We note that besides the single word Hindraf as the second word in the said Sun newsreport there was no mention at all whatsoever about the volumes we have spoken for the Indians in our website www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com vide 26 different categories which the mainstream print and electronic media has largely refused to cover and/or not reporting the truth and not in the correct and truthful perspective.
If one cares to read our website on a day to day basis, we cover about the most critical Indian issues without fear or favour and speak up against both the UMNO and also PKR, DAP and PAS Federal and State governments. The critical Indian issues that is covered in our website www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com is just the tip of the iceberg. We focus on the critical Indian issues as there seem to be no takers for the same including from amongst the Indian elite, Opposition Indian MPs’ and almost all of the Indian led NGOs’ and the large number of Indian journalists.
Our final analysis is that the critical Indian problems has now come to this state because of the doing under UMNO’s 53 year old rule and now also continued albeit with lesser ferocity in the PKR, DAP and PAS ruled state governments, the latest examples being Kg Buah Pala, the last Indian traditional village demolishment in Penang, the Kedah PAS state government demolishing the Ladang Batu Pekaka hindu cemetery and the PKR Selangor state government hindu temple demolishments. The omission by the supposedly multiracial PKR, DAP and PAS leaders, their 82 MP’s, 11 of whom incidentally happen to be “multiracial” Indians, the NGOs, civil society and the print and electronic media including with no disrespect The Sun. Even the pro underdog internet newsportal, again with no disrespect, Malaysiakini.com does not cover critical Indian issues according to it’s gravity and seriousness for reasons best known to them and despite we bringing to their attention on numerous occasions. For example on the day of Teoh Beng Hock’s tragic murder there were rightly eleven articles in Malaysiakini.com and headlines in almost all the mainstream newspapers. But poor P.Gunasekaran who was murdered in police custody at the Sentul Police Station on the very same day that Teoh was murdered got zero coverage from all the mainstream print and electronic media including The Sun and Malaysiakini.com and even all the three Tamil newspapers.
The poor and underdogs is not given coverage just because they are minority Malaysian Indians as they are deemed to be soft targets with no or very little or insignificant political or economic power. This case of P.Gunasegaran’s is just the tip of the iceberg of how the Indians are being ignored and abandoned by the print and electronic media, Opposition parties, NGOs’, civil society, Indian journalists, The Sun, Malaysiakini.com etc. (hereinafter referred to collectively as the Malaysian civil society.)
Similarly when the Metro Tabernackle Church in Desa Melawati was burnt down Malaysiakini.com rightly did 23 articles on the first day alone. It caught headlines in almost all the mainstream print and electronic media, Prime Minister Najib Razak donated RM500,000.00. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng and Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, Bar Council President, NGOs’, civil society etc strongly condemned the attacks and even Hadi Awang unprecedently visited the church to show support and solidarity perhaps because Sabah and Sarawak has about 30 Christian dominated/ majority Parliamentary seats.
But when a hindu temple was burnt down in Midlands estate Selangor and subsequently another hindu temple burnt down during the racially motivated disturbances in Taiping in June 2009, there was zero coverage especially by all the print and electronic media including The Sun, Malaysiakini.com and even the three Tamil newspapers. There was also zero reaction from PKR, DAP, PAS, NGOs’ civil society, Bar Council etc unlike for the church incident.
Scores of hindu temples were forced to be relocated next to sewerage ponds the latest being in Kg Lindungan and Banting. To the best of our knowledge this has never happened in any other part of the world except in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malay-sia. Also as hereinabove there was zero reaction by all the aforesaid supposedly Malaysian civil society.
Even as late as 8/2/2010 when the Om Sri Maha Kaliamman hindu temple was demolished by UMNOs’ DBKL, there was zero coverage by the all the mainstream newspapers including The Sun and also Malaysiakini.com. Only the three Tamil newspapers covered the same but by the next day they were believed to have been forced to do damage control by the Home Ministry (KDN) and they on the next day reported quoting an MIC mandore that it was only the extension and not the main temple that was demolished. The temple caretaker Mr.Ravishankar even as late at yesterday (10/2/10) maintains that the main temple was demolished. See report in www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com.
