Rose violence: Global demo against M'sia

by Malaysiakini

Indians across the world demonstrated outside the offices of Malaysian embassies and high commissions on Saturday to condemn the government and police, hours after tear gas and water cannons were fired in Kuala Lumpur at people bringing flowers to persuade Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to release five Hindraf leaders from detention.



The demonstrations – which took place almost simultaneously in New York, Los Angeles, London, Belgium, Northern Island, Indonesia, New Zealand, New Delhi and Mumbai – were believed to be the first internationally-coordinated action in support of the Indian cause in Malaysia.

Although there were no more than a few dozen people protesting in each of the cities, their action underlined the growing disgust among Indians all over the world at Abdullah and his police force, said organisers who e-mailed Malaysiakini with details and pictures of the demonstrations. Videos were also posted on YouTube.

"Which sicko of a prime minister would allow his police to fire tear gas and chemical-laced water at people trying to bring him flowers?" asked Anantha Paskaran, one of those who led the demonstration outside the Malaysian Consulate General's office in New York.



"We talk about the Soviet Union, Chechnya and Burma when it comes to human rights violations," said Anantha. "What about this so-called moderate Muslim country Malaysia? It has a police force than can rival the Gestapo and KGB."

On Saturday, Malaysian police used teargas and water cannons to disperse about 300 Hindu Rights Action Force supporters who had gathered along Jalan Raja Laut to hand Abdullah hundreds of roses.

Calling it a "rose protest", Hindraf had said it wanted to give the flowers to the premier, asking him, among others, to release the five Hindraf leaders held under the Internal Security Act. The plan was initially to get a group of children to hand over the roses to Abdullah at Parliament. That, however, fell through when police blockaded roads leading to Parliament, forcing the supporters to group at Jalan Raja Laut instead.

The police eventually arrested about 200 people and released all but nine, whom they said defied repeated orders to disperse.

Abdullah, in an immediate reaction, labelled Hindraf as group of "extremists" out to disrupt general elections scheduled on March 8.

Mock coffin

Anantha said it was "most laughable" for the premier to link the incident with the upcoming polls in Malaysia.

"In what way can the Indians in Malaysia disrupt the electoral process that's underway? They are minorities, marginalised in every sense of the word, and don't even have enough resource to fend for themselves, let alone disrupt a national election," he said.

The 51-year-old former Malaysian-turned-US citizen who runs a financial consultancy in Queens, New York, also appeared to pre-empt any possible remark by Abdullah that Indians outside of Malaysia had no business with what was happening in the country.

"For the prime minister's information, I still have family members in Malaysia and they are paying income taxes too, so I have every right to speak on their behalf," Anantha said.

He said the weather in New York was below 32 degrees Farenheit (0 degrees Celcius) on Saturday and those who turned up outside the Consulate General's office in Manhattan, including women and children, braved icy winds for nearly 2 hours.

"We were freezing on the outside but we were burning on the inside at what's happening to our fellow Indians in Malaysia," Anantha said

Pictures received by Malaysiakini showed demonstrators carrying placards such as "Malaysia, Provide Equal Opportunity and Equal Treatment for All" and "All Malaysians, Act Now or Lose Your Freedom, Your Rights and Your Identity Forever."



In New York, demonstrators even brought a mock coffin for MIC President S Samy Vellu, who has been fiercely criticised for failing the Indian community. A sign above the coffin read: "Samy Vellu – Traitor of Indian Malaysians, R.I.P. (Rest In Peace)."

In another interesting picture, five people also wore cut-out pictures of the faces of the five detained Hindraf leaders, holding up their wrists in a symbolic sign of incarceration.

A big sham

And not all those who participated in the foreign demonstrations were Indians of Malaysian origin.

Fiona Lee, an ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, said in comments to Malaysiakini that she decided to join the protest in New York "because these are issues affecting all Malaysians."

"To me, the marginalisation of the Indian community is very real," said the 25-year-old, who has lived in the United States for seven years now and is pursuing a doctorate in English at the City University of New York.

