"Is there basis for the Malaysian Indian to be aggrieved? Compared to the other races which have advanced in proportion to the nation's economic progress, the Indian community -- roughly 10% of the population -- is far behind."
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Malaysia's 'Tectonic Shift'
By ROSE ISMAIL
December 6, 2007
It's rally season in Kuala Lumpur. Last month, around 40,000 opposition parties, trade unions and non-governmental organizations braved thunderstorms and roadblocks to demand clean and fair elections. Two weeks ago, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) demonstrated, demanding fair treatment for Malaysian Indians. A fracas broke out and some 200 people were arrested.
These rallies are clearly not for the faint-hearted, as each one has been preceded by stern statements from the government, which included warnings about invoking the Internal Security Act. But they have a deeper import, beyond the threat of jail: These protests indicate a tectonic shift in the way we exercise our democratic rights. Whether this will permanently alter our country's political culture remains to be seen. For the moment, the uppermost question for many observers is: Why now?
First, the eve of a general election is perceived as a good time to air public grievances. There is also the burgeoning public perception that the current government's grasp of policy issues is weakening. Over the last couple of years, Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's administration has been weighed down by corruption in the police force; judicial probes into court decisions; tension over religious conversion cases; recent spikes in the cost of living; and a bunch of boisterous bloggers who refuse to remain silent.
The occasional public appearance of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim -- who is planning a triumphant return to politics early next year, when his political ban expires -- is undeniably another source of annoyance for the current administration.
But more deeply, Malaysia's 50-year-old social contract, shined up in August by the Independence celebrations, may also be losing its gloss. The promises made in the 1957 constitution guaranteed that if we followed the rules laid down by leaders of the main ethnic communities and behaved ourselves we could be confident of an increasing quality of life and racial harmony. For the most part, the contract has worked, as Malaysia's steady economic growth demonstrates.
Yet it is racial discord that still drives cold fear into the hearts of most Malaysians. We are terrified of it. Yet, oddly enough, we read racial agendas into everything from policy formulation to court decisions, police arrests, hiring and firing as well as who gets their trash removed first.
Race relations and its many perplexing permutations have pulled us together and also widened the gulf between the different ethnic groups. This was demonstrated in last week's Hindraf demonstration, where protestors proposed to sue the British government for neglecting the rights of the Indian community at Independence, the majority of whom were brought in by colonialists as indentured laborers.
The organizers brought a claim of 14 trillion ringgit ($4 billion) in a petition to be delivered to the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur -- meant, eventually, to be handed over to Queen Elizabeth II. Some protestors were reportedly angry that a 100-year-old Hindu temple had been demolished. Others demanded either the abolition of affirmative action -- which has largely benefited the Malays -- or inclusion in it.
Naturally, the non-Indians have not been too pleased. Rumors were rife last week that Malays in Kampung Baru (an inner-city enclave largely inhabited by Malays) were buying long knives to defend themselves against the Indians. Last Saturday, a full week after the event, the usually mild-mannered Prime Minister Abdullah furiously condemned the group for appealing to the British government to send Malaysia to the World Court and the International Criminal Court for crimes against ethnic minority Indians. Hindraf had also alleged that government-backed Islamic extremists were committing ethnic cleansing -- an idea so shocking to the Prime Minister that he has offered to resign, should there be any evidence of such atrocities.
In the tangle of these issues, emotions and sometimes outlandish accusations, is there basis for the Malaysian Indian to be aggrieved? Compared to the other races which have advanced in proportion to the nation's economic progress, the Indian community -- roughly 10% of the population -- is far behind.
All "Indian problems" are relegated to the Malaysian Indian Congress, a component of the ruling alliance. Loud on rhetoric and soft on action, the party has been emasculated by internal succession issues, rather than addressing the very basic needs of its constituents. For the very poor, many quality-of-life improvements -- from school shoes to a place in university, a job in IT, or even a burial place for a loved one -- are painfully difficult to come by. To gain visibility, the fight had to be re-oriented. The Queen of England, therefore, became the most fitting recipient of the petition, capturing media attention all over the world. Meanwhile, the MIC and other Indian groups are falling over themselves to address the Indian problem. A hotline has been set up to respond swiftly to all manner of grievances raised by Indians.
In the end, the petition never reached the High Commission but the Indian story will be remembered for two reasons -- as an extraordinary public relations exercise and, like the other rallies, a watershed event for political expression in Malaysia.
Ms. Ismail, a former editor with the "New Straits Times" and senior fellow at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies, now heads a media consultancy in Malaysia. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119689168888514935.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Malaysian Indians call on Advani and other BJP leaders
New Delhi Thursday, Dec 6 2007 IST
http://news.webindia123.com/news/Articles/India/20071206/842615.html
A delegation of Malaysian Hindu leaders today met Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha L K Advani and other BJP leaders to apprise them about the discrimination, injustice and persecution faced by the community in that country.
Urging the BJP to put pressure on the Indian government and take up the cause of Malaysian Indians mostly from Tamil Nadu, the group led by Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) Chairman P Wytha Moorthy explained how the Indian community was marginalised and persecuted by the Muslim majority country. About 10,000 temples were demolished during the last 50 years and all of them were as old as 150 years, he claimed.
''We were also told how the attempts were being made by Malaysia, a multi-ethnic nation to strip the Hindus of their dignity and self respect,'' BJP Parliamentary Party spokesman Vijay Kumar Malhotra told reporters after the meeting. The delegation informed how steady attempts were being made by the Muslim majority nation to impose Shariah Court rulings on non-Muslims in the matters concerning inter-faith marriages and the religious identity of their children. The People of Indian Origin were taken to Malaysia by the British as indentured labourers over 200 years ago. The community was oppressed with practically no budgetary provision for their economic and educational advancement. ''Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam schools have dwindled due to the administration's deliberate plans to cut off its cultural and spiritual heritage,'' they told BJP leaders.
Mr Moorthy, a lawyer-cum-rights activist was conveyed by Mr Advani that the BJP would do everthing within its power to help the people of Indian origin. India had a moral obligation to take up the case of Malaysian Indians and cannot shirk its responsibility under pressure from pseudo secular forces on the pretext that it was an internal matter of Malaysia, Mr Advani told Mr Moorthy. In a related development, Singapore's Minister Mentor and elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew called on Mr Advani at his residence to discuss the issue and agreed with Mr Advani's views on the Malaysian Indians. He further said not just Hindus but Buddhists, Taoists and Christians were also being discriminated against by Malaysian authorities.
-- (UNI)
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