Nadodi Mannan
Sep 17, 09
The Human Rights Party has warned Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and his political allies to expect a strong Indian backlash in future polls due to the Kampung Buah Pala crisis in Penang.
HRP secretary-general P Uthaykumar said the action and inaction of Lim and allies paving way for the demolition of the Indian heritage village showed they have taken the community’s votes for granted.
He suggested that Lim, DAP PKR and PAS may have politically calculated that Indians would have no other alternative but to cast their ballots for Pakatan because they would not want to vote for Umno dominated Barisan Nasional.
“I want to say to them that it would be no longer tenable for Indians to vote blindly for DAP, PKR and PAS in future elections. Watch and learn,” he warned in his letter to Lim dated Sep 16, which was made available to Malaysiakini today.
The outspoken human rights activists did not mince his words in the letter when expressing his feelings to Lim over the destruction of Kampung Buah Pala.
The village is also known to locals Tamil High Chaparral due to its population of Indians, cowherds, cattles, goats, live stocks and lively Indian cultural features and festivities.
Uthayakumar accuses Lim’s government of raping, uprooting, desecrating and annihilating an Indian working class population in an Indian heritage village by using brutal force ala Umno.
“Given that victims of this traditional village were merely working class Indians, it did not matter to Lim, DAP, PKR and PAS.
“Thus the villagers were trampled with brute force using Umno’s police and DAP’s Chinese gangsters,” said the outspoken Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) legal advisor.
Uthayakumar said for now Lim, DAP, PKR, PAS and Umno may rejoice over the destruction of the last remaining Indian heritage village in George Town.
But, he said for the two million Indians in Malaysia, this would the last nail in the coffin because DAP, PKR and PAS were not different from the Umno/BN regime in so far as the working class Indians were concerned.
Uthayakumar paid tribute to the resilient and fighting spirit of the Kampung Buah Pala residents to withstand so much state-sponsored pressure to stake claim their legitimate rights over their village land.
“HRP and Hindraf salute Kampong Buah Pala villagers for having done everything possible to save their land,” he said.
He listed the villagers’ struggle included peaceful protests, traditional Indian bull fight, bullock cart protest, candlelight vigil and little girl presenting Lim a written appeal.
He cited the self-immolation attempt by a distraught elderly woman R Indiani, 62, who doused herself with kerosene and tried to torch herself, as a daring protest against the village destruction.
He said that the residents were still fighting on despite being beaten up by the Umno controlled riot police and DAP gangsters, constantly arrested and harassed by the police, and their homes being demolished.
He said the tears of powerless and working class Indians in Kampong Buah Pala would remain the most painful memory in the history of Malaysia vis a vis the DAP, PKR, PAS and UMNO axis.
The villagers now plan to file a RM4 million criminal damage suit against the developer for demolishing 12 houses on Monday, Sep 14.
“DAP, PKR and PAS are more blameworthy than Umno and BN because Pakatan leaders have always portrayed and championed themselves as the people’s saviour government upholding democracy (DAP) Justice (PKR) and fairness (PAS),” said Uthayakumar.
In the letter, he likened Pakatan leaders including Lim and PKR supremo Anwar Ibrahim pre and post-election promises to save the village for the residents as “writings on running water.”
He accused Lim of deliberate inaction by not invoking Section 76 of the National Land Code read together with Section 3 of the Land Acquisition Act to acquire and save the last remaining Indian traditional village in George Town.
He said Lim also failed to exert his powers under Section 116 (1) (d) the National Land Code to stop the village demolishment.
“You would have done so had it been a Malay or Chinese traditional village, e.g Weld Quay, Khoo kongsi or Kampong Melayu,” Uthayakumar said in the letter, adding that Kampung Buah Pala could have been saved with mere stroke of Lim's pen
He also reminded the Chief Minister of his many alleged broken promises on the issue including promise not to give building permission for the project until the villagers’ issues had been settled and promise to apply for an urgent High Court order to stop the demolishment.
“You have personally called the previous state government as robbers but you had done nothing to undo their injustices especially when people’s power – the Hindraf’s Makkal Sakthi - had empowered you to do so,” Uthayakumar told Lim.
He accused Lim of procuring Indian mandores and cyber troopers to divert attention away from the real issues behind Kampong Buah Pala crisis, and instead embarked on a Hindraf bashing campaign.
Pakatan leaders Lim Kit Siang, Anwar and Abdul Hadi Awang were also not spared by Uthayakumar’s tongue-lashing.
He said the leaders just stood by and watched silently this “blood-letting” of the poor helpless and working class Indians of Kampong Buah Pala.
“You (Lim) are brutal too. What a wonderful game you played, Guan Eng?” said Uthayakumar in the letter.
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