"I grew up in Cheras and I belonged to a church group that used to visit Indian slums where the children had little access to education, food and even clothing," Lee said. "To say they are being equally treated is the biggest sham."

There were no officials from the Malaysian Consulate General's office in New York to receive ay memorandums from the protesters. However several officials were seen snapping photographs of the protesting crowd.

Silent Protest in London for HINDRAF 5 on Feb 1st 2008

Photos send by: John Silva from London crowd of more
than 1000 Malaysian Indians protested in front 10 Downing Street, London
today with police permit and later at 2pm, a group of 5 representatives
which included Mr Wathya Moorthy were allowed audience with the Prime
Minister H.E. Mr Gordan Brown's representative to present a Petition
requesting the British Government, who were responsible for bringing the
Indians to work in the rubber plantation and to seek their assistance to
ensure that the Malaysian government does not continue to discriminate
and marginalise the Indian community any further.
Later at 3pm, the same crowd gathered at the Indian High
Commissioner office in London and 5 representatives including Wathya
Moorthy were give audience by the Indian High Commissioner to United
Kingdom , who was glad to receive the said Petition. ..

Zip it? What a laugh !!

Zip it, critics of MIC told

It is a great joke that MIC’s Federal Territory chief has challenged the opposition to list down what they have done for the Indian community and Tamil schools.

TCM: Mr Saravanan, have you joined our beloved PM in his deep sleep, or have you been instructed to come out with a face saving statement for Samy Vellu? We all know your (lack of) background but you don’t have to prove everyone right by coming out with silly statements. What do you think Hindraf has done? What do you think so many Indians have tried to do but are threatened? You use the government machinery to suppress Indian voices and you now asks such silly questions.

Mr Saravanan, MIC is the Indians’ representative in the government. The government is supposed to give equal rights to all citizens of Malaysia regardless of ethnicity. MIC’s role within the BN government (remember, MIC stands for Malaysian INDIAN Congress) is to ensure the rights accorded to Indians. It is NOT to siphon off the little crumbs thrown by Umno to the Indians into their own pockets.

The role of the opposition in a democratic society Mr Saravanan, is to act as a check and balance to government. The government has control of the funds, not the opposition. The opposition is there to ‘oppose’ any misuse and abuse by the government. Thus the term ‘opposition’. Get it?

Pukal: Where’s MIC’s Deputy President G Palanivel? Is he still around? Why has he never defended his boss S Samy Vellu? The MIC Info Chief says that MIC has done a lot but what was it doing before this? Why did they have to wait till Hindraf brought up all the matters? Whatever MIC says, they only trying to take care of their own backs. They never learn from their mistakes. Look at the MIC Info Chief, they still have the attitude of finger-pointing if they fail.

It’s pointless for Saravanan to blame others for MIC’s failure. Be independent and show what you can do. Don’t talk. Show us the results. We have lost trust in you on your MIC, Saravanan.

KSN: Actually I am not surprised by statements like that from MIC’s Saravanan. When the opposition has no access to public funds, what can the opposition or NGOs do to help marginalised Indians and any other community for that matter? What the opposition is saying is that when they form the government, when they have control of public funds, they will use it fairly and without discrimination, not practising cronyism etc.

Please Saravanan,do not ask silly questions and do not make silly statements. It is like saying when people point out the uncontrolled rise in prices affecting daily life, that our costs are still cheaper than neighbouring countries,conveniently foregetting to say that their average income is five times than ours, like Singapore for example.

So folks in BN, ensure whatever you say ensure it is intelligent and sensible. Malaysians are not stupid, not any more.

Venugopal: The response M Saravanan gives a bad impression of leaders holding positions in MIC. No organisation created by humans is free from criticism and at the same time MIC is the only organisation that has survived after colossal failures over the last 30 years.

Failed people cling on the positions and take the entire community down the drain. People must have dignity and pride to be leaders of a community and to serve the needs of the needy people. Here we have people jostling for power, position and datoship at the expense of the poor people. Time will tell the how far it goes.

