HRP petitions US for 100 scholarships,Minorities Act, stateless Indians and leadership training.

(Refer Malaysiakini 11/10/10)
The Human Rights Party of Malaysia (HRP) has made an unusual request to the United States government to establish a special programme to grant about 100 scholarships annually to high-performing Malaysian Indian high school graduates to study in universities in that country.
HRP contends that “a sizeable number” of such school graduates are denied appropriate educational opportunities in public tertiary institutions because of the racist policies of the Malaysian government.
It said these bright students were denied scholarships for study, even though their academic performance easily warranted the award of such scholarships.
HRP claimed that these Indian students were also not granted admission into the matriculation stream for pre-university studies, which were reserved almost entirely for the bumiputera. This stream of study is widely known to be an easier way into a public university of choice.
‘2,000 students denied entry annually’
The party estimates that there are annually about 2,000 eligible students who are denied entry into public universities, which in any other country would be considered a basic entitlement.
It said it was turning to the US for such scholarship assistance after having made several unsuccessful attempts to redress the situation locally.
Besides requesting for the 100 scholarships in an open letter to US Ambassador Paul W Jones, dated Oct 7, HRP also requested the US to help the Indian community in enforcing a Minorities Protection Act to end statelessness among Indians born in Malaysia.
“We of the HRP, even though a fledgling organisation, are on a serious agenda of change to bring about policies and political programmes that will ensure democracy in substantial terms,” the party’s pro-tem president W Sambulingam said in the letter, a copy of which was made available to Malaysiakini today.
HRP also presented the US embassy with HRP’s “2009 Human Rights and Minority Rights report” which sets out in some detail the human rights and minority rights violations in the country in that year.
The party hoped for “resourceful assistance” from the US in conducting a more accurate assessment of this endemic problem faced by the Indian community.