Introduction
Malaysia is a multi-ethnic and
multi-cultural society, where Malays and indigenous groups (Orang Asli,
Sabahans and Sarawakians etc.), who are defined as Bumiputera (sons
of the soil), comprise 67 per cent of the population.
By constitutional definition, all
Malays are Muslims and speak the Malay language. They dominate national
politics, administrative and other governmental jobs.
About a quarter of the population
consists of Malaysians of Chinese descent, a group which historically has played
a significant role in the field of trade and business.
Malaysians of Indian descent comprise
7.3per cent of the population, and include Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians
and Muslims.
Malaysia has one of the largest
communities of peoples of Indian origin in the world outside the subcontinent,
numbering about two million.
The overwhelming numbers are of South
Indian origin; predominantly Tamil-speaking and a significant number speak
Telugu, Malayalam, Hindi and Punjabi. Indians began migrating to Malaysia in
the latter part of the 19th Century, when India was under British rule, to work
as indentured labourers in plantations.
Although Indians arrived in Malaysia
a century ago, many of their descendants still lack formal status. As stated
earlier, ethnic Indians comprise nearly eight per cent of the Malaysian
population, but they suffer from an inability to obtain their proper
citizenship and other basic documents.
This lack of proper documents has
rendered generations of Hindus in Malaysia stateless.
Lacking basic documentation, many
ethnic Indians do not have formal education and are unable to seek legal
employment or cast a ballot. In addition to this, the stateless Hindus in
Malaysia are treated as second class citizens or more appropriately, they
have been deprived of citizenship of the country in which they were born by the
Malaysian government.[ii]
Despite most Indians being here for
three or four generations, they are now emerging as the new underclass with
relatively high levels of hardcore poverty as a large section of Malaysian
Indians share less than 1.6 percent of the country’s wealth.[iii]
According to the Federal Constitution
of Malaysia, a child born in the country becomes a citizen by operation of law
only if one parent is a citizen or permanently resides in Malaysia at the time
of his or her birth or if he or she “is not born a citizen of any country.”
Article 14 of the Federal
Constitution, Second Schedule, Part 2, reads:
Citizenship by operation of law of
persons born on or after Malaysia Day,(1)(a) “every person born within the
Federation of whose parents one at least is at the time of the birth either a
citizen or permanently resident in the Federation,“ (e) “every person born
within the Federation who is not born a citizen of any country.”[iv]
In the present scenario this Article
does not seem to apply on the Malaysians of Indian origin.
In spite of being in the country for
more than a century and contributing to the development of the country, Indians
have not received their due.
This paper attempts to highlight the
age old discrimination and injustice suffered by Indians in Malaysia. It also
explores long recognised human rights problems within Malaysia, and also seeks
to shed light upon less well-known patterns of discrimination within the
country.
This paper will explicitly state the
fundamental reasons for the malicious discrimination of the Malaysian
government against Indians in the so-called multi-cultural and pluralistic
nation. In addition, this paper will address the grievances of Indians in
Malaysia coupled with the testimonials of the stateless Hindus in Malaysia.
Lastly, this paper will document the
agitations and protests of Indians against the hegemony of the Malaysian
government against them.
History of Indians in Malaysia
To reiterate, Indians in Malaysia
comprise 7.8 percent or 1.8 million of the 23 million total population.
For several generations, the Indian
community resided in rural areas, especially in the rubber and palm oil estates
managed by large plantation companies. These plantation companies not only
provided them with jobs but also took care of their social and cultural needs—housing,
school, temples and healthcare.
In 1970, 47 percent of the Indians
were engaged in agriculture of which 74 percent were in the plantation sector.
However, due to the rapid industrialization program undertaken by the
government, many of these estates were developed into industrial, commercial
and residential areas.
Employment in rubber plantations
declined from 163,577 in 1979 to 11,788 in January 2006. From 1980 to 2000, it
is estimated that more than 300,000 Indians were displaced due to this sort of
industrial development.
The magnitude of Indian displacement
from rural plantation areas to urban areas can be seen from the official
reports. In 1970, 323,435 Indian (34 per cent) were in the urban areas and
609,194(65.3 per cent) in rural areas.However, by 2000, 1.33 million Indians
(79.7) were in urban areas while 341,622 (20.3 per cent) continued to live in
the rural areas.
Reasons for the Stateless Situation of Hindus in Malaysia
These people are by birth Malaysians,
but due to their lack of knowledge and awareness of the importance of the
documents that prove their citizenship, they are now in a state of limbo as
their citizenship status is uncertain and they are at the mercy of the
authorities who could due to bureaucratic reasons deny them their citizenship
and thereby all the rights that flow from it.
It is sad that in this day and age,
there are many people who are not aware of important basic facts, such as how
to register a marriage, birth or death. One of the other reasons for this issue
is the refusal of some people to own up to their responsibility when the child
is born out of wedlock.
In other cases, the non-registration
happened because some parents did not register their child’s birth within the
prescribed 14-days mandatory period or after that because of the fear of being
fined or reprimanded by the National Registration officials.
