Does it feel like a bunch of gangsters are running this country?

The most recent act by Umno to try and kill off Anwar with a lowly sex video moves me to write this article. Because it increasingly feels like we are living in a country run by gangsters. What characterises gangsters? Is there any difference between what gangsters do and what Umno is doing?

Use of force, fear, bribes, threats, violence, deceit, unchallengeable positions, indulgence, and parasitic existence and not worrying about appearances would be a reasonable answer to the first question.

To answer the second question “Is there any difference?” I will examine how Umno performs in many of these dimensions to answer that question.

1 Force –The Police, the Attorney General’s office, the Courts (I will call them the Unholy Trio from now on) are the instruments of force of Umno. You see them figuring prominently in all occasions where Umno’s lawlessness are questioned. Being involved with Hindraf Makkal Sakthi, I can tell you that, without batting an eyelid – our people are constantly threatened with detention under ISA, or with charges of sedition, or are charged with being involved in an illegal organisation after Umno unconstitutionally and unlawfully outlawed Hindraf.

The form of force used and the way it is administered may vary in specifics between the gangsters and Umno but in essence they are the same – Umno and the gangsters equally resort to force because that is the sole source of their power. Umno has lost its moral legitimacy in its claim for power and hangs on to power only because of the control of the instruments of force – the Unholy Trio being the prime instruments. The gangsters never had moral or legitimate basis for claims to power, their claim to power hinges only on one thing – the use of raw and brutal force.

2 Fear – Umno so readily instills fear just like the local gangsters. Umno uses the Unholy Trio along with the Media, and when necessary the underworld members to achieve this. The Police have a special unit the Special Branch just for this – the Malaysian Gestapo. Every so often we see battalions of the Light Strike Force or the Federal Reserve Units to disallow, to disrupt, to frighten off citizen’s gatherings. You should have seen the hundreds at the anti Interlok forums throughout the country and the thousands at KLCC for Hindraf’s Solidarity March against Umno’s racism. This is exactly what the local gang bosses do. Putting in the fear of god they say. What the gang bosses do is what Umno is doing.

3 Threats – The laws enacted by Umno – ISA, Publishing and Printing Presses Act, Official Secrets Act, Seditions Act, Police Act and even the MACC are all actually devices crafted by Umno that threaten all those that dare cross the line. This is the primary purpose of these acts and organisations, though more noble intentions are proffered to legitimise them. But the true intentions of these are to act as a sword over the heads of any that dare.

The Media for its part carries statements from time to time from the ministers, from the IGP, from the Attorney General, from Umno stalwarts, from right wing Perkasa or carries images and reports of the Police overpowering any attempts to challenge them or of right wing demonstrations threatening the rest. But the purpose is one – to pre-empt potential trouble makers. The gang bosses just use outright threats, they do not need these more sophisticated devices. As the saying goes, cut the throat of one chicken in front of all the monkeys so the monkeys will behave themselves. In that sense the devices of threatening may be different but both Umno and gangsters use threats to remain in power.

4 Violence – What happened in Kampung Medan in 2005 is a clear example of the workings of the Unholy Trio, the Media and the underworld in the meting out violence whenever they see a need. A little further back we had the May 13 riots and May 13 is still a keyword for violence. Hundreds of police killing and maiming continue till today in Umno’s Police stations. The Police in the fore and the Armed Forces at the back are nothing more than Umno’s killing machines. The threat of violence that Umno can unleash, should it decide to, is what holds much of the opposition back. Violence is the bread and butter of gangsters and it is the bread and butter of Umno. Umno and the gangsters understand this very well.

5 Bribes – When expediency requires and it is wiser, then Umno bribes to clear their way of trouble makers. They buy up leaders of groups outside their circle of influence. They make “mafia offers”. They use skeletons in cupboards to assist them, as we see regularly happening in buying up of the opposition members of the legislature. Other forms of bribe, we see at election times. There is a free flow of gifts, goodies and promises. These are tidbits used to corrupt and remove obstacles or create perceptions while Umno walks away with the loot – to Umno these bribes are nothing more than the cost of doing business. Gangsters for their part use bribes to share their bounty when attempting to get at very large bounties. It is a cost of doing business for them too.

