s worshippers to withdraw from a multicultural society. Malaysia’s economy is being challenged by regional competitors, with many questioning the future of the affirmative-action scheme that has served as the country’s financial bedrock. At the same time, a nation that once prided itself on its robust institutions is finding these foundations eroding. Little wonder, then, that up to a million Malaysians, mostly the white-collar talent needed to keep the economy humming, have simply abandoned the country since independence; by the government’s own estimate, 70,000 Malaysians, the majority ethnic Chinese, have renounced their citizenship over the past two decades, although far more have emigrated without officially giving up their nationality. Many local companies are leaving, too, investing so much offshore that as much money now leaves Malaysia as is attracted to it. “There’s no question we accomplished a lot over the past 50 years,” says Ramon Navaratnam, president of the Malaysia office of Transparency International, the corruption watchdog. “But if we don’t face up to [our] problems, we will not be able to sustain the same level of success over the next 50 years.” Continue reading “Malaysia’s Identity Crisis”

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Hindraf demo – PM should heed “cry of desperation” of Malaysian Indians at marginalisation

The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi flew into a royal rage yesterday at the Hindraf allegation that the Malaysian Government was carrying out “ethnic cleansing” of the Indians in Malaysia.

Abdullah was referring to a Hindraf memorandum to the British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown asking for the intervention of the UK government over the “ethnic cleansing” of Indians in Malaysia.

This Hindraf memorandum to Brown was dated 15th November 2007, the same day as the demolition of the Mariaman temple in Padang Jawa, Shah Alam, Selangor.

I did not know about this Hindraf memorandum until I read about it on the blog,
http://rockybru.blogspot.com/, on Monday, 26th November 2007 and I do not agree with such an allegation. I have no doubt that the overwhelming majority of the 30,000 Indians who rallied to the Hindraf demonstration in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday, 25th November 2007 were not aware of the Hindraf memorandum to the British Prime Minister and that they would not have agreed with the term.

Abdullah should not just rage over the Hindraf allegation of “ethnic cleansing” but must pay heed to the “cry of desperation” of 30,000 Indians from all over the country at last Sunday’s Hindraf demonstration over the marginalization of the Malaysian Indian community – political, economic, educational, social and cultural.

I recommend the heart-searing email by a Malaysian Indian, Ananthi, who is currently a Rhodes Scholar in Oxford University for reflection by the Prime Minister, Cabinet Ministers and all Barisan Nasional leaders for them to understand why law-abiding and peaceful loving Malaysian Indians have rallied in support of the Hindraf demonstration — not over any accusation of “ethnic cleansing of Indians in Malaysia” but to call for an immediate halt to the long-standing marginalization of the Malaysians Indians which have reduced them into a new underclass in the country. Continue reading “Hindraf demo – PM should heed “cry of desperation” of Malaysian Indians at marginalisation”

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Are we not Indian enough?

Shyam forwarded an email from Ananthi, a Rhodes scholar, now reading for her PhD at Oxford which eloquently articulates the Malaysian Indian dilemma which should be compulsory reading by the Prime Minister and the entire Cabinet as well as all Malaysians:

Dear friends,

I feel so outraged, angry, hurt and impotent seeing the photos of the police’s (government’s) reactions to Sunday’s rally. In Batu Caves for instance, the protesters were literally boxed into the temple grounds and had water canons and tear gas shot at them. It looks totally unprovoked, except that I suppose it contravenes the court order obtained to ban the protest. But the reaction of the police should not have been to do what they did – that was an unprovoked, unjustifiable use of force.

Somewhat paradoxically, I am very grateful that this is finally happening. That the Indians have found their voices. The temple demolitions could have been the best thing to happen for our country and community in terms of seeing a grass roots agitation to topple the clearly illegitimate status hierarchy and power differential in Malaysia. Continue reading “Are we not Indian enough?”

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Crime – increase by leaps and bounds and mutate to new criminality

In the past 30 months since the Royal Police Commission Report and its 125 recommendations in May 2005 to create an incorruptible, efficient, professional world-class police service to reduce crime, eradicate corruption and protect human rights, the scene on the crime front has taken a turn for the worse.

There has not only been a big jump in the crime index, new forms of criminality have been created striking fear among law-abiding citizens, tourists and would-be investors making Malaysia even more unsafe for people and property compared to four years ago.

The Royal Police Commission in its May 2005 Report had referred to the “alarming” and “dramatic increase” in the crime index from 121,176 cases in 1997 to 156,455 cases in 2004, an increase of 29 per cent in eight years, and recommended a reduction by 20% in the crime index in the first 12 months.

In actual fact, the reverse has taken place with the crime index set to create a new record in crossing the 200,000 mark this year — a hefty increase of some 30% of the crime incidence in three years from 2004!

Yesterday, Datuk Dr. Maximus Ongkili, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department and Chairman of the Crime Prevention Foundation, admitted the worsening of the crime index this year with nine reported cases of rape a day in the first nine months of this year as compared to four cases a day in 2003 and 6.7 cases a day in 2006!

A recent public opinion survey found that crime and public safety was rated as the second biggest concern of Malaysians — coming after price hikes and economic concerns.

What must be a matter of grave concern is the creation of new forms of criminality compounding the fear and trauma of Malaysians that they have lost the fundamental and precious freedom from crime and the fear of crime. Continue reading “Crime – increase by leaps and bounds and mutate to new criminality”

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Hindraf demo – Pak Lah’s “Big Ears” hearing problem

The Star’s front-page headline “PM: I hear you” is symptomatic of the grave hearing problem of the Abdullah premiership which is entering into its fifth year.