Similarly, because they are
illiterate or lack education, they are unable to converse fluently in Bahasa
Malaysia. As a result, they are unable to communicate effectively with
government officials and face difficulty in understanding their bureaucratic
procedures and requirements. Therefore, they are often subject to rude
treatment by these officials which causes them to be demoralised and give up
their efforts to complete their application. This has led to serious problems
for these poor Hindus and the cycle of “quasi statelessness” repeats itself
after their children grow up and start families.[v]
Some Statistics
There are various views on the number
of the stateless Hindus in Malaysia. For some, the figures soar as high as
300,000 while for others, it is estimated to be below 12,000.[vi]
Official government estimates say
40,000 ethnic Indians. Equally, the descendants of Indians who arrived in
Malaysia to work on plantations a century ago do not have birth certificates or
identity cards. Activists say that the number is much higher.
For example, N.Surendran (MP for
Padang Serai) and his Pakatan coalition have claimed at least 300,000
Malaysian Indians have been cut out of the nation’s economic, social and
educational systems due to “systemic neglect” by the BN federal government and
its refusal to issue proper papers and citizenship documents to this group of
people.[vii]
HINDRAF (Hindu Rights Action Force)
has on many occasions stated that there is an estimated 450,000 Malaysian-born
Hindus that have been rendered stateless as they have been denied citizenship
status by the Malaysian government.
According to the Population and
Housing Census of Malaysia 2010, there are 2,320,779 non-Malaysian citizens
residing in Malaysia. However the general perception that is put out is that
this huge number consists of nothing but foreign workers from Indonesia,
Bangladesh, etc. In reality it is suspected that this figure of 2.3 million
also includes a large number of Malaysian-born but stateless Hindus.
Dr Paraman in his paper ‘The number
games:Stateless Hindus in Malaysia’ expresses concern that a large number of
Malaysians of Indian origin have been deprived of their right to citizenship
despite their being entitled to it by virtue of their birth in Malaysia.
Quoting HINDRAF estimates, he cites a
figure of 450,000 Malaysian-born Indians “who have been rendered stateless as
they have been denied citizenship status by the Malaysian Government.”[viii]
Another interesting fact with regard
to this issue is that Malaysia has a staggering 2.5 percent of the
total stateless population of the world.[ix]
The UNHCR estimated that there were
40,000 stateless individuals in peninsular Malaysia alone, in addition to
approximately 92,943 refugees and 15,393 asylum seekers. The UNHCR estimated
there were more than 10,000 children of the roughly 80,000 Filipino workers in
Sabah without birth documentation who are technically stateless.[x]These numbers are not just reflections of the
stateless Indian population in Malaysia, but they also mirror the precarious
situation of Hindus in Malaysia without citizenship.
The Gruesome Reality of Statelessness of Hindus in Malaysia
The long standing issue of
undocumented Hindus still exists in the Malaysian society and the hundreds of
thousands alleged to be stateless have been deprived of their rights and basic
necessities.
For example, stateless people are
barred from schools; marriages cannot be registered; they are ineligible to
obtain a passport or driver’s license; they cannot open a bank account and are
denied voting rights.
Without a passport they cannot leave
the country, resulting in them being stuck here, and living in poverty because
they cannot get jobs without a MyKad (the compulsory identity document for
Malaysian citizens aged 12 and above). Currently, a child is eligible to be a
Malaysian citizen only if he/she can prove that one of their parents is a
Malaysian citizen. Sometimes it is difficult because most Indians living in
former estates like to give birth at home and thus fail to register the birth
of the child.Without a birth certificate, the child will not have an identity
card and prove that he was born in Malaysia.
These undocumented stateless Hindus
cannot even fall back on hospital records as proof because they were born at
home.
Also, without being able to register
their marriages, babies born will not be eligible for a Malaysian citizenship
too, due to their unknown parentage. The law further states that babies
conceived out of the first marriage only are eligible for Malaysian
citizenship.
If a man chooses to marry a few women
and starts a family with them, children from the second marriage onwards cannot
be registered as citizens, by law. Currently, only a few of undocumented Hindus
who meet this criterion and who have been constantly fighting for a MyKad have
been given a green MyKad, which comes with an expiry date.
Holders of the green identity card are
not entitled to most benefits like healthcare and cannot contribute to the
Employees Provident Fund (EPF) or SOCSO (social security organization).
Often, the cards that are issued have
a five-year expiration date which has to be renewed. Meanwhile, there are also
some cards which only last for a few months or a few weeks.
Currently the NRD (National
Registration Department) is invoking Article 19 of the Federal Constitution
(which refers to foreigners) on Malaysia-born Hindus. Article 19, which is used
for foreigners who want to get citizenship in Malaysia, requires the
applicant to sit for Malay language tests and show proof of residence here for
a required period of time. In addition, most stateless Hindus who have been
denied entry to schools due to missing identity cards are illiterate and cannot
read or write in Malay, let alone sit for the Malay language test for
citizenship.