6 Unchallengeable positions – Umno’s positions on issues are unchallengeable, just like it is with the local gangster. You challenge at the risk of losing everything. When you challenge they fight tooth and nail so you do not get what you seek, on the contrary they make you lose further with intense vindictiveness. Case in point is the Interlok novel. The book remains in the curriculum and the rest who voiced dissatisfaction get beaten up and charged in courts for speaking up, but the book remains in the curriculum.

Another clear case in point is what Umno is doing to Anwar Ibrahim. He gets all kinds of s*** thrown at him and with increasing frequency just because he dares to challenge the Umnoputeras. Challenge at great personal risk – they will ruin you if they can. Their position must not be challenged. This is very clearly the ways of gangsters too. The hallmark of a gangleader is one who has overcome all those who have challenged him and anyone who challenges the leader must lose or the leader loses his basis to continue as a leader. Exactly the case with Najib – ala Umno and Umno ala the people.

7 Deceit – “ Biji setelor, rio sekampung” as the Malay proverb goes. Umno throws a tidbit here, a tidbit there and the media steps in and creates perceptions of a totally benevolent and caring Umno. Umno holds the reins of the media tight. Umno is able to manufacture perceptions in people that are so far removed from the truth that the lies are more real the reality itself. You speak the truth and no one listens to you, for they think you distort, for personal advantage. Umno has established monopoly over their minds and Umno will do with it what they want. They deceive the people and leave the rest of us biting the mud.

Umno caught between getting the non-Malay votes and increasing their appeal to the Malays use their outsource vehicle, Perkasa to create a perception of the Malays losing out to the non Malays because the Malays are split. 

The reality is both the Malay and non-Malay people are losing out to the Umno leaders and their non Malay elite accomplices as they use this perception to delude the people and walk off with the loot. No one really listens to this truth, they think it is distorted for personal agendas. This is a refined deceit-making machine that we are up against.

On this count Umno has improved over the gangsters, recognising they have to operate within a community of nations and have to be seen to be in accord with norms of civilisation. They worry about how they will be perceived, they need to legitimise their position, the gangster does not have to.

So, except for this last point there is really not much difference between gangsters running this country and Umno running this country. Umno is nothing short of being dignified gangsters. This truth may look far- fetched, but you think about what I have said, deeply. Just think about it.

If you agree, then do not be the person Umno, the gangster wants you to be, the meek and powerless person. Look at what is happening in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen. When all the people get together, the empire crumbles, because the true sovereign is the people united. We have to move out and into the light, to a future based on competence, not on force.

The people have to get out from the grips of gangsters.

By Naragan

Interlok: Umno’s subjudicationist and racist agenda against the Indian poor

Umno’s insistence on retaining Interlok after all the public outcry and allowing only 19 out of 106 proposed amendments is akin to proposing the editing of Satanic Verses and lifting its ban in Malaysia.
 

What is the motive for still being adamant on retaining this book if not for Umno’s racist and supremacist agenda in continuing to subjudicate especially the Indian poor?

It is in direct contravention of Articles 8 and 12 of the Federal Constitution which guarantees equality before the law and that there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the grounds only of religion, race, descent or place of birth.

We are unable to accept the book whose original version had the racially insulting and derogatory and degressive “paria” word, “dark skinned Indians”, “memamah sireh seperti kambing”, etc. as the racist basis and thereafter retaining the remaining parts in the book for example replacing “paria” with “golongan yang sama”.

The Umno education minister by accepting a mere 20% or 19 out of the 106 amendments proposed by the Interlok panel makes a mockery of the said independent panel. The three Indian representatives were, as usual, ultimately made use of to endorse Umno’s racism.

The lesson yet again learnt from this is that the Indian elite should in future refrain from accepting such “Indian mandore” positions.

We once again call for Interlok to be replaced by the Nov 25, 2007 Hindraf Rally novel by P Uthayakumar (see www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com).

