HINDRAF has educated Malaysian about Human Rights.

Many may claim otherwise, but the ability of the discriminated marginalized Malaysian Indians to stand up and fight for their rights like how they did albeit even being the minority had opened the eyes all Malaysians pre GE12 for how human rights exist speaks volume. This is a fact.

Pre HINDRAF, there were ample NGOs but their sustaining power was not there, mostly were mouthpieces for either the ruling or opposition party for political need without any real muscle on their own to pursue human rights.

The ability of HINDRAF to stand alone to educate and entrench basic human rights as the basis for the destitute and marginalized Malaysian Indians had paved the way for others to to rise, more prominently in issues relating to Sabah & Sarawak and the predicament of orang Asli.

The sheer perseverance of the HINDRAF drive for the 1st time in the history of Malaysia has brought such international coverage that revealed BN’s manifestation of ethinicitazion was not restricted just to politics and party system but primarily economics against basic human rights.

The clear struggle of basic human rights that was started for the discriminated and marginalized Malaysian Indians had sprout like mushroom but the intention of many who had followed through have become blurred as political parties begin to manipulate such notions with their
superficial agenda such as One Malaysia, Malaysia First and Anak Bangsa Malaysia whereas branding HINDRAF as racist.

The fundamental and fulcrum of the HINDRAF appears very basic for what entices human rights, yet political parties and those with vested interested appears to paint a picture of it being a racist organization without addressing core issues ie human rights.

The latest HINDRAF blue print which intends a temporary restitution programs over the span of the next 5 years to uplift the Malaysian Indians in their basic human rights due to the forced regression through political & economical patronage and suffrage by the two major community in Malaysia, ie being the Malay & Chinese has had mixed reaction amongst the Non Malaysian Indian public including those elite & affluent Malaysian Indians.

Many fail to understand this is not an affirmative action but rather to provide for those who had been left behind without any proper purpose or cause for what is humanely necessary due to convulated policies and silence from the rest of the community in over the last 56 years. There is nothing political about this but rather whether remedial action is a right cause for a section of the community that had immensely contributed now and has been unfairly deprived.

The mantle of politicians is hard to predict as they are David Copperfield every five years but rather the mantle of the public that needs an attention in their ability to understand the predicament of those marginalized & discriminated Malaysian Indians and why such restitution is need.

The swing created by HINDRAF amongst the Malaysian Indians cannot go unnoticed in the GE12, yet there seems to be nor did permanent resolution specific to those aggrieve Malaysians Indians has been addressed or resolved by BN or PR.

The politicians seem to be playing the political game in abeyance pitching for the right moment to move in and make a kill for their survival without placing any importance to the HINDRAF blue print and its path to bring forth the Malaysian Indians to have a level playing field after

being unjustifiable deprived of their basic rights.

Politician always stumble over the truth as though nothing happenen to safeguard their own position, but the public being part of the community cannot afford to do this any further to the Malaysian Indians who had built the nation along with the rest without any expectation besides
ensuring that they can develop and progress in their social economic development along with the rest without any animosity.

It is about time for us to acknowledge the destitute state of the poor & displaced Malaysian Indians without placading the political drive whether it is BN or PR but to accept the truth and reality for them.

-Right Thinker

New series of Hindu exodus from Bangladesh after recent Islamic violence by Jammat e Islami.

Hindu minorities are at the receiving end in Bangladesh. The exodus of Hindus to India is continuing.

 

Fiery Islamic Violence is on in Bangladesh. Huge Numbers of Bangladeshi Hindus are coming to Bharat crossing borders. Pic. Kumar Basu at Petrapole Border. Courtesy: Bartaman Patrika

Upananda Brahmachari | Kolkata | 8 March 2013:: Telling a lie does not come under any fine or tax. On Saturday last (2nd March 2013), the West Bengal government denied that there has not been any exodus from Bangladesh to West Bengal following violence in the neighboring country over a top Jamaat-e-Islami leader being sentenced to death for crimes against humanity during the 1971 liberation war. “We have no such report,” Home Secretary Basudeb Banerjee told PTI when asked if there was an exodus from Bangladesh. “Security arrangements have been strengthened along the border,” he said on the measures that the state government has suggested to the BSF. In Malda, the BSF has been asked to intensify patrolling along the border. Top BSF officials said that the border outposts have been alerted all along and till now there was no report of any influx from either side. Some of the worst trouble spots in Bangladesh were said to be located quite close to the West Bengal borders and round the clock vigil was mounted. The news hooked up in the prime media coverage.