Testimonials of stateless Hindus in Malaysia
P Subramaniam
Hiding out in friends’ houses a
few times a week seems to be the norm for the stateless P Subramaniam, who in
the eyes of the law is labeled an illegal immigrant, although he was born and
brought up in Malaysia.
Every evening, he dreads going home
to his low-cost apartment in Jalan Kinrara 6, as the thought of police raids
for illegal immigrants repetitiously plays on his mind.
“I’m so scared to go home. I’ve been
caught numerous times before and when I can’t produce my MyKad, they ask me for
money,” he said. The 29-year-old gardener often forks out between RM 30 to RM
100 from his daily earnings just so he wouldn’t be arrested and put in jail.
For over two decades, his fight for a
Malaysian citizenship never stopped but all his struggles were in vain, as till
date Subramaniam still remains a stateless Hindu.Firstly, he doesn’t have
records to prove he is born in Malaysia, as the hospital he thought he was born
at didn’t have any data on him.
There weren’t any records on him
being born in any of the hospitals, making it almost impossible for him to get
a MyKad. However, his struggles did not end there, as growing up, Subramaniam
could not get into schools without a MyKad and was denied a chance of a proper
education. Being an adult did not make it any easier, as getting a job without
a MyKad or work permit was close to impossible.
Rani Sukalingam
Abandoned by her parents at birth and
raised by villagers at a former estate in Sepang has left the 52-year-old Rani
Sukalingam growing up without a proper identity.
“I don’t really know who I am or who
my parents are. I don’t even have proof I was born here because I was born at a
home and not a hospital,” she said.
The mother of two explained that the
estate she was born in was cleared when she was about six years old to make way
for the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA).
They were then forced to move out and
most of the villagers had no choice but to look for a new home elsewhere. She
was then taken in by an old lady, who raised her and treated her like a
granddaughter, and moved into Kampung Taman Sri Puchong. About six years ago,
the village was also demolished to make way for development and she moved into
Pangsapuri Enggan with her children after her husband died.
“It’s not easy to live without an
identity card as I can’t get a job or even rent a house. I’m currently using a
friend’s MyKad to get a job,” she said.With the help of her friends, Rani
managed to get a job as an office cleaner for RM 700 a month.Helping her out is
her 27-year-old son, who too, does not have identification, and can only get a
job as a security guard for RM 25 per day.
“I’ve been trying to get a MyKad for
seven years, many people have also been helping me but it’s no use. If I can’t
get a MyKad, my son will have no chance to get one too,” she said.
Rani is hoping to get a MyKad for her
son so that he can get a proper job, enjoy the benefits of a citizen and have
some financial stability.
M Vijayletchumi
Trying to make an honest
living by working as a hairdresser to raise her six children was close to
impossible for M Vijayletchumi who has no proper identification.“I’ve been
caught by the police a few times before and they didn’t allow me to work as
they thought I was an illegal immigrant,” said the 46-year-old.
Vijayletchumi, who was born in the
General Hospital in Kuala Lumpur, lived her younger days in Balakong and then
moved to Batu Caves after she got married.
She spent most of her life labeled as
a stateless Indian after she lost her birth certificate when she was a little
girl. Her parents, who have MyKads, were alcoholics and did not pay much
attention to her or her other two siblings, who both own birth certificates and
MyKads.
“My parents didn’t even help me apply
for a MyKad last time and when I wanted to do it I couldn’t find my birth
certificate,” she said. When she was 28, Vijayletchumi made her way to
Putrajaya to claim her rightful citizenship. She was made to fill out forms
which she could neither read nor write and the staff there did not offer her
much help either. All she was told to do was to fill in her mother’s and
father’s names in the respective columns and the rest was filled by the staff
present.
“I don’t even know what they wrote
(on the form) as I can’t read. All I know is that I didn’t get the MyKad and
went home,” she said. Even so, Vijayletchumi did not give up and is still
trying to get herself out of statelessness.
She explained that she has always
relied on her husband’s MyKad to rent a house or depend on him to be the
breadwinner of the family. But ever since he died, she had difficulties renting
a house and often cannot make ends meet as she doesn’t make enough money to
feed her family or pay her electricity or water bills. Currently, she is
working odd jobs like being a cleaner in Cyberjaya and is only paid RM34 per
day.[xi]
M Gnanapregasam
Born in 1946 in Taiping, M
Gnanapregasam is frustrated that his six attempts at gaining citizenship were
all rejected by the National Registration Department (NRD). He can only work as
a security guard.
Rajiv
Even Rajiv, who was born in 1987, did
not get any relief in his efforts to get a MyKad. Rajiv stated that
the NRD had rejected his applications five times as his birth certificate does
not carry the names of his parents. He could not sit for public examinations
and has lost out on job opportunities.
R Rajakumari
For R Rajakumari, 50, the lack of a
MyKad means living in constant fear of the police. She applied twice for her
MyKad but was rejected for failing to produce her deceased parents’ marriage
certificate. “I cannot even have children because my own marriage cannot be registered,”
the Klang-born Rajakumari stated. [xii]
Vasudevan Subramaniam
Vasudevan Subramaniam was legally
adopted by a couple when she was a year old from the government welfare home in
Johor Bharu. He did not have any legal documents. His adopted parents managed
to get his birth certificate but at the age of 12 when the parents took him to
get his identity card, Vasudevan was given a red identity card which is known
as “Permanent Residence”.