It analyses amongst others the real racial and religious harmony and co-existence that existed even immediately after independence 54 years ago, and which has today regretfully ceased to exist, and the gross acts of Umno racism that led to Nov 25 Indian poor popular uprising.

Also in the hope that the present Form Five Malay, Muslim students in particular, as the future leaders would be able to better understand and hopefully undo the gross injustices meted out to especially the Malaysian Indian poor.

Irrespective, HRP and Hindraf will continue with our struggle beyond Interlok which is really Umno racism on a day to basis meted out against the Indian poor.

Our latest firm and uncompromising stand against Umno racism and religious supremacy is evidenced by the 53 Hindraf Makkal Sakthi human rights defenders being maliciously prosecuted within one week of this month alone.

They are the only human rights activists in the world to have ever been prosecuted for merely being a member of a human rights NGO. Over 300 were arrested on Feb 27, Hindraf rally alone (123 or 109 plus the 14 candle light vigillers officially acknowledged by police).

By P Uthayakumar

Pro tem secretary general

Human Rights Party

Interlok: Time to make a stand

As the drama over the Interlok textbook issue continues to unfold, it is important for Malaysians to understand the context and the stakes involved, and to make a stand.
There are some defenders of the book who have argued that withdrawing or even just editing it will rob Malaysian writers of their artistic freedom and integrity. To these people, I would like to say “hello, where have you been” – Interlok has already been edited twice, in 2005 for Edisi Pelajar and in 2010 for Edisi Murid. Its literary integrity was already compromised by the shedding of some 85 pages even before this latest controversy.

In fact, copyright for the edition distributed free to schools no longer belongs even to Abdullah Hussain but to Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.

Hence Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s statement that his ministry “will ensure that any amendments made will not affect the storyline of the novel and the noble message that the author wants to convey” is nothing short of whitewash. According to reports, Muhyiddin is not permitting anything beyond deletion of the word ‘pariah’.
This concession is like slicing off one tentacle from a hundred-headed hydra – a totally pointless exercise. Make no mistake; Interlok is a work that must not be permitted into the nation’s class rooms as a compulsory literature text. Anything less is a vital failure to grasp the gravity of the threat it poses.

The quarrel is not merely with vocabulary or spelling (for example, of ‘tali’ vs ‘thali’) but the overall suitability of the novel with its overt and covert racial messages as a school text.

Starting ‘em young and younger

Concern by many Malaysians that Interlok has been intentionally selected by the authorities to fulfill the Umno/Biro Tata Negara objective of indoctrinating young minds with a warped worldview and national view is hardly misplaced.

Before these concerns are dismissed as imaginary or overwrought, let us not forget that education has long been and continues to be the most politicized sector of the country. Far from being neutral institutions, many of our public sector colleges and universities consciously and consistently promote a narrow nationalism.

It is in the educational sector where proponents of the Ketuanan Melayu dogma have sought to impose their will and polarize our communities.

Their missionary zeal focuses on use of race-based criteria at all levels and in all aspects. It is no surprise therefore that the propagation of the ideology of super-ordination and subordination has now been extended to the schools, and to the curriculum and text books.
As has been pointed out by those who have analysed the Interlok content, why are all the villains and nasty characters Chinese and Indians? One of the key plots turns on the rapacious Chinese merchant swindling the easily duped Malay of his inheritance.

Touted as a ‘historical novel’, Interlok is constructing a version of BTN history and racial stereotypes to influence young minds. Its government-mandated and authorities-supported dissemination and circulation appears to further a carefully thought-out agenda to fan racial animosity.

Drawing line in the sand

Because Interlok is the first round battle (in tandem with the History curriculum revamp), it is important for conscientious objectors to send a strong signal to the Education Minister and his bureaucratic and academic cronies that Malaysians will not be cowed into acquiescence.