Concerned Malaysian: Hello, Mr Saravanan, you are wrong to say opposition won't be able to do anything and they can't get a single thing done. The rakyat knows and understands that the role of opposition at present is merely as a ‘watch dog’ and pressure group. Why? They do not have the money and power.

Why not give the opposition one term and test them on whether they are just good for empty promises or are able to deliver? Yes, you are right, ‘... the government has acknowledged that the Indian Malaysian community has some legitimate grievances and is now looking into these’.

But why only after the pressure came from Hindraf? The government admitting Indian grievances without an affirmative action plan is meaningless.

Maran: It is a great joke for Saravanan, MIC Wilayah Persekutuan's chief to challenge the opposition to list down what they have done for the Indian community and Tamil schools. The BN and MIC are ruling parties and they have all kind of resources/finance to help the rakyat.

But the opposition is financially weak and they don’t have the mandate to upgrade the Tamil schools. It is government’s duty to take care of the voters - not the opposition’s. If Saravanan doesn’t know this simple theory, how he is going to help the community? Shame and pity on him.

Mooshie Mooshie: Hey Saravanan, Federal Territory MIC chief or whatever you are known as. Do you know what you are talking about? Asking what the opposition has done for the Indians and Tamil schools. Here’s a question to you - how can you be so blind? How can the opposition be doing anything when the government is collecting the taxes?

It is the government's responsibility then to provide development - do not blame the opposition for your mistakes. I am a Chinaman but cannot tahan when you say this things about the opposition. Do not bark up the wrong tree Mr Ex-Senator. Stay cool.

Gaza: Malaysian condemnation unjustified

Hanan Leshnovolsky, Israel

Allow me to quote your Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi:

‘Malaysia condemns the blockade imposed by the Israelis and the closing of all border crossings between Israel and the Palestinian territory in Gaza. The blockade has exacerbated the already worsening humanitarian crisis in the area and this will cause a humanitarian catastrophe. The Palestinians have the right of access to food, fuel and medicine. The inhumane action by the Israelis would make the living conditions of the Palestinian people even more unbearable.

‘The Israeli action contravenes international law and the collective punishment of the innocent civilian population of Gaza is unacceptable under any circumstance. Malaysia calls on the international community to force the Israelis to lift the blockade immediately and end the sufferings of the people in Gaza. Malaysia also calls on the UN secretary-general to hold an open ended session of the UN Security Council to enable other UN members to participate in the debate on the grave situation in Gaza’.

Firstly, how does he know that there is a blockade on Gaza? Has he visited that place? Or is his information from guided rumours supplied by Palestinians and the pro-Palestinian and Muslim media? Is he an eyewitness to the facts?

Secondly, let's assume that there is a blockade on Gaza by the Israelis. What do you expect from us? To supply fuel and electricity to the milling machines that are manufacturing rockets to kill Israeli civilians in Sderot, Ashkelon and the villages around there? Is he expecting the Israelis to feed the people that are wanting to slaughter us and voted for a terror organisation like Hamas?

Instead of using their engineering capabilities to improve their own lives, they prefer to use that skill to kill. They are sainting death instead sainting life and your prime minister is the most proactive supporter for that human shame.

As usual, you people are always condemning one side for what they are doing and it is always the Israeli side. Why aren't you condemning Hamas and the terrorists which are launching rockets on civilian towns .What would you do if Singapore launched rockets on Malaysian soil and on your people? Would you feed them with the water and agriculture products?

Malaysia is treating Israel as the worst enemy of human beings. Are you so sharp in reaction to condemn specifically Muslim terror organisations as you are so quick to condemn the Jewish state? Why aren’t you condemning the Al-Qaeda? I think that you are wise enough to understand that by condemning Al-Qaeda, you are risking your own head being executed by your own Muslim brothers.

I'm sorry to say that Malaysia’s contribution to achieve peace in the world is worthless because you are all one-sided and all your activities are just words and more words. Do you think that someone is counting the statements of your prime minister that are published from time to time? Statements are good for the papers but doing things proactively is valuable for the people.