Now Vasudevan Subramaniam is 19
years. Till date he is still unable to get his citizenship. His adopted parents
have made several applications but all were rejected. Due to this, he is also
unable to apply for an International Passport to travel to overseas with his
adopted parents. Being born in Malaysia, having lived in a government welfare
home, adopted by Malaysian parents and studied in a national school but being
denied of nationality. Vasudevan Subramaniam has been classified as Stateless.
Muniammah and Family
Madam Muniammah is 60 years old. She
was born in an estate in Kuala Kubu Bharu. She does not know where her siblings
are, as she was married off at the age of 11.
Her husband was an alcoholic and did
not care for the family. Muniammah has four daughters. The husband left when
the children were still young. Muniammah tried to register the birth of her
children but failed in the effort as she herself did not have any legal
documents. Now her daughters are of the age between 30–36 years.
The worst part, however is the fact
that Muniammah’s daughters have children of their own. Which makes this family
aloneto bear the tragic distinction of having thre generations of stateless
people.[xiii]
Veeramma
The 48 year old Veerama has no birth
certificate and identity card despite having been born in Malacca. She has four
children and three grandchildren. Her 12 year old son Velan’s birth certificate
is issued as “noncitizen” and so he has been denied an identity card
(citizenship).Her husband is a Malaysian citizen and this alone should qualify
all her children to become Malaysian citizens according to the Federal
Constitution but as the HINDRAF report says,“UMNO does not work according to
the constitution and the law.”[xiv]
Political Scenario and Agitations against the Government on the Issue of
Statelessness Indians in Malaysia
Malaysia is a constitutional monarchy
which became independent from the British Empire in 1957. The parliamentary
system of government is based on the Westminster model but with significant
differences.
Since independence, Malaysia has been
governed without interruption by the Alliance Party, later renamed the National
Front or Barisan Nasional (BN), a coalition of 13 parties dominated by the
United Malays National Organisation (UMNO). The other parties are the Malaysian
Chinese Association (MCA), the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), the Malaysian
People’s Movement Party (GERAKAN), the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Parti
Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB), the Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP),
Parti Bersatu Sabah (PBS), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), Parti Bersatu
Rakyat Sabah (PBRS), the United Pasokmomogun Kadazandusun Murut Organisation
(UPKO), the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party (SPDP) and the Sarawak
People’s Party (PRS).
The Prime Minister is the leader of
the majority party in the House of Representatives and is considered to be the
most powerful political authority. Since April 2009, Najib Tun Razak has
been the Prime Minister of Malaysia – the sixth since independence.
The People’s Alliance, or Pakatan
Rakyat (PR), is the main opposition coalition.[xv] In the political scenario, the UMNO
has played a predominant role in championing the privileges of Malays on the
grounds of their indigenous status, which has seeded dissonance among sections
of non-Malays.
HINDRAF and Pakatan Rakyat have been
extensively working towards the welfare of the Indian minority in the country.
They have been particularly agitating against the statelessness of
Malaysia-born Indians.
On 25 November 2007, HINDRAF
escalated the scale of its operations to mobilise disenfranchised Malaysian
Indians to open protests on the streets of the capital, Kuala Lumpur. The
professed intention of the march was to hand a petition with 100,000 signatures
to the British monarch, via the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.[xvi]
HINDRAF deputy chairman W.Sambulingam
was commenting on the vice president of PR, Surendran’s remarks that the five
years period for Barisan Nasional (BN) to resolve the issue of stateless
Hindusas “a complete betrayal of the Indian community by the Najib/BN regime.”
“There is no basis whatsoever to take
another five years to resolve the problem. To allow stateless Malaysian Indians
to continue to suffer for many more years is inhumane, irresponsible and a
serious deprivation of their human rights.” [xvii]
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has demanded that
all stateless Hindus born in Malaysia be granted citizenship and given blue
identity cards without any further delay.This was relayed to the National
Registration Department (NRD) by PR leaders and MPs who supported the
1,000-people-strong stateless Hindus’ protest in Putrajaya on 12 December 2012.[xviii]
Pakatan Rakyat staged a protest
outside the National Registration Department (NRD) in Putrajaya on 5 Dec over
the unresolved issue of stateless Hindus in the country.“We don’t want to do
this, but our hand has been forced due to the government’s deliberate policy to
marginalize and deprive the 300,000 stateless Hindus from earning a livelihood
in this country,” he said.
Surendran also accused the government
of ordering civil servants to deny issuing identification documents to Indians,
particularly those from the lower economic strata.“This is a deliberate policy
on the part of the government to marginalize and push out Indians from
mainstream society,” he said.[xix]
Hundreds gathered at the open space
behind the Palace of Justice to participate in the 12 December protest.