Our critics say that there are also poor Malays,Chinese, Orang Asli, Kadazan, Iban etc. But for the poor Malays, Orang asli, Kadazans, Ibans and Chinese they all have at least the social safety net ie they all have the land base in the Malay traditional villages. They are free to open up as much land as possible for agriculture to earn a living which option is prohibited for the poor Indians. Even the poor Chinese have their hundreds of Chinese New Villages.
But for the Indians they have almost zero villages. Even if it is called an Indian village, Kg Ghandi, Kg Muniandy etc they are deemed squatters as the land has never been alienated to them and can and will be bulldozed at any time.
A prime example is for the poor Malays, orang asli, Kadazan and Iban the sky is the limit for their children in so far as education is concerned for upward mobility. Equality and equal opportunities irrespective of race, colour, creed should be given to all who are prepared to work and take up the opportunities. This is the norm in any part of the world except in Prime Minister Najib Razak’s One Malaysia where the Indians are excluded from almost every aspect of Malaysia’s mainstream development. For the poor Chinese higher education are being taken care of by the economically powerful Chinese businessmen and the Chinese corporate and banking sectors.
But for the poor Indian students’ higher education, the sky is certainly not the limit. UMNO denies 95% of the deserving Indians skills training, higher education, scholarships, study and business loans, employment, business, licences, permits, projects, contracts, tenders and general upward mobility opportunities which the UMNO controlled Malaysian government gives and grants liberally to the Malays, orang asli, Kadazan, Iban etc. The few and far in between “successful” Indians we see are by luck and/or sheer hard work.
In short the ethnic minority Indians in Malaysia are deliberately excluded from the national mainstream development of Malaysia by UMNO while PKR, DAP, PAS and the supposed Malaysian civil society watch by silently.
The next generation of Malays Orang asli, Kadazan, Iban, Chinese etc have hopes of upward mobility through education, vocational training profession or business. But the same cannot be said about the Indians. Even licences are denied to Indian scrap metal traders, petty traders and even a 25 year old operating mini market operator in Temerloh, medical students studying in India, Ukraine, Russia and Indonesia maliciously get their degrees derecognized even when Malaysia is 50% short of doctors.
They suffer in silence on a day basis. One of the way out especially the weak willed Indian is suicide. The suicide rate among the Indians is 600% higher than for the Malays because of poverty and poverty related problems.
Full details of the Malay-sian UMNO state sponsored atrocities against the Indians are in our “Malaysian Indian Minority & Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2009 Malay-sia Truly Racist” http://www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com/2009/10/01/malaysian-indian-minority-and-human-rights-violations-annual-report-2008/ that was distributed at the Pravasi Bharathiya Divas International Conference Vigyan Bhawan New Delhi and Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, Opposition Leader and immediate past Opposition Leader of India Lal Krishna Advani.
In Western civil societies and democracies the majority would bend backwards to protect the minorities as the majority would somehow be taken care of. But unfortunately in Malaysia both the majority and minority including the elite and “multi racial” Indians, lend voice, show care write, publice and highlight the majority causes ie the Malay muslims, Orang Asli, Kadazan and Iban and also the big minority with economic power ie the Chinese communities as they also get to play to the gallery ie who collectively form 90% of the Malaysian population. The Indian elite may dominate the NGOs’ and even have eleven Opposition Members of Parliament with some holding key party positions. But almost all of them too prefer to play to the majoritarian Malay and Chinese gallery for 80% to 90% of the/ their votes are Malays and Chinese and/or do not want to be seen as Indian “extremist” or racist or prioritise their political survival. The MIC is powerless and for self serving individuals with personal interest as opposed to the Indian public interest.
This leaves out only the minority Indians in Malaysia. Thus the current critical Indian problems and the answer Who speaks for Indians?
We hope the multiracial PKR, DAP, PAS, NGO’s, Malaysia civil society forces, the print and electronic media, The Sun and Malaysiakini.com included would from now onwards also speak up , cover publicise and give voice for especially the poor and underprivileged ethnic minority Malaysian Indians according to the seriousness and gravity of the violations of even their fundamental human rights as opposed to the current largely race based and Malay and Chinese gallery based support, concern, voice and print and electronic media coverage.
P.Uthayakumar
Secretary General (pro tem)
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