We must exercise our right to openly discuss, criticize and protest on this crucial matter. To remain mute will only embolden the apologist wolves wrapped in their sheep clothing of educational good intention and defense of literary freedom.






by Dr Lim Teck Ghee 
Director for CPI

PRESS STATEMENT- HINDRAF RESPONSE TO MUHIDIN YASSIN

PRESS STATEMENT

The audacity of the Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to purportedly close the INTERLOK issue with the support from their toothless allies goes to show the impunity that the UMNO fascist government reigns  with an iron fist against the sensitivity and feelings of the minorities.

In essence, the Deputy Premier encourages such segregation of its citizenry by imbibing such sardonic literature into the school curriculum for the juveniles.

Such blatant lies that is being disseminated by UMNO media tools such as the Utusan Malaysia and Malay Mail is a clear indication on the political direction of UMNO to maintain their status quo in creating the Master and Slave methodology between the Malay supremacies and fanatics towards the minorities.

All reasoning, logic and concern that had been brought forward by various non partisan and non political organizations have been totally ignored and shot down to ensure that artificial concept of “Ketuanan Melayu” over the minorities is entrenched in the juvenile stages of the youngsters similar to the civil service with the BTN ideology. 

By planting, seeding and enhancing racism through juveniles amongst Malaysians, the UMNO government is steadfast in enhancing its radical, unreasonable “Ketuanan Melayu” nationalism political ideology through public policies for its Malay supremacy and fascist mindset to continue in perpetuity.

There is nothing much to be expected from the toothless allies of UMNO who waits for the bones thrown to them but rather the public who need to rise against such outright and blatant disregard for the feelings of the minorities whose ancestors had broken their bones to ensure that Malaysia is today what it is because of their sacrifice and contribution to ensure that their future generations amongst the majority will prosper in tandem rather than being hijacked by a racist and fascist UMNO agenda.

INTERLOK is not a closed chapter, but a chapter that needs every Malaysian to look into their conscience and question for their peers why do we need racism and fascism amongst us for the benefit of such moronic like the UMNO elites and their stooges.

INTERLOK is a bludgeoning hammer into the aspiration of our forefathers and more particularly into our pride and dignity.

We, at HINDRAF are not going to allow this “Interlok” to be closed but will work with the public to continue to pressure for this literature to be withdrawn ultimately.  

“Rights not Mercy”

Thank you

P. Waytha Moorthy

Chairman

HINDRAF

by S. Jayathas

HRP

“SOLIDARITY MARCH AGAINST UMNO’S RACISM” featured prominently in the Indian Media

Volume 28 – Issue 06 :: Mar. 12-25, 2011
INDIA’S NATIONAL MAGAZINE
from the publishers of THE HINDU

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WORLD AFFAIRS
A protest aborted

P.S. SURYANARAYANA
The racist tenor of a novel, to be included in school curriculum, rankles ethnic Indians, but the government thwarts a protest.

LAI SENG SIN/AP
Members of the Hindu Rights Action Force at a rally against racism in Kuala Lumpur on February 27.

THE detention of more than 100 human rights activists in Kuala Lumpur on February 27 may not have caught much international attention amid the political ferment across the Arab world. However, the relevant issue at stake in Malaysia is nothing less than a public allegation of “racism” or “racist overtones” against the country’s minorities.

Significantly, the Malaysian authorities acted with considerable restraint in dealing with the protest planned by the activists, almost all of whom belong to the minority ethnic Indian community. Not only that, even before the protest was nipped in the bud the Malaysian government headed by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, who prides himself on his “1Malaysia” policy, announced that it would look into the issues at stake.

In particular focus is a controversial novel Interlok, written in Malay, the language of the Muslim-majority Malays in the multiracial South-East Asian country. The education authorities have been trying to introduce Interlok (or “Interlock” in English), in the high school curriculum. Leading the protest against this move is the outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF), a maverick but educated and proactive group at the forefront of efforts to create a new and modern identity for Malaysian Indians. 