Meanwhile, PKR claimed that they had registered a total of 500 people.[xx]
The NRD is responsible for ensuring
that all bona fide Malaysians are registered and issued corresponding identity
documents.“Instead of recognizing these people of Indian origin – born and bred
in Malaysia–they chose to perpetuate their statelessness by discriminating
against them and placing an unrealistic burden of proof on them to “prove”
their citizenship,” PK members claimed.
Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) have
accused Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and the National Registration Department
(NRD) of failing to protect stateless Hindus in the country. The agitation
against the statelessness of the Indian community led by PK members continues
and the numerous stateless Hindus march on the streets of Putrajaya chanting
slogans such as “Fight for rights” and “Fight for IC rights”.[xxi]
Consequences of Statelessness
It is estimated that around
40,000 Indian children in the state of Selangor alone do not have their birth
certificates. Similarly, it is estimated that at least 20,000 Indian women
do not have identity documents. These figures could be much higher if their
children are taken into account. Therefore, they become stateless in their own
country and as a result, they have been denied protection and care as a citizen
of Malaysia, and thus vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
An adult without proper documents
can’t secure a proper job or get married legally. If he or she does get married
without a marriage certificate and have children, chances are that their
children’s birth will not be registered. As a result the children are neglected
within an environment that is not suitable for living or is less favourable
than their peers.
Thus, they often lack the
opportunities for development in accordance with their age; such as the
opportunity to receive formal education, the opportunity to be safeguarded by
the national healthcare system, the opportunity to work in safe and just
positions (leading to labour exploitation), and the opportunity to legally
travel out of their residential area. These children often become targets and
fall victim to criminal gangs or enforcement officers such as the police and
RELA. Ultimately, they get trapped in a vicious cycle.[xxii]
Numerous Malaysian born Indian
children have been denied their birth certificates and identity cards even with
the consequences that they are denied and excluded from even primary school
education let alone university education, skills training, job opportunities
and even from exercising their democratic rights to vote in general elections.
Without birth certificates these children are not even allowed to enroll in
primary schools. They cannot get skills training, not allowed a place in local
universities, a good job, cannot open a bank account, cannot get a driving
license and can be arrested at any time for being an illegal immigrant.[xxiii]
Malaysia’s International Commitments
Malaysia has not joined
the following international treaties and other instruments which are relevant
to the rights to equality and non-discrimination of the stateless Hindus in the
country.
United Nations Instruments
(a)
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (1951);
(b)
Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons (1954);
(c)
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
(1965), additionally making a Declaration under its Article 14 allowing
individual complaints;
(d)
UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education (1960);
(e)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) and Optional
Protocol I to the International Covenant Civil and Political Rights (1976);
(f)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966) and
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights (2008);
(g)
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (1984) and Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and
Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (2002);
(h)
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers
and Members of Their Families (1990).[xxiv]
Government Efforts in Eradicating the
Statelessness of Hindus
(a) The Malaysian
government has taken some effort by setting up the Special Implementation Task
force on Indian Community (SITF) under the Prime Minister’s Department.
(b) SITF initiated the
MyDaftar campaign from 19 Feb – 4 Mac 2011. SITF managed to collect 14, 882
cases.
(c) The
National Registration Department has also been very cooperative in handling
thestateless issue.
(d) The Prime Minister’s
Department has also provided allocation to various NGOs to identify and assist
in eradicating this issue.
(e) The
government has launched many media campaigns in this direction.
All these efforts have been
appreciated but not much has been done in policy matters. Only with policy
amendments can the issue of stateless Hindus can resolved.[xxv]
Discrimination against Hindus in
Malaysia
“Malaysia is fond of presenting
itself as a beacon of multiculturalism, but intolerance and division are
increasingly the hallmarks of this Southeast Asian nation of just over 29
million,” a recent Time magazine article declared.
This assessment was reflected by
events in 2013, when Malaysia was marred by political turmoil and heightened
ethnic and religious tensions.[xxvi]
This section of this paper deals with
the wide array of discrimination against the stateless Hindus in Malaysia. The
discrimination suffered by Hindus is on varied grounds like racial and ethnic
inequalities, religious freedom, political rights, civil liberties, and so on.
With regard to each ground of
discrimination, this paper discusses the ways in which stateless Hindus
experience discrimination and inequality in all areas and spheres of life, including
the result of discriminatory laws, actions of state actors carrying out public
functions, exposure to discriminatory violence and discrimination in areas
such as employment, education and access to goods and services.
Once comprising 12 percent of the
population, Malaysia’s two million Indians make up less than 8 percent
of the population today.
Apart from the economic
discrimination they have suffered under Malaysia’s Bumiputera policy since
1971, a number of sensitive issues affecting the culture and religion of the
Malaysian Indians have come up.