Your prime minister is the last person on earth to teach the Israelis about humanity and equality while his regime is discriminating Malaysian minorities like the Indians in your country. I can prove many cases.

I wish I could have an opportunity to have a debate with your prime minister on the Israeli- Palestinian issue and may be afterwards Malaysian opinion will change.

Continue boycott of Batu Caves temple

I wish to salute those who gave a ‘pass’ on Batu Caves for Thaipusam this year to protest against the way the temple’s committee behaves like an MIC stooge. Devotees instead went to other temples to pray to Lord Muruga or simply prayed at home.

After all, prayer is a silent conversation between God and the devotee. Hindus believe that God is everywhere.

The MIC and BN and its spin media can say a million lies but the truth is a significant number of devotees avoided Batu Caves. Truth is defined as something that never changes and the truth will unavoidably come out in the end.

MIC president S Samy Vellu knows this and so do his goons in the Batu Caves temple committee.

The point I wish to make is that the Hindus should continue to boycott the Batu Caves temple and choose alternate places of worship until the current committee is forced out and a new, clean and God-fearing is set up - one with no ties to the MIC.

But if Hindus still wish to continue visiting Batu Caves, please do so as temples and prayers are individual and democratic choices. But make sure your cars are parked outside the temple premises to avoid payment of the parking fee to the temple committee.

Do not spend a single sen for any type of ‘pooja’, food and drinks, etc. Just pray to your hearts' content and go back.

According to Samy, Indians are ‘not fools’. He is absolutely right so let the Indians prove him right by withdrawing their support for MIC and BN.

Batu Caves temple committee has to go

MIC should stop using the Batu Caves temple or any other temple in Malaysia as a place for their political campaigns. Yesterday, during his speech at the Batu Caves temple, Samy Vellu mentioned that he was the one who built everything for the temple and only Barisan Nasional and the MIC could bring all the development needed for the Indian community.

He also said the opposition parties could dream on in their bid to win the general election and eventually form a new government. Looks like Samy already knows the result of the coming elections.

Obviously with so many election frauds like postal and army votes and phantom voters, even I'm sure there will never be a day the opposition will be the ruling party.

I won't deny the fact that recent renovations at the Batu Caves temples are via the initiative of Samy Vellu and the temple committee but then were they using their own pocket money for Samy to be bragging about it?

It was the money collected from the devotees via donations and also allocations received from government which is actually our tax money. It looks like MIC is so desperate of late that they have to talk about the BN and MIC at every gathering. Samy, stop crying in public!

Politics and religion should not be mixed. The very first thing that should be done is to elect a new committee for the Batu Caves temple - one which is not a crony of any political party. Spare our gods from politics.

Samy even told the local media that the crowd for this year's Thaipusam festival at Batu Caves was the same with no drop in numbers. Samy, are you day dreaming or what? I live around Batu Caves and I was there almost all the time for past two days and I witnessed myself that the crowd was much less than previous years. So why lie Samy?

Lingam - The Real Slim Shady

Hindu devotees boycott Batu Caves

by Malaysiakini,

Thaipusam festivities at the Batu Caves Temple in Kuala Lumpur have been somewhat lackluster this year, marred by a below-average turnout believed to be attributed to an apparent boycott campaign.

Visitors to Batu Caves yesterday evening and this morning reported that the crowds were relatively thinner this year - numbering only in their tens of thousands - unlike previous years where devotees could reach more than one million.

One seasoned visitor, businessman S Babu, 32, said he was at the temple at 6am this morning and was surprised by the lack of congestion at the temple.

“Previous years, we can’t even walk. This morning however, it was as easy as an evening stroll,” said Babu.

Another visitor to Batu Caves said an unusual message was played repeatedly on the public announcement system, referring to a boycott or sorts.

“The message express gratitude to those who came to Batu Caves despite SMS messages flying around (calling for a boycott),” he said.

Samy: No change in crowd

According to AFP, one SMS message had called on Hindu devotees who did turn up at Batu Caves to use their sandals to pelt political leaders including S Samy Vellu, leader of Indian-based MIC.