The protest march planned for February 27 was given advance publicity, with HINDRAF even internationalising the issue to some extent by alerting several worldwide human rights groups. It was to have been led by P. Uthayakumar, pro tem leader of the Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRPM), which straddles a grey area of the law by being an organisation that has been neither registered or accredited nor outlawed formally. In any case, in the eyes of HINDRAF, Uthayakumar, as its founder, was the right person to launch the protest.

However, Uthayakumar was arrested outside his residence when he was about to proceed to the venue of the protest. Other would-be protesters were also taken into custody at different places across Kuala Lumpur, including the points of entry into the city from elsewhere in Malaysia. As a result, the protest march did not take place, but there was no outbreak of violence.

The Malaysian authorities treated the protest call as an “illegal” act ab initio because the police had rejected a relevant application on the grounds of avoiding interracial tensions. HINDRAF’s counterpoint, though, was that Malaysia’s federal Constitution guaranteed the freedom of assembly and expression of peaceful protest.

After the arrests, even as HINDRAF tried to keep the issue in focus, the Malaysian authorities thanked non-governmental organisations of ethnic Indian origin for prevailing upon the minority community to avoid street demonstrations. The NGOs were also credited with counselling ethnic Indians to get the primary issue addressed through democratic dialogue with the relevant authorities.

As such a largely unnoticed battle for the moral high ground was on between the Malaysian authorities and HINDRAF, some of the latter’s activists began a vigil outside a police station in Kuala Lumpur where Uthayakumar was believed to have been detained. On the whole, the situation remained firmly under the authorities’ control, and the detained HINDRAF activists, including Uthayakumar, were set free, some of them on bail. However, HINDRAF maintained that the supporters who kept vigil were detained in a fresh action late on the night of February 27.

Surely, these events bore none of the hallmarks of the latest political maelstrom in West Asia. However, familiar norms such as “people’s voice” and “political change”, or some variants of these principles, are acquiring new meanings or interpretations in several countries outside the Arab world. The political ferment in the Arab countries may have either inspired or simply provided, as in the case of Malaysia, a topical context for such a new awareness in these countries. But the issues at stake in Malaysia are obviously far different from those in West Asia or in China, where the authorities, coincidentally, went on a security alert in Beijing and Shanghai on February 27 following some mysterious Internet calls for “protest”.

Malaysia, which is marginally coming into focus in this new-wave politics across the world, is already an upscale developing country with a strong track record of overall stability at home and reliability as an international player. The country has at least two very distinctive minorities to cater to – Chinese immigrants and ethnic Indians. 

Since its independence, Malaysia has functioned under a “social contract” centred on power sharing among some political parties in an invariable ruling coalition called the National Front. Each of its constituent parties traces its roots to and derives its daily sustenance from a distinctive social group – the majority Malay-Muslims or one of the other native communities or the ethnic Chinese or the people of Indian origin.

Until the advent of HINDRAF a few years ago, the political space in this minority domain was dominated almost entirely by the long-established Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC). As a key component of successive National Front governments led by the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) at the federal level, the MIC is still a formidable force despite some latent challenges to its primacy from within the ethnic Indian spectrum.

The ethnic Indian community is often seen as a distinctive group with “external” cultural practices and social mores. However, today’s Malaysian Indians, with no political link whatsoever with India, do not wish to be seen or treated in that fashion or in that fashion alone. They do not wish to be regarded as merely the descendants of Indians who were brought from southern India by the British to work on plantations. This aspect of the Malaysian Indian identity, variously seen by the “new leaders” of the community itself and by some sections of the wider society in Malaysia, is at the heart of the latest unease, if not also large-scale unrest, among ethnic Indians there.

Closely linked to HINDRAF, with regard to a number of agendas and activities, is the as-yet-unregistered HRPM. HINDRAF is led by Waytha Moorthy, who chose self-imposed exile after playing a leading role in organising, in Kuala Lumpur in November 2007, a much-noticed public protest against the alleged “marginalisation” of Malaysian Indians in national and provincial fields. The Malaysian authorities outlawed HINDRAF after a detailed political analysis of the movement following the November 2007 protest, which captured unusual international attention.