While there does not appear to be a
bias in favour of Bumiputeras in the matter of taxation, instances are
repeatedly cited, pertaining to alleged racial discrimination against non-Bumiputer
as in many other fields including:
§ allotment of business licenses
§ closure of Tamil primary schools
§ award of government scholarships
§ granting of citizenship to Indians
§ granting of permits for taxis
§ allotment of shopping lots
§ admission to universities
§ appointment of lecturers
In 1991, the NEP was revised under
the New Development Plan (1991-2000) to achieve further development of the
Bumiputeras. The same preferential treatment of the majority Malays has
continued under the NewVision Policy (2001-2010).[xxvii]
Racial and Ethnic Inequalities
Race and ethnic relations are central
to any discussion of discrimination and inequality in Malaysia. Race and ethnic
relations have long played a key role in the politics, economy, society and
culture of Malaysia, with the preferential treatment of the Bumiputeras dating
back to the British colonial era.
The more favourable treatment of
Malays and natives of Sabah and Sarawak (collectively referred to as the
Bumiputera – “sons of the earth”) “and the legitimate interests of other
communities” became constitutionally permitted by Article 153 of the Federal
Constitution, and implemented through the New Economic Policy and subsequent
economic policies intended to “reduce and eventually eliminate the
identification of race with economic function”.
While the impact of such policies is
contested, some argue that in practice the principal beneficiaries have been a
growing ethnic Malay middle class. As a result, other ethnic groups, including
the Chinese, Indian and some indigenous communities, experience discrimination
in the fields of education, employment, housing and political participation.
Schools and universities in Malaysia
are on the whole segregated along racial lines, primarily as a result of the use of Malay as the language of instruction
in public schools. Vernacular, national-type schools and students are
disadvantaged by the unequal financial support provided by the government
which favours Malay schools and students.
Within the employment field, Malay
employees dominate the public sector as a result of affirmative action policies, and
such policies have also led to preferential treatment of Malays in the housing
sector.
The Malaysian political process is
also dominated by ethnic Malays who hold the most powerful senior leadership
positions. Non-Malay political parties have been discriminated against through,
for example, restrictions on their freedom of expression.[xxviii]
Socio-Economic Discrimination
Constituting nearly eight percent of
the population, Hindus have been adversely affected by the pro-Malay policies
(Bumiputera policies) of the regime. Although the Chinese have been affected in
apolitical sense, their economic clout has mitigated the worst effects of the
hegemonic Malay model.
Meanwhile Hindus, being
numerically small and economically weak, have to suffer the full brunt of
government policies that prioritise Malay interests.
And so, as long as Malay interests
are prioritised under this hegemonic model, it becomes very difficult for
Indians to get a fair and just chance. According to a prominent Malaysian
Indian scholar who is also Penang's 2nd Depity Chief Minister P. Ramasamy, without the necessary political
support, and in the absence of equal opportunities of development,
working-class Indians find it impossible to venture into business and other
forms of entrepreneurial activities.
Public sector tenders, contracts and
business licenses are virtually beyond the reach of ordinary Indians. Even
licenses for garbage collection and disposal are denied to Indians on the
grounds of their ethnicity.
In the Ninth Malaysian Plan report,
it was highlighted that ethnic Indians control only 1.2 percent of the
corporate wealth in Malaysia, a decline from the 1.5 percent that they
controlled previously. It is not that Indians lack the necessary
professional skill and knowledge, but it is the particular kind of racial
politics in the country that prevents them from seizing the opportunities.
Amid its social and economic
marginalization, the Indian community has faced serious challenges in the last
three decades due to major changes in the plantation sector. As mentioned
earlier, the majority of Malaysian Indians are Tamils, and about 60 percent of
them are descended from plantation workers.
As the country progressed, recording
impressive economic growth rates from the 1980s, the largely Indian plantation
resident communities were left behind, as well as becoming victims to the
overall national development.
More than three hundred thousand poor
Indian workers have been displaced after the plantations were acquired for
property and township development over
the years. after they were evicted from the plantations, these people not only
lost their jobs, but, more importantly, housing, basic amenities and
socio-cultural facilities built up over decades.
Despite the very large number of
people involved in this involuntary stream of migration from rural plantation
areas to urban areas, little or nothing was done by the authorities to provide
skills training and resettle these communities in more sustainable and improved
livelihoods.
Thus, the government’s discriminatory
policies and the horrific living conditions of the displaced community
contributed to a situation where many Indian youths have turned to illegal
activities to sustain themselves.
The following statistics collected by
various sources apparently indicate the marginalisation and deprivation of the
Indians in Malaysia in every aspect of life:
(a) Seventy percent
of the two million Indians are very poor or poor; the national average poverty
level is a mere 2.8 percent.
(b) Less than one percent
of Malaysia’s education budget goes to Indian schools, even though Indians
comprise about 8 per cent of the total population.
(c) Indians’
participation in the civil services declined from about 40 percent in 1957 to
about 2 percent in 2007.
(d) About 90 percent of
the armed forces personnel are from the majority Malay Muslims.
(e) 78 percent of
the government services are occupied by Malays, while Hindus share only four
percent.
(f) Indians
comprise 60 percent of the urban squatters and 41 percent of all beggars[xxix]
(g) 99 percent of
deserving Indian students are denied the 847,485 public university places.
Indians are excluded completely from the 120,000 university (UITM) places which
have a campus in every state.
(h) Only one overseas
government PSD (Public Service Department) Scholarship is awarded to do
medicine out of the two million Indians.
