SPM 13As: (UMNO) “Discrimination at highest level against innocent children” says Dr.Vimal Menon from United Kingdom supports HRP’s Project 15/38.

Dear Mr Uthayakumar,

It was a pleasure to speak to you over the phone today. It must have been God’s grace, as I decided to try out the number on your website (Human Rights Party website) at the spur of the moment and didn’t expect to speak to the very man himself. I have great respect and admiration for the work you do.

Since our conversation I have had a chance to read your book entitled `Malaysian Indian Political Empowerment Strategy – The Way Forward’ through the party website and again I am really impressed by your noble cause and struggle. I am particularly impressed and very much interested in participating in your quest to capture 15 parliamentary and 38 state seats in the next general elections. Your method and logic in achieving this figure and the means to achieving it is certainly inspiring, and more importantly, doable, if we Indians unite and follow the steps that you have outlined. I am certainly more than happy to be registered in one of those 15 parliamentary and 38 state seats, so that my vote will count, the HRP party will win in these areas, and with it change WILL come for us Indians.

Below is the email I sent originally to the info@humanrightspartymalaysia.com address but had bounced back, regarding the issue of JPA scholarships and public university places being denied to our bright high achieving Indian students. I wish you all the best on the 15th of June when you hand over the petition to our dear PM at parliament. Although unable to attend physically, I will be with you and your supporters in spirit.

I will no doubt be keeping myself updated with future events and news through your website and the power of the Internet.

Kind regards,
Vimal.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I read with great interest the gross injustice faced by our young, aspiring and brilliant Indian students who have been denied their basic human rights to pursue their education, despite obtaining excellent results in the SPM examinations.

This is not a new phenomenon. It happens year in and year out. Why do our brilliant students have to plead and repeatedly appeal their cases when it is their right to pursue their education especially since they are more than qualified having obtained excellent results? This is discrimination at the highest level against innocent children, who just want to be treated fairly and serve this country loyally as doctors, lawyers and other professionals. The government keeps talking about 1 Malaysia, meritocracy, preventing brain drain etc, but this is all just lip service and hypocrisy to get votes. Enough is enough, this blatant form of discrimination MUST stop. Morally and ethically this practice is plain wrong, even a 5 year old child will tell you this. I am surprised why nothing more has been done to address this issue in the past as it really is a form of apartheid against the minority Indian community in Malaysia. I can see no other motive of the present racist government other than preventing bright Indian students from low and middle class families to better themselves socio-ecomomically through educational advancement, by preventing these brilliant and deserving students from continuing their education and pursuing their dreams. We are not asking for the sky and mountain, just our basic human rights of pursuing our education. By doing so we are not `robbing’ others of their opportunities, nor are we questioning the special rights of the Malays (which in itself is wrong, but I shall not address this issue here), we are simply asking for our basic human rights.

I salute those in the Human Rights Party for highlighting the plight of these brilliant students. Through the power of the Internet I hope our plight will be made known wider not just in Malaysia, but across the world. Let the whole world know about the gross injustice that is happening in Malaysia, and the intellectual persecution of our bright young Indian minds.

I can really relate to these young students. I went through a similar situation after completing my SPM. That was back in 1993. Despite obtaining excellent results and coming state second, I was denied a scholarship. Only after appealing and through some `political string pulling’, I finally managed to get a scholarship. Since then I had lost faith in the government and the whole system in Malaysia. I now reside and work overseas in Britain. Year in and year out I keep reading similar stories. Over the years not much has changed really. I keep saying to myself one day I might return, but only if there is change. But unless the present UMNO led government changes, I doubt real change can ever happen.

I find hope in the HRP and HINDRAF’s aspirations and struggles. I fully support your cause but feel limited in what I can contribute, other than expressing my views in this email. I fully support the signature campaign to highlight the plight of these students to the UMNO government. I will keep reading your website for any developments and hope through your intervention these students will be rewarded justly for all their hard work. As I said, they are not asking for the sky and mountain, just their basic human right to continue education.

It is time we take control of our future in our own hands. Enough is enough. If the government still refuses to listen and suppress our rights just because we are a minority, we really need to take this further. Please continue your good work and you have my 100% support in this just cause. I am in no way a racist, I am just fighting for justice, and helping to right what is blatantly wrong. It is as usual UMNO that turns everything into the race card for political gain.

Kind regards,
Vimal.
Malaysian living in the UK.