The HRPM, on the other hand, has “aspirations” of catalysing “political reforms” through an advocacy of human rights for all Malaysians, but more especially for ethnic Indians. HINDRAF was founded as an NGO to work for ethnic-Indian causes in Malaysia. Uthayakumar, along with other HINDRAF protagonists such as V. Ganapathi Rao (also known as Ganabathi Rau) and M. Manoharan of the Democratic Action Party, was detained under Malaysia’s Internal Security Act in the wake of the November 2007 protest.

Over the years, HINDRAF has been widely criticised in Malaysia, including in the ethnic Indian circles such as those of the MIC, for advocating what could easily be dismissed as a sectarian agenda. HINDRAF has not so far evoked the kind of political resonance its leaders have been looking for in India, where the secular credo, in name and deed, often dominates the political landscape. Aware of this, Uthayakumar sought to place HINDRAF on the map of overseas Indians at the recent Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held in New Delhi.

Conceding that the words “Hindu” and “Action Force” in HINDRAF’s name might not hold any appeal for the secular conscience of the Indian polity, Waytha Moorthy and others who share his line of thinking argue that exclusivist labels are not at all uncommon in Malaysian politics. Moreover, HINDRAF is aware that New Delhi considers the issues concerning ethnic Indians to be entirely Malaysia’s internal matter. Successive Malaysian Prime Ministers have also maintained this and acknowledged India’s attitude of non-intervention.

Within these parameters, Malaysian Indians ought to be, in Waytha Moorthy’s view, concerned about the totality of the “racist” tenor of Interlok. Outlining HINDRAF’s position on this issue, he told Frontlinethat it would not suffice if some offensive “racist” words were deleted from the novel before its planned introduction as a textbook in schools. In his view, the tenor of the entire novel itself was unacceptable.

SAEED KHAN/AFP

RIOT POLICE WAIT and watch on the premises of a police station as dozens of ethnic Indians (not seen in the photograph) march to file their complaint against the arrest of HINDRAF activists.

While it will be inappropriate to reproduce passages from the novel considered to have “racist” overtones since a review of it is pending, Interlok is said (or alleged) to portray, in some passages, aspects of the lives and experiences of those who spoke Tamil or Telugu or Malayalam in the Malaya heartland during the British colonial era. In part, HINDRAF’s argument is that such passages might produce negative images for the present.

There are said to be passages derogatory of the ethnic Chinese, as well. But the Chinese have not made common cause with HINDRAF. Another debatable point is whether HINDRAF should have waited for the government’s review of the novel before planning a protest.

Far-fetched though it is, the resonance of the Arab anger in Asia cannot be missed.

by Naragan

HRP

If Interlok stays, MIC should leave

MIC should pull out from the Barisan Nasional coalition if the controversial Interlok novel is not removed from the school syllabus, said an Indian business group today.

Malaysian Indian Business Association (Miba) president P Sivakumar said if the Cabinet resolved to retain the book despite MIC’s strong protest, it would be nothing short of disrespect.

“Following yesterday’s meeting between Indian reps and Education Ministry officials, the Indian community is waiting to see if MIC is powerful enough to remove the book,” he told FMT.

“The decision to remove the book should have been made the moment MIC objected to show respect to the BN’s long-term component party.

“MIC president G Palanivel repeatedly aired his dissatisfaction, he was inflexible in his stand and the BN leadership should have heeded this,” he added.

Take legal action

Sivakumar also urged MIC’s central working committee member S Vell Paari to make good on his threat to take legal action if the Interlok novel was allowed to remain in the syllabus.

“He should proceed with the court action if the Cabinet decides otherwise, the Indian community is very angry and something must be done about it,” he added.

Last week, Vell Paari said he was considering filing a writ of mandamus to compel the Education Ministry to remove the book.

The Interlok novel had been incorporated for the Malay literature subject for Form Five students starting this year.

MIC and other Indian groups said the book, penned by national laureate Abdullah Hussain in 1971, contained inaccurate facts about the community and used the disparaging term “pariah” (outcaste).