(i) Only one
medical seat is made available at the University of Malaya against a two
million Indian population in Malaysia.
(j)
Government PTPTN study loans and scholarships are denied to Indians studying
medicine, law, engineering etc overseas.
(k) 371 Tamil primary
schools with about 100, 000 Indian children are denied full government
financial assistance.
(l) 99.9
percent of deserving Indians are denied agricultural land schemes for the
hard-core poor and poor in the semi government run FELDA, FELCRA, RISDA, FAMA,
and Agropolitan in the 13 State Government Land Schemes.
(m) Indians in the civil service
today have been reduced to 1 percent from over 40 percent in 1960s.
(n) 99 percent of the
deserving Indians are denied licenses, permits, government contracts and
project business loans and opportunities.[xxx]
Political Discrimination
The picture of inequalities in
Malaysia would be strongly distorted without an understanding of discrimination
practised by its politics against Hindus.
The main patterns of political
discrimination are related to voting rights and other political participation
rights, arbitrary detention on political grounds, freedom of association and
assembly, and freedom of expression.
Given the strong alignment of
political parties with race and religion, this form of discrimination
intersects and overlaps with ethnic and/or religious discrimination and this
makes it difficult to disentangle the causal factors.
Article 10(4) of the Federal Constitution
is discriminatory on the ground of political opinion. It sets out exceptions to
freedom of speech and expression conferred under Article 10(1)(a) which are
highly political in nature and are used to restrict the activities of political
opponents of the government.
Hindus, along with other
minorities, have faced increasing religious discrimination as
the Malaysian polity becomes more Islamized.
Domestic legislation, such as the
Police Act 1967, has been enforced in a discriminatory manner so as to prevent
public assemblies by political opponents of the government. In addition to the
repression of freedom of association and assembly, the Malaysian government has
also used the Internal Security Act to detain political opponents in a
discriminatory manner. The Sedition Act, the Official Secrets Act and the
Printing Press and Publication Acts have been used to silence, intimidate and
punish critics of the government. [xxxi]
Religious Persecution
Non-Muslims represent approximately
45 percent of the population (12.5 million people) and include Buddhist,
Christian, Hindu, Sikh, and nature worshiping communities. Hindus, along
with other minorities, have faced increasing religious discrimination as
the Malaysian polity becomes more Islamized.
An appeals court decision in October
2013 upholding the ban on the use of the word “Allah” by a Catholic
newspaper epitomized this growing trend and threat to religious freedom.
Minority rights groups believe that
the ruling may have wider implications for Christians and non-Muslims, and may
be interpreted to suppress other forms of speech and activities. Significantly,
the government supported the ban purportedly to “preserve national security and
public order.” Non-Muslims and minority Muslim sects further confront a complex
series of discriminatory constitutional provisions, the expanding jurisdiction
of Shariah courts, Islamic edicts, government preference for Sunni Muslim places
of worship, and arbitrary restrictions on their religious freedom.
The Malaysian state, for instance,
places burdensome requirements on Hindu temples, which wish to bring foreign
priests and religious workers into the country. These include requiring a support
letter from a federal minister of Indian descent and mandating orientation
classes for priests conducted by the Ministry of Human Resources. Hindu
organizations, such as Malaysia Hindu Sangam, claim that such conditions are
inequitable and not required of other religions. Consequently, it has resulted
in an acute shortage of Hindu priests to serve the needs of the country’s Hindu
community.
Moreover, reports emerged in 2013 of
government schools carrying out Muslim religious rituals on school premises and
during school hours, including the slaughter of cows during the Muslim holiday
of Hari Raya Aidiladha.
The Malaysian Consultative Council of
Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Sikhism, and Taoism (MCCBCHST) alleged that
these religious activities violated the constitutional rights of non-Muslim
students, particularly Hindus, who consider cows to be sacred. The Education
Ministry, however, failed to stop the practice, despite protests from MCCBHST
and the parents of minority students.[xxxii]
Religious persecution has been a
formidable source of marginalization of the people of Indian origin in
Malaysia. In the last couple of years,
the growing religious intolerance and Islamic conservatism have heightened the
sense of insecurity among minorities, especially in Hindus.
A number of Hindu temples have been
demolished by city hall authorities in Malaysia. According to a report, every one week one Hindu temple is
demolished in the country.[xxxiii]
Between 2004 and 2007, 96 Hindu
temples were demolished in Selangor state alone. The centuries-old Malaimel Sri
Selva Kaliamman Temple, located in Kuala Lumpur, was destroyed by the City Hall
Authorities on 21 April 2006 because of an alleged violation of construction
laws.
This was followed by a series of
destruction of many temples in the city and outside. For instance, on 11 May
2006, part of a 90-year-old suburban Hindu temple was forcibly demolished by
armed city hall officers in Kuala Lumpur on grounds that the temple was built
illegally.