But, the reality in West Bengal borders and sudden increase of pilgrimage from Bangladesh in the holy places, shrines, monasteries tell another thing.

Not only that, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Chandan Mitra, who accompanied President Pranab Muherjee on his recent Dhaka trip, said the situation in Bangladesh “is pretty tense”.

Mitra said that “Hindu minorities are at the receiving end in Bangladesh” in the current communal clashes in Bangladesh run by Jamaat e Islami of Bangladesh.

The violence against minorities is “aimed at driving out the Hindus who are concentrated in a few districts where the Jamaat is also concentrated.. The exodus of Hindus to India is continuing,” said Mitra.

The Jamaat is protesting the death sentence handed over to a leader for war crimes committed in 1971.

Mitra said India has “certain moral responsibilities as they have to be mindful of their security.. And if another exodus takes place (like during the 1971 war), we will have to provide shelter,” he said, adding that the Jamaat is like the Taliban in nature. “It has risen from strength to strength and consolidated its position.” So, the new series of Hindu exodus from Bangladesh after recent Islamic violence by Jammat e Islami, has been started afresh.

Actually, hundreds of Hindus have been attacked, their shops and businesses burnt and women threatened by the Jamaat-e-Islami in the current spate of violence unleashed by the Islamists in neighboring Bangladesh, as it is focused in a discussion forum held in New Delhi.

“Hindus, who number more than one crore in Bangladesh, live in fear and agony… They don’t have anyone to help them,” said Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay at a discussion on ‘Bangla Desh-Shahbagh Rising, Jamaat-e-Islami’s violence and the Indian response’.

The protests at Shahbag transcend religion, he said.

“They are an assertion that we are all Bengali Bangladesh is a friendly country, and Sheikh Hasina (prime minister) is a friend (of India).. But it is horrendous and unacceptable that thousands of Hindu homes are being burnt, looted and police are unable to provide protection,” said Vijay.

“The Jamaat is acting on behalf of Pakistan and the ISI (Inter Services Intelligence) and against India,” he alleged.

As a result, as far as 1600 Hindu families from Noakhali and Chattagram has reached to Bharat with or without passport only to stay here until the position in Bangladesh is made stabilized. Major portion of these families are visiting holy places in West Bengal and staying in the different Dharmashalas, different branches of Hindu Ashrams and in the houses of relatives or in rented houses. The poorer Hindu refugees in this phase are also seeking the job of daily labourers or anything to be a means of survive.

Most of these Hindu uprooted families from Bangladesh are mainly halting in Kakdwip, Basanti areas in South 24 Parganas. Barasat, Banga in North 24 Parganas and Ranaghat, Tehatta areas in Nadia and Cooch Behar and Dakshin Dinaj Pur and Jalpaiguri in North Bengal. Some of these people are now in disguise of patient or pilgrims. Some of these Hindu refugees from Bangladesh uprooted by the Jamaatis, are now contemplating to venture in far states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra.

The Islamists in Bangladesh are trying to make a Hindu-less Bangladesh. Minority Hindus of Bangladesh are compelled to flee away from there to here in Bharat. Still Govt. of India is saying ‘No Exodus yet’. Though different Hindu organisations in India protesting the tremendous tortures upon Bangladesh Hindus, Govt in India is not ready to accept the truth of exodus or to extend any help to the tortured and uprooted Hindu refugees from Bangladesh. What a tragedy for the Hindus in Bangladesh.