However, certain quarters like the National Writers Federation (Gapena) defended the book, and rejected the calls for amendments to be made.

Meanwhile, Sivakumar said apart from the offensive term “pariah”, the author had also made baseless sweeping generalisations about the Indians.

“It is strange that educated groups like Gapena can defend such offensive words. Does the organisation want to see students taunting each other and getting involved in fights because of this?

“Is this how a responsible institution like Gapena hopes to promote racial unity?” he added.

Ban the novel

In another development, several Indian-based NGOs urged the Education Ministry to ban the Interlok novel, failing which, they said, they will take to the streets to protest.

 

The NGOs – represented by well known names such as the Malaysian Indian Students Association (MISA), Malaysian Indian Youth Council (MIYC), Tamil Youth Bell Club, Malaysian Indian Wellfare Association, Malaysian Indian Youth Wellfare Association and others – have given the minister one week to impement the ban on the controversial novel.

MISA president G Kishur told a press conference that the contents of the novel could be misconstrued by students as it was being used as a school text.

He added that the teaching methods implemented by teachers for the novel could be subjective and will involve individual opinions, emotions and perceptions of teachers.

“This could lead to cases of racism in schools,” he added.

A representative from MIYC, Reghu Devan Lopez, meanwhile slammed the Malaysian Youth Council (MYC) over its support for the novel.

He explained that MYC’s stand did not reflect the stand of its members, adding that only three associations under the umbrella body supported the novel.

by RK Anand & B Nantha Kumar

MIC silent as Speaker throws out Pakatan's Interlok motion

The Interlok issue is still burning hot among the Indians but the amazing thing is that MIC has not voiced out their objections on this matter, accused Pakatan Rakyat parliamentarians.

DAP MP for Teluk Intan M Manogaran raised the Interlok issue for debate in the august House today, but it was rejected by the Speaker on the basis that although it was specific and of public interest, it was not urgent.

 

At a press conference in the Parliament lobby, Pakatan leaders Sim Tong Hin, Charles Santiago, M Manogaran and Nizar Jamaluddin expressed disappointment at the Speaker's high-handedness.

They also slammed the MIC for remaining silent and not appealing to the Speaker for the subject to be raised.

Referring to the recent Kuala Kubu Baru incident where 3 students were questioned for 10 hours at a police station for returning the Interlok novel to the school principal, they accused the MIC of being under Umno's thumb.

According to them,  MIC MP for Hulu Selangor P Kamalanathan even instructed the students to apologise to the school principal instead of demanding an apology from the principal and the police.

"I am really surprised that the MIC MP could resort to such a move.  Where is his voice in this matter?" Manogaran told Malaysia Chronicle.

Support undeserved

The novel, while telling a story of a past era in the 1920s, contains a reference to the Indians as "pariah". It has riled the community but despite the animosity, Prime Minister Najib Razak has refused to order the book be dropped from schools' reading lists.

Nizar, the PAS MP for Bukit Gantang, told Malaysia Chronicle that there are other more suitable books that could be used as Literature text and suggested 'Ranjau Sepanjang Jalan'.  According to him, this book was used in schools in the olden days right up to the late 1980s.

Nizar also questioned the motive of the Education Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin in allowing this book to be used as Form 5 Literature text, when students' minds were still impressionable.

"This issue has dragged on long enough. The government keeps saying that a panel has been set up to look into it each time this topic is being brought up and they have been giving that answer since the dawn of time, but till now, there has been no concrete solution.  It is always the same old answer: 'a panel has been set up to look into it'," lambasted Nizar.

"It is amazing that MIC has allowed UMNO to bully them into silence, acquiescence and obscurity.  MIC always proclaims that they are the only ones who can champion the cause of the Indians but their silence shows otherwise. Have MIC washed their hands off this matter?  Is MIC so fearful and so subservient to UMNO that they let UMNO treat them in such a way?"

As the book also portrays the Chinese in a bad light, the Pakatan leaders also asked where was the MCA?

 

"It is forbidden in Islam to ridicule another race and PAS never does that," added Nizar.