The veteran politician, who has sided with the government and been accused of neglecting the interests of his constituents, however insisted there were at least half a million people at the complex and a million the day before.

"I have come to Thaipusam since I was 11 years old. I know the crowd. It is the same as before," he told reporters at Batu Caves.

"I don't think religious people who went to pray to Lord Murugan will listen to all the naughty fellows," he said of the SMS campaign.

"Who can threaten us? Anyone who threatens us, we can find out where he is. It takes only five hours to find out where he is. They can't run away from us."

Since the Hindraf rally on Nov 25, calls to boycott Batu Caves temple committee have been making rounds through SMS.

The MIC-linked temple managers were blamed for allegedly assisting police who cracked down hard on a demonstration by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) supporters there last November, using tear gas and water cannons.

When contacted, Hindraf coordinator RS Thanenthiran denied suggestions that the movement was behind the boycott.

“No, we can’t tell people to boycott Lord Murugan... we can’t tell people to forgo their annual vows,” he said.

On the lower turnout at Batu Caves, Thanenthiran said it was a sign that people have not forgiven the Batu Caves temple committee.

“There were thousands at Batu Caves on Nov 25. They witnessed what happened and they will tell thousands more,” he added.

Lower fees

Till now, the actual events surrounding the Nov 25 incident are still unclear.

Some quarters claimed that the police locked several thousand ‘Hindraf supporters’ in the Batu Caves compound in the early hours of Nov 25 before firing tear gas and chemical-laced water on them.

The crowd had gathered at the famous temple before moving to the city to join other participants in the mammoth Hindraf rally later that day.

In an apparent reaction to the boycott campaign, the temple committee has made the RM10 fee to carry offerings in the temple optional.

“It’s up to you. But, if no one pays, how are we to celebrate Thaipusam? We need money for organising the celebrations and for cleaning up the temple surroundings,” said temple secretary M Devarajoo, according to The Sun.

Devarajoo added that the fee for children to carry offerings - milk pots (paal kudam) or kavadi - has been slashed from RM10 to RM5.

Several stallholders and devotees lamented the small turnout and said ethnic Indians should work together to promote their cause.

"The crowd is normally double or triple this size. Now it's so small, so there is not so much of a great mood this time," said N Kumaran, 41, a civil servant who has taken part in the festival for the past 14 years.

Sweet seller Joga Singh said that with the crowds so thin he and other vendors were not making any money this year.

"I think many people are afraid to come because of the SMS to boycott. Our business is suffering because of it," he told AFP.

Indians must not be hoodwinked

by Concerned Malaysian

The general elections are expected to be held between March 8 and 15. Surprisingly, our often too busy prime minister suddenly has so much time for the minority, marginalised Indian community as evidenced by the report above.

My questions is this: Is the Indian community so naïve and blind that it can be easily hoodwinked by such government tactics?

The prime minister said, ‘Indians can judge the MIC and BN through their track records’. What track records he is talking about? Does he mean the fact that Indian equity in national wealth had dropped from 3% to the present 1.3%?

Does he mean the fact the intake of Indians for government-sponsored higher education is a mere 1%?

Does he mean the fact that Indian representation in the government workforce is less than 5%? Has The MIC president himself managed to increase Indian representation in his own Works Ministry to above 5%?

In the first place, does he have real power like an Umno minister or he is just merely an Umno ‘mandor’ as declared by the Hindraf leaders?

PPP president M Kayveas PPP recently said that S Samy Vellu and MIC have failed the Indian community. Are MIC and Samy alone to be blamed? If all Indians joined the PPP, would our problems be solved?

Why doesn’t Kayveas blame the ruling BN government as a whole for the woes of the Indian community? Who is actually this Kayveas? Has he been placed there by Umno to split the Indian community with the aim of weakening our bargaining power?

Only action will bring results, not mere words or empty promises. Why has our PM never set up and ‘Indian Development Unit’ under the Prime Minister’s Department to act as an effective channel to overcome Indian community’s problems?