Activists from The Bajrang Dal and Visva Hindu Parishad (VHP) shout anti-Bangladesh slogans in New Delhi on March 6, 2013, during a protest against recent attacks against minority Hindus in Bangladesh. Bangladesh’s main opposition leader Khaleda Zia has condemned recent attacks on Hindus in different parts of the country allegedly by activists of fundamentalist Jamaat-e-Islami, demandING punishment to perpetrators of the attacks. AFP PHOTO/RAVEENDRAN (Photo credit should read RAVEENDRAN/AFP/Getty Images) 2013 AFP

Egypt: activists raped, both men and women victims

Women's Day in Cairo

(ANSAmed) - ROME - Women are being systematically raped in Cairo's Tahrir Square, Egyptian activist and psychiatrist Sally Toma told a March 8 conference organized here by Democratic Party (PD) MEP Silvia Costa. But also men are sexually abused by men in uniform.

Organized groups are roaming Tahrir Square, raping women in order to scare half the population away from demonstrating, while men are being beaten and raped in military barracks and police stations: they might outnumber the female sexual assault victims, Toma told in her update on the situation of women two years after the revolution.

In Cairo, women activists and demonstrators are being targeted by civilians. ''They are sent by extremist groups led by the Salafist movement or by the (Muslim) Brotherhood'', explained Toma. ''They move in groups of five to six people, molesting not for sexual gratification, but for the pleasure of harming others''. Women told her ''they had knives held to their vaginas, while others were abducted, stripped and driven around the city, exposed to public shame,'' Toma recounted. This is a way to keep at least half the demonstrators away, she said. ''Women decide to leave Tahrir Square in fear of what has already happened to other women and to their friends.'' But the women of Tahrir ''are tough'', said the activist, who coordinated marches and meetings even before January 25.

''We women will remain,'' she told ANSAmed in an interview. The sexual assaults against male activists are something new, Toma went on. Abducted off the streets, they are dragged to police stations and military barracks, where they are sexually abused by men in uniform. Many of these male victims are among her patients, said Toma, who now works almost full time helping these rape victims overcome the trauma. ''I deal with post-traumatic situations. I've always worked with victims of sexual abuse and torture'', she explained, adding that many young activists are coming to her to tell her their stories. ''There is no official data'', but the violence has increased in the past two months, Toma added. While many victims refuse to come forward out of shame, she estimates there were 1,000 rapes last year. ''I work with my patients on how to channel the rage, sadness or shame, trying to reduce the desire for revenge'', said Toma, adding that many return to the street, only to be raped again. ''This has happened to many of my patients. Some of these kids got raped two, three times in a row. We want to stop this vicious circle''. Toma currently directs the Cairo Institute of Human Rights Studies, which is supported by the United Nations Democracy Fund and which educates activists on how to act on the political level. It also provides training on how to form pressure groups at the local level in cities outside Cairo. ''The revolution must move forward throughout the country, not just in Tahrir. We train them, we teach them how to denounce abuses and violations, how to contact NGOs and humanitarian organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. We have trained a large network of activists. It is made up of small cells, in which everyone knows one another and supports one another''.

Meanwhile, women activists are not giving up the streets: today's March 8 women's demonstration in Cairo has been called to protest the Muslim Brotherhood, Toma said. (ANSAmed).

Najib terdesak, mungkin ambil Kavadi

Orang India sudah tidak percaya pada Najib, mereka tidak mahu ‘Nambikai’ tetapi ‘Urimai’, kata S Manikavasagam, ahli parlimen Kapar.

SENAWANG: Ahli parlimen Kapar, S Manikavasagam dari PKR menggambarkan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berada dalam keadaan terdesak untuk mendapatkan undi kaum India.

Manikavasagam atau lebih popular dikenali sebagai Mike di kalangan pemimpin dan penyokong Pakatan Rakyat berkata demikian dalam satu program ceramah anjuran PAS Rembau di Senawang malam kelmarin.

“Najib pergi Batu Caves tahun lepas ketika sambutan Thaipusam dan berkata ‘Nambikai’, ‘trust us’ dan ‘tolong kita’ pada ratusan ribuan masyarakat India yang hadir. Apa itu ‘Nambikai’? Bermaksud percaya pada saya (beliau).

“Orang India sudah tidak percaya pada Najib. Mereka tidak mahu ‘Nambikai’ tetapi ‘Urimai’. Apa itu ‘Urimai’? ‘Urimai’ itu bermaksud hak. Masyarakat India mahu hak mereka yang sewajarnya.