Moreover, the 100-year-old historical
Temple of Maha Mariyaman was destroyed by the Malaysian authorities in the
region of Shah Alam on 30 October 2007. This incident occurred just around the
time of Deepavali and later, triggered the unrest that was led
by the HINDRAF (Hindu Rights Action Force). The devotees who resisted the government’s
act of temple demolitions were doused with water cannons and beaten by baton
wielding security forces several times.
Temple demolitions are only a
precursor to other forms of religious persecutions against ethnic Indians in
Malaysia. The issue of forced religious
conversion has also been at the forefront. There are several cases of
non-Muslim Malaysian Indians finding themselves or their children forcibly
converted to Islam and unable to reverse the process.
For instance, in February 2008 a
teenager of Indian origin was converted to Islam(without his parents’
knowledge) by school friends who took him to the religious department where he
recited the syahada (proclamation of faith) and received a
conversion certificate. He was subsequently given a Malaysian identity card
(MyKad) which stated “Islam” as his religion. The teenager still
practices Hinduism and wants to leave Islam but cannot revert to his religion
of choice, as he faces a tough legal battle in the Shariah Courts.
Such cases are not limited to Hindus
only. A similar case involving an Indian Sikh Mohan Singh, occurred in the
region of Shah Alam. On 4 June 2009, the Syariah High Court of Shah Alam ruled
that Mohan Singh was a Muslim at the time of his death and should be buried
according to Muslim rites.
However, Mohan’s family claimed that
he had neither converted nor practiced Islam. There are many such cases of
conversion to Islam, either voluntary or forced upon the ethnic Indian
community, which has caused fear and apprehensions among the group.
The manner in which these incidents
were dealt with shows the degree of intolerance and insensitivity on the part
of the Malaysian government towards the religious sentiments of the Indian
community.[xxxiv]
Discriminatory Provisions in the Legal System
Malaysia’s Federal Constitution
explicitly gives preference to Muslims and establishes Islam as the official
state religion.
Article 3(1), for instance,
recognizes that Islam is the official religion of Malaysia and provides that
other religions may be practiced in “peace and harmony” in the Federation.
Article 11 guarantees the right to
practice and profess one’s religion, but simultaneously protects only the right
of Muslims to freely propagate their religion, while prohibiting other
religious groups from propagating their religion amongst Muslims.
Additionally, while it is illegal for
Muslims to convert out of Islam, a non-Muslim must convert to Islam in order to
marry a Muslim and have their marriage officially recognized by the state.
Furthermore, Article 160 affords a
special status to ethnic Malays by defining “Malay” as a “person who professes
the religion of Islam, habitually speaks the Malay language,[and] conforms to
Malay custom…”
Islamists have also steadily gained
influence over the judicial system since the 1990s.
The Federal Constitution was amended
in 1988 to give recognition to Sharia. Moreover, it is estimated that more
than 90 percent of the judiciary is filled with Malay-Muslim Judges.
In addition, the Constitution
establishes a parallel court system, with secular civil and criminal courts,
and Islamic Sharia courts. The Sharia courts have authority over Muslims in
issues such as religion, marriage, divorce, inheritance, apostasy, and
religious conversion.
Federal courts have no jurisdiction
in matters that fall within the purview of the Sharia courts. Although the
Sharia courts are not constitutionally authorized to exercise jurisdiction over
non-Muslims, Hindus and other minorities have recently been forced to deal with
the Islamic courts where they have faced severe disadvantages.
In fact, there have been several
instances where non-Muslims suffered outright religious discrimination,
particularly in intra-family disputes, through the Islamic court system. This
is due in part to a Malaysian law which gives custody of children to a Muslim
parent in divorce proceedings with a non-Muslim spouse where the children have
been converted to Islam.
As the State Department recently
noted, there have been a number of cases where minor children were converted to
Islam by a Muslim parent without the consent of the non-Muslim parent.
In these instances, the Sharia courts
typically found favour with the Muslim parent and sanctioned the conversion,
thereby violating the non-Muslim parent’s rights.
In April 2013, for example, S. Deepa,
a 29-year-old Hindu woman discovered that her estranged husband had converted
her two children (ages five and eight) to Islam without her knowledge or
consent. Deepa’s husband, who left the family 16 months earlier, took the
children from their school in April and had them converted at an Islamic
Center.
When Deepa challenged the
conversions, she was told by an officer at the Islamic Center that she had to
pursue the case in the Sharia courts.Malaysian Bar Council President
Christopher Leong asserted that such types of conversions violate the Federal
Constitution. He specifically stated that, “The unilateral conversion of minors
to any religion by a parent, without the knowledge or consent of the
non-converting parent, creates social injustice, violates the rights of the
non-converting parent, and is contrary to our constitutional scheme.”[xxxv]
Conclusion
In conclusion it can be said that
although Malaysia boasts of being a tolerant multi-ethnic and multicultural
nation, it has proved it’s double faced hegemony through the rampant
discrimination against ethnic Indians in Malaysia.
The denial of the nodal principles of
equality enshrined in the Federal Constitution, establishes the fact that
Malaysia as a pluralistic society is a national exercise in political, racial
and religious hypocrisy.
(Research and writing contributed by
Tasneem Sharief-Indiafacts.com)
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