My Indian brothers and sisters, please do not let yourselves be fooled and swayed by all these empty political promises. Fifty years is enough. Your action in our coming elections is very crucial.

Do not jeopardise the future of our beloved younger generations. Please exercise your voting right wisely.

Hindraf funds: ISA detainee denies misuse

Hindu Rights Action Force secretary T Vasanthakumar has denied that public funds collected by the movement have been misused by its legal adviser P Uthayakumar.

Vasanthakumar, who is being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), also denied lodging a police report to that effect at the Kamunting detention camp in Perak on Jan 10.

The five had responded immediately to the report with a statement issued through their lawyers, also denying that there was a split in their ranks.

“The report was lodged to place on record as to who holds all the money that was collected from the public. It was not an accusation of embezzlement against Uthayakumar,” said Vasanthakumar through a message carried by his wife K Vikneswary, 35.

She told Malaysiakini yesterday: “He told me that the report was made as an insurance policy to protect themselves against police claims that they are seeking funds from terrorist organisations.”

She said their plan was to make it clear that funds collected locally was not used for any alleged terrorism activities, but rather for the community activities.

“He was shocked by (the news report stating) that he had lodged a report against Uthayakumar. He wants to stress that he only named Uthayakumar in the report as a strategy for the five detainees not to be arrested and charged for funding alleged terrorism,” she said without elaborating.

“All five of them agreed that such a report was to be made and my husband was chosen to make it.

“He wants everyone to know that they are very united - there have been no open arguments as claimed in certain (text-messages). And that the report was made in consideration for their own safety in the future.”

Vasanthakumar, Uthayakumar and three other Hindraf leaders - M Manoharan, R Kenghadharan and V Ganabathirau - were detained on Dec 13 on grounds that they were a threat to national security. They are serving out a two-year detention order.

‘Not a cop’

Vikneswary further denied that her husband is a police Special Branch officer who has been tasked with undermining Hindraf, as alleged by some supporters after the news report was published.

“That’s not true at all. If he was a police (officer), he would not be in Kamunting. He quit his full-time job in the private sector to concentrate on Hindraf. He was truly passionate about helping the community,” she said.

She said that four of the Hindraf ISA detainees have started their hunger strike, with the exception of Uthayakumar.

“Uthayakumar is unwell and he has diabetes. The four managed to convince him that he should not be putting his health at risk by taking part in the hunger strike,” she said.

The five-day hunger strike began at 7.30am yesterday and will end at 7.00pm on Saturday.

Vikneswary revealed that her husband, too, is not in good health but has insisted on observing the fast.

“He is under tremendous pressure. I can see that he is being mentally tortured, but he is putting on a brave front. His friends there have also been a help to him,” she said.

A habeas corpus application is before the Kuala Lumpur High Court for the five detainees and is scheduled to be heard on Thursday.

“They are confident that the decision will be in their favour,” said Vikneswary.

Plea to the PM

Vikneswary also made an emotional plea to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to release her husband.

“Please release him. He is not a criminal. He is not a terrorist. He was only involved in fighting for the (Indian Malaysian) community. I visited him last Sunday. He looked tired and unwell. I am worried for him. He is innocent,” she said.

“I hope the prime minister will show some mercy and release him. They must know that he is innocent. His detention has been a nightmare for me and our two daughters.”

She said the children - aged five and three respectively - miss their father and are longing to be with him.

“I can’t explain to them why he was detained. I have to lie to them that he is in hospital. But when we visited him on Sunday, my elder daughter wondered why there were policemen,” she said.

Vasanthakumar’s absence has also placed a huge burden on her finances.

"He was the main earner. With him not around, it is very difficult,” she said.

Vikneswary visits Vasanthakumar every Sunday and is disappointed that she can’t even offer him home-cooked food.

“They do not allow us to bring food for them. We can’t even have a private conversation as there is always someone there with him,” she added.

“I miss him. I am also emotionally affected. I need my husband. My daughters need their father. I hope the prime minister will release him and the other four Hindraf leaders as well.”