“Najib datang Batu Caves pakai ‘Jippa’ (Pakaian tradisional kaum India).Tidak lama lagi kalau anda suruh dia ambil kavadi pun, mungkin dia ambil kavadi,” kata Mike berseloroh dan gelak ketawa lebih seribu masyarakat Melayu menggamatkan lagi suasana ceramah.

Mike juga berkata Najib tidak mengotakan janji beliau kepada masyarakat India di Kapar.

“Pada sambutan Pesta Ponggal di Kapar pada tahun lepas, Najib berjanji akan membina krematorium (Pusat Pembakaran Mayat) di Kapar.

“Najib juga berjanji akan membina sebuah blok bangunan baru Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Methodist Kapar.

“Perayaan Ponggal untuk tahun ini pun sudah selesai. Dah habis setahun, sampai hari ini saya belum nampak sebarang krematorium dan sebuah bangunan sekolah yang beliau janjikan.

“Inilah dia ‘Janji DiTepati’ oleh Najib,” kata Mike dan orang ramai yang hadir bertepuk tangan.

Jangan politikkan isu Lahad Datu

Sementara itu Mike juga meminta semua pihak agar tidak memperpolitikkan insiden pencerobohan bersenjata Sulu.

“Lapan anggota polis yang terkorban merupakan perwira dan hero negara. Mereka sanggup

berkorban demi negara.

“Pengorbanan kelapan-lapan anggota polis itu harus dihargai semua pihak.

“Saya bersama kepimpinan PAS, DAP dan PKR Kapar sempat memberi penghormatan terakhir kepada Allahyarham Lans Koperal Mohd Azrul Tukiran di kediaman bapa Mohd Azrul di Rantau Panjang, Kapar sebelum pengkebumian,” tambah Mike.

Libyan Women Face Sharia Woes Since Fall of Gadhafi

You know your religion's got problems when life is better under a brutal dictator. (For more on women in Islam, click here.)

BENGHAZI, Libya (AP) — On her way back from her job as a lecturer at a university near Tripoli, Libyan poet Aicha Almagrabi was stopped by a group of bearded militiamen. They kicked her car, beat up her driver and threatened to do the same to her. Her offense: being alone in a car with men without a male relative as a guardian.

"You have violated the law of God," the militiamen told her, Almagrabi said.

"I said, I teach male students, so should I bring a male guardian with me to classroom?" she told The Associated Press.

Not that the university is immune to increasingly bold conservatives' views on the role of women. Almagrabi said one student recently told her she shouldn't be giving lectures because a woman's voice is "awra" — too intimate and shameful to be exposed in public.

The incident in February, which ended with the militiamen allowing Almagrabi to drive home, underlined the bitter irony for women in post-revolution Libya. Women played a major role in the 8-month civil war against dictator Moammar Gadhafi, massing for protests against his regime, selling jewelry to fund rebels, smuggling weapons across enemy lines to rebels.

But since Gadhafi's fall more than 18 months ago, women have been rewarded by seeing their rights hemmed in and restricted.

Women fear worse may yet to come. The country is soon to begin work drafting a new constitution, which activists fear will enshrine the relegation of women to second-class status, given the influence of hard-line Islamists.

"What we aim for right now is not to lose what we had," said Hanan al-Noussori, a lawyer in Libya's second biggest city, Benghazi. "I don't know which path we are heading in. But this is a matter of life or death for us." (Continue Reading.)

Dr M says he fears PR's promise to remove NEP

(Harakah Daily) - Former UMNO strongman Dr Mahathir Mohamad has shot back at those who scold him for talking politics after retirement, saying he only feared Pakatan Rakyat's policies when it comes to power including its rejection of the New Economic Policy.
"When I find that the opposition rejects the NEP, I feel a need to voice my fears for the future of this, my beloved country.

"As much as my detractors have a right to object to my continued involvement in politics, I have a right to hold a different view," said Mahathir, the country's longest serving premier, in his latest blog posting.