Abdullah should ask why despite his pledge from the first days of becoming the fifth Prime Minister that he wanted to “hear the truth however unpleasant” and his claim that he has “big ears”, Malaysians are convinced that he is not hearing anything?

Is this because his gatekeepers have erected an unprecedentedly high wall as compared to the four previous Prime Ministers cutting him off from ordinary Malaysians — I have for instance given up attempts to ask for a meeting with the Prime Minister because it is just impossible to get through his handlers — or is it because he could not hear anything even with his “big ears” if what he is told just enters one “big ear” only to exit the other “big ear” without leaving any impressions?

The very fact that Abdullah must start his fifth year as Prime Minister to shout “I hear you”, “I have big ears”, are the most eloquent proofs that Abdullah is having a grave hearing problem and had not been listening to the people despite having “big ears”!

The letter to Malaysiakini by Penang State Exco Dr. Toh Kin Woon breaking ranks with the top Barisan Nasional leadership dissociating himself from its condemnation of marches, rallies and pickets which were “centred on their illegality, potential threat to peace, the possible destabilization of the economy including frightening away foreign investors” is further proof of Abdullah’s “Big Ear” hearing problem.

When will Abdullah “walk the talk” of his pledge to “hear the truth” and listen to Dr. Toh Kin Woon instead of to the sycophantic top Barisan Nasional leaders whether Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting of MCA, Tan Sr. Dr. Koh Tsu Koon of Gerakan or Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu of MIC that Barisan Nasional leaders “should have been more concerned over the grievances, frustrations and disappointments that have brought so many thousands to the streets in the first place and to seek fair and just solutions to them”? Continue reading “Hindraf demo – Pak Lah’s “Big Ears” hearing problem”

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Indians on the march, ignore at own peril

by P Ramasamy

Last Sunday, more than 10,000 Indian Malaysians converged in the heart of Kuala Lumpur to raise concerns about their religious, ethnic and democratic rights.

The gathering organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) was meant to draw the attention of the government to their socio-economic plight.

There have been demonstrations by Indians in the past. Workers in plantations and urban areas have periodically demonstrated against employers over living and working conditions.

However, demonstrations against the government were hardly seen until last Sunday – and it was the biggest every organised by Indians.

The fact that Hindraf, a coalition of more than 30 Indian groupings, could mobilise so many Indians from all over the country is testimony to the general unhappiness and frustration among the community.

They demanded an end to ethnic discrimination, for better employment prospects and for respect of their religious institutions.

Since political independence in 1957, Indians whose forefathers came from south India as labourers in plantations and urban centres have felt that they have been marginalised by the policies and programmes of the Umno-controlled government. Indian marginalisation and discrimination became a big issue after the New Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced in the 1970s to address Malay socio-economic grievances in the aftermath of the 1969 racial riots.

Over the last two decades or so, the government’s vigorous implementation of the NEP has invariably resulted in Indians not getting decent employment in the public sector. It has resulted in a lack of opportunities in the private sector and, with growing emphasis on Islam, has affected the religious and cultural practices of Indians, the majority of whom are Hindus. Continue reading “Indians on the march, ignore at own peril”

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Review NEP before its too late

by Richard Teo

This govt would be foolish to ignore the pleas of the silent miniority. Any ill-conceived policies that benefit only one segment of the population cannot prevail over a length of time.

First and foremost the govt must realise that every right-minded Malaysians would still want the NEP to continue but not in its present form.

The NEP must adhere to its stated goals of eradicating poverty irrespective of race. It must be need-based and not race-based.There are still many pockets of poverty that exist across every racial divide.

I have seen poor Malays, poor Indians, poor Chinese families living only on two scanty meals a day. I have also seen poor Indian children, poor Chinese children and poor Malay children struggling to have money to attend school. This only serves to reinforce the perception that poverty does not respect race or
creed. It is a common thread among many of our fellow Malaysians irrespective of race who sadly still live on this poverty line. Continue reading “Review NEP before its too late”

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Boycott the newspapers!

(Turned off by the mainstream media treatment of the Hindraf demonstration on Sunday, 25th November 2007, Malaysiakini columnist Helen Ang has made the following call for boycott of the newspapers.)


by Helen Ang
MalaysiakiniNov 29, 07

I feel like I’ve just been slapped, kicked and punched. And I’m neither Indian nor Hindu.

The way mainstream media (MSM) have painted our fellow Malaysians black makes me thoroughly sick. MSM have assaulted Indians through their derogatory portrayal of the community and it stings me. Aliran Media Monitor’s Diary has effectively dissected MSM spin on the Hindraf rally to show up how unconscionable their coverage has been.

When a community with its back to the wall takes to the street, I sympathise. I do not mock the melodramatic form of their lawsuit and petition. I understand that the massive turnout on Nov 25 was a cry of distress. Nathaniel Tan’s ‘Why I will walk this Sunday’ is an eloquent peroration on why all Malaysians must wake up, now.

I wish I had read Nat’s piece earlier but it was only uploaded on his blog Saturday — a mere day before the gathering was to take place. His exposition is something to turn over in our heads and help us in our soul-searching because Nat spoke straight from the heart. Mighty MSM, I’m afraid, speak from the pay pocket.

There was a dearth of information in the public domain running up to the Hindraf rally, and later contradicting accounts of what really happened. Which only indicates MSM have long since lost any right to call themselves ‘newspapers’. A fortnight earlier, the Star had quoted police on a crowd segment of 4,000 at the Bersih march. This small number is deliberately misleading.

And again with Hindraf, MSM deliberately omitted an accurate depiction of the massive turnout. They failed to credit why Indians streamed into KL from all over the country. All they did was spin for their political masters. Continue reading “Boycott the newspapers!”