The Pakatan leaders also said it was poignant to note that the Indian vote started to return to BN at the point of the Hulu Selangor by-election when the community gave strong support to Kamalanathan, yet this was how he and the MIC repaid them.

by  Selena Tay

Malaysia Chronicle

Interlok and "orang India garang": Cops grill pupils for 10 hrs

Three Form Five students were taken to the Kuala Kubu Baru district police headquarters and traumatised by being questioned for 10 hours - all for wanting to return the novel Interlok to their headmaster last Friday.

Initially, seven SMK Kuala Kubu Baru students, who wanted to return the book because they were not happy with its contents, were stopped by a discipline teacher who allegedly abused them verbally.

“All seven of us we were walking calmly towards the headmaster's room when our discipline teacher stopped us and started making comments at us, which hurt our feelings,” said one of the students, who was with four others at the Human Rights Party headquarters today.

According to the student, the discipline teacher said the students were purposely creating problems because of their race.

The teacher reportedly said, “Kenapa orang India garang? India memang suka rosakkan nama sekolah. Keling memang dasar pariah sejak sejarah lagi” (Why are the Indians so fierce? Indians really like to tarnish the school's name. The keling have been pariahs since historical times).

Orang India garang

The students were not able to return the novel as the teacher told them to disperse immediately.

Yesterday, while the students were in school, the head of the parent-teacher association, Baktiar Md Rashid, who is also a police officer, took three of them to the police station for questioning, without the consent of their parents.

P Gomathi, 42, the mother of one of the students, said she was angry that her son was taken to the station without her presence or permission.

“My son did not commit any crime. He just wanted to return a book that he didn't enjoy reading.

"Instead he was humiliated and taken to the balai like some kind of hardcore criminal, in a patrol car,” she said, adding that the school authorities did not inform her about this.

The novel Interlok, written by national laureate Abdullah Hussein, made headlines recently as critics have argued that it portrays the Indian and Chinese communities in a bad light.

There have been protests against the book since the Education Ministry's decision to use Interlok as a compulsory textbook in secondary schools. This is the first case of students being taken to a police station and questioned over the book.

Malaysiakini

HRP to turn to international lobbying to highlight 'Umno's racism'

Condemning the Umno-led government for what it alleges is hypocrisy, Human Rights Party coordinator S Jayathas pledged to fight both in peaceful assemblies on the streets and in the courtrooms against intimidation "until racism was completely wiped out" in Malaysia.
He told Malaysia Chronicle the party will soon be appealing to the High Court to set aside charges pressed against 53 of its members for taking part in an anti-racism protest that the BN government alleges was organized by Hindraf, a movement that has become illegal since its 2008 ban.
“We will appeal under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution that guarantees Malaysian citizens the freedom to form societies,” said Jayathas.

International lobbying

Jayathas insist that the HRP members had participated in the rally as members of Hindraf Makkal Sakhti, a new NGO that they have applied to be registered with the Registrar of Societies and not as members of the outlawed Hindraf.
HRP is an off-shot of the outlawed Hindu Rights Action Party or Hindraf. It has also applied to be a political party but has yet to obtain the go-ahead from the Registrar.
The 53 members hauled up by the police have been released on bail of between RM1,700 to RM 8,000 each. The money was paid through HRP’s funding obtained from public donations.

HRP also plans to fight Umno's alleged racism through the use of international lobbying to the UK House of Commons, European Parliament Subcommittee on Human Rights, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and others international bodies.
During the anti-racism rally on Feb 27 at KLCC, police launched a massive and allegedly unnecessarily harsh crackdown. 109 protesters were arrested in a bid to stamp out the revolt.

The Indian community has long protested about its shrinking human rights and the government's refusal to allot it a fair share of the economic pie. It is also unhappy that its vernacular schools have been denied sufficient funding.
Lately, the community was also upset by the Education ministry's refusal to remove a controversial book Interlok from schools' syllabus. The books contains a reference to the Indian community as "pariah".





by  New Jo-Lyn

Malaysia Chronicle