The NEP launched by the late Tun Abdul Razak in 1971 was the controversial plan to reduce the socioeconomic disparity between the Chinese and Malay majorities, whose success has been the subject of debate.

PR had repeatedly called for a needs-based policies, saying programmes under the NEP had only enriched cronies of ruling politicians who claim to represent their respective race.

Recalling how the government of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had weakened the country, something he said "is still felt today", Mahathir argued that since 2008, the stronger opposition had resulted in "open confrontation" between races, and defended growth plans based on race.

"Unfortunately in Malaysia we all insist on becoming identified by our race," he added.

My father a victim of Anwar's politics, rebuts Saiful

Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan expressed regret and sadness that his father had been used by Anwar Ibrahim to advance the opposition leader's political ambitions.

In refuting the shocking claims made by his father earlier today, Saiful, 26, (left) stressed that he would not retract his sodomy allegation against Anwar.

“I remain steadfast and shall stick to the allegation and the testimony which I had given in court. I had also made an oath in the mosque.

“To Anwar, I urge him to repent. It has already been five years, and I have remained steadfast although I admit it has been difficult. I am certain Allah will punish you (Anwar) for what you did. You are truly desperate and what you did is loathsome.

“I would like to warn Anwar, even if you are desperate, please do not use my father to twist the situation to achieve your own objectives. The truth will finally prevail,” he said during a press conference at his lawyer's office late this evening.

Azlan Md Lazim, 60, had today claimed his son had been used by irresponsible quarters from the prime minister's office to defame Anwar which resulted in the opposition leader's second sodomy trial, dubbed Sodomy II.

Saiful further said he is puzzled as to why his father made such a statement today, adding that he did not have any problems with his father, having even gone on holiday to Kelantan together recently.
Diverting attention from nation's 'traitor'
He said the last time he met his father was on Monday, while the last time they spoke over the phone together was yesterday.

"I tried to contact my father (left) following his press conference today but to no avail as he had switched off his handphone.

“I believe, by Allah, that the truth will come out. I will continue to pray that my father will return to the right path to continue to defend me as a victim.

“As a son, my love and respect to him as a father will remain until the day I die,” he said.

Saiful added that he believes the issue is now being raised to divert attention away from the current Sabah crisis and the existence of a purported “national traitor”.

“To all Malaysians, I urge not to be cheated with Anwar's dirty ploy.

“The country is being threatened by an enemy. The situation is made much worse with an enemy among us.

“There are many of our warriors who have already sacrificed themselves. Let us pray for those defending the country,” he said in a prepared statement.

Although Saiful did not allude as to whom the traitor was, he is believed to be referring to Anwar, as several mainstream media had previously blamed the latter for the incursion into Lahad Datu, with pictures of him and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader Nur Misuari being widely published and broadcast.
Lawyer denies preparing statement

When quizzed by reporters, Saiful said his father did not have any monetary problems.
Saiful also revealed he will be getting married in two weeks.

Meanwhile, Saiful's lawyer Zamri Idrus denied he had helped prepare statements previously issued by his client and Azlan.

Azlan had today alleged that Zamri and a special officer with the Prime Minister's Office were the masterminds behind the allegation.

Zamri said the prosecution will proceed with its appeal of the Sodomy II case verdict at the Court of Appeal on July 20 and 21.

Anwar, 65, was acquitted by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Jan 9, last year of the charge of sodomising Saiful at the Desa Damansara condominium on June 26, 2008.
Saiful's dad apologises to Anwar, claims his son used

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Saiful's dad apologises to Anwar, claims his son used

The father of Saiful Bukhari has apologised to PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, claiming that his son had been used by irresponsible quarters, including an officer of the prime minister, to defame Anwar in Sodomy II.

“Anwar is innocent and a victim of this slander... as such I apologise to Anwar and his family.

“He and his family have suffered a lot as a result of this slander,” Azlan Mohd Lazim said in a statement he released at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

“I deeply regret all the slander hurled against Anwar, which involved my son, Saiful Bukhari,” Azlan said.

 

Anwar was acquitted by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on Jan 9 last year on charges of sodomising Saiful, who was his political aide, on June 26, 2008, in a condominium in Kuala Lumpur.

The Attorney-General’s Chambers has appealed against the decision and the Court of Appeal will hear the case on July 22.

 

In the statement, Azlan, 60, said all media statements by him and Saiful had been prepared by a special officer with the prime minister's office (PMO) and a lawyer, Zamri Idrus.

“They are the masterminds behind all the sodomy slander against Anwar that involved my son.”

 

Zamri has denied the allegation and Malaysiakini is withholding the identity of PMO's special officer pending his response.

Azlan said he learnt about the sodomy allegation only from the “government- owned media” as Saiful never told him about it.

“I have never been contacted by any quarters to obtain my statement as his father, from the beginning till the end of the trial,” he said.

Giving moral support to his son

Although he was always seen accompanying his son during the trial, Azlan explained that he did that simply as a father who was giving moral support to his son.

“Actually, I don't believe the allegations against Anwar.”

Azlan said he decided to make the expose today as he has unveiled the truth after spending a long time to collect information obtained during the trial, as well as those sent to him by the public.

The government has neither met him, nor asked for his opinion about the sodomy case, he claimed.

“Everything was so carefully planned and executed (by the official),” Azlan alleged.

“As a Malay and a Muslim, I started to realise the evil of this plan. I don't want to continue to conspire with this malicious slander. I want the people who love this country to know their malicious intention.

“If this malicious intention continues, not only the Malays and Muslims would be destroyed, but the nation would be destroyed as well. I do not want to see this happen.

“I decided to be with Anwar, Pakatan Rakyat, and the Malaysians who thirst for prosperity, peace and truth, and are against this evil act.”
   
Azlan urged the people to “rise and fight against this cruelty, and work hard to uphold the truth”.

“Let us pray to Allah to win the struggle of Anwar and Pakatan to take over the government in the 13th general election,” he concluded.

 

No Gun Battle At Ground Zero In Over 24 Hours

KUALA LUMPUR, March 8 (Bernama) - No gun battle has been reported in Kampung Tanduo, Lahad Datu, in the last 24 hours, four days after security forces launched an offensive against Sulu militants.

In fact, top police and military officers had time for Friday prayers and 'sunat hajat' prayers with about 200 Muslims at Masjid Al-Hudah, Felda Sahabat 16.

Felda Sahabat 16, the headquarters of security forces in Op Daulat is located about 20 km from Kampung Tanduo which became the fortress for Sulu militants since February 12.

Day four Op Daulat Friday involves the use of helicopters to ferry security forces to locations in search operation while fighter jets hover in the skies.

Since there are no signs that the Sulu militant group would disarm unconditionally, security forces continue the hunt for the remaining militants.

The situation in Lahad Datu has returned to normal with the people starting their daily routine.

"After the gun battle in Kampung Tanjung Batu (about 15 km from Felda Sahabat 16) at 11.30am Thursday which killed 31 militants, there is no indication they want to lay down arms," Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Ismail Omar told a joint press conference with Armed Forces Chief, Gen Tan Sri Zulkifeli Mohd Zin in Felda Sahabat 16 Friday.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who inspected the Op Daulat headquarters in Felda Sahabat Thursday said Malaysia rejected a ceasefire and stressed the militants must lay down arms and surrender unconditionally.

During the operation by security forces since February 1, police arrested 79 people suspected to be linked with the intrusion in Lahad Datu.

Ismail told a press conference this afternoon over 50 people were detained under the Security Offences Act (Special Measures) that was enforced last year.

"They were arrested under the new act and read together with several section of the Penal Code," he said.

Najib who went to ground zero Thursday and announced the establishment of a Special Security Area for Kudat, Tawau, Kunak, Sandakan and Lahad Datu has given the people confidence about safety on the Sabah east coast.

On Tuesday, security forces launched air strikes using F18 and Hawk fighter jets to end the intrusion by Sulu militants since February 12.

So far, 52 militants had been killed since the intrusion in Kapung Tanduo, about 130 km from Lahad Datu town.

Eight police officers were also killed, two in a gun battle in Kampung Tanduo on March 1 and six more in an ambush in Kampung Sri Jaya, Simunul, Semporna the next day.