Suaram condemns the use of the International Security Act (ISA) on the five Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) leaders today, namely P. Uthayakumar, M. Manoharan, V. Ganabatirau, R Kenghadharan and T Vasanthakumar.
There are enough laws in the country that can be invoked by the government, if indeed the HINDRAF leaders have committed a crime or an offence. The use of the ISA is totally unjustified and indefensible. It only goes to show that despite being a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Malaysian government pays scant respect to human rights.
Under the ISA, a person can be detained without trial indefinitely. It violates important and fundamental rights such as the right to be presumed innocent before proven guilty, the right to an open and fair trial and the right to legal counsel.
It is unfortunate that the government decided to switch from the use of the court of law to the use of the ISA in dealing with the HINDRAF leaders. This only implies that the government has failed to prove its sedition and illegal charges in the court, hence taking the easy way out and resorted to the ISA.
Suaram is also extremely concerned about the wellbeing of the detainees. The history of the ISA reveals that many detainees were subjected to torture, inhumane and degrading treatments, especially during the first few weeks of detention.
We urge the National Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) to visit the detainees immediately to ensure the wellbeing and personal safety of the detainees. We call on the government to charge the five HINDRAF leaders in an open court, or else release them immediately.
Since the Federal Government has charged Hindraf leaders with various offences, it would have been better to let the law take its course rather than holding them under the ISA. The official line, it seems, is proceeding along an all too familiar pathway: criminalization, demonization, dehumanization, neutralization, isolation, marginalization and finally elimination from any active role. Will that be the end of the Government’s troubles?
There are demonstrations nearly everyday in other civilized countries and nothing happens to bring an end to civilization. In Malaysia, the Government carries on as if even a small demonstration is enough to destroy the country for good. Are the powers that be so afraid for themselves? How can they keep a lid on people’s feelings?
What about a voice for the unseen, the unheard, the forgotten, the ones outside the tight-knit MIC ambit which not so long ago expelled the poorest of the poor led by M. G. Pandithan. Having just one party in the BN to represent the Indians, it seems, no longer works.
Also, if democracy means the right of the minority (not minorities) to be heard, that certainly does not happen in Malaysia given the country’s first past the post electoral system in which the winners take all and the losers lose all.
The future of the country is at stake. Government officials must tone down their rhetoric which only further inflames the situation. Don’t they realize that when politics comes in through the door, economics flies out through the window?
Malaysia’s economy in transition, in the wake of globalization, will surely pay a huge economic cost in terms of lost investments, diminished values and higher insurance and business costs, if a picture emerges in the international arena that the country is in the same league as Sri Lanka and Muslim countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Sudan and Somalia. Closer home there are trouble spots like Aceh, the Thai south and the Southern Philippines.
The rational approach is to talk and keep talking. It’s not wise to close doors. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. As long as the talking continues, there would be no demonstrations or violence. Talking need not mean that there must be agreement. Two parties to a dispute can first come up with a joint statement of agreed positions, followed by a list of differences, attempt to narrow the gap between the differences or bridge the gap, and finally agree to disagree in those areas where the respective positions are poles apart, and can them temporarily during a cooling off period before resuming dialogue.
If mistakes have been made, on both sides, they should be admitted honestly and in most cases an apology should suffice while suitable restitution should be made in other cases. It takes a great man to say sorry and eat humble pie.
Fifty years after independence, we wonder what the next half century will bring. More of the same? Much has been done and of course there will always be those who say that not enough has been done. For sure, much more could have been done. For sure, much remains to be done and needs to be done.
Mahathir did say before he retired that he has put everything in place for the next century or so. “Only a congenital idiot would ruin everything,†he said. Are these prophetic words?
The Indian winter of discontent marks a watershed in Malaysia’s 50th year
Malaysia will be pre-occupied with race relations and national unity for the next fifty years.
We have a Department of National Unity in the PM’s Department run by Minister in the PM’s Department, Dr Maximus Ongkili. They tend to focus on a lot of cosmetic programmes. What they need to work on is substance. My recent SMS to Dr Max reads: “At present, there is too much lip service when it comes to national unity. As one who has dear relatives and friends among all races and religions, I venture that national unity is of paramount importance and will hinge on two major factors viz. tak kenal, maka tak cinta; and parents and teachers must not transfer their prejudices to their children. Perhaps this is something that your department can take up urgently, starting with our police, the press, politicians and PTAs.â€
I would add that a third factor would be instituting a culture of sharing and caring. Now, greed and materialism gets in the way.
The NEP at the outset nobly pledged to eliminate the identification of race with economic function and place of residence; eliminate poverty irrespective of race; and create an environment whereby the indigenous communities, within the context of an expanding economic pie and growth, will own, control and manage 30 per cent of the nation’s corporate wealth within a 20-year timeframe i. e. by 1990. Peter would not be robbed to pay Paul, it was pledged. The NEP has been observed more often in the breach during the years 1970-90 and thereafter. 1990 has come and gone and the NEP is still around, still being observed in the breach. Abuses and deviations are rampant. The NEP, from day one despite its oft-cited lofty ideals, deviated and degenerated into AliBabaism, nepotism, cronyism, collusion and corruption and bred casteism.
The unrest in Malaysia sounds all too suspiciously like similar eruptions elsewhere in the world in the wake of globalization. The influx of foreign workers, both legal and illegal, from neighbouring countries has had a negative effect on Indian jobs and depressed wages. The rural-urban migration has created a huge underclass of Tamil-educated Indians in the towns and cities and provides cannon fodder for MIC elites to wrest some crumbs for themselves from the ruling elite.
“Air tenang jangan disangka tiada buaya†(Don’t think there are no crocodiles in the water just because it is still.) The unhappiness has always been there even before Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force) emerged in public. It began well before Malaysia announced the New Economic Policy in 1970, several months after the Fri 13 May 1969 race riots, and as a result of deviations from the very outset, further exacerbated 150 years of exploitation during the British colonial era.
Historically, the vast majority of even voluntary migrants everywhere, since time immemorial, have generally exchanged grinding poverty in the old country for genteel poverty in their new land. The smart Indians, mostly in the towns and some among the planting class in the estates, are the ones that didn’t stay to compete with the Malays when independence came. They came during the days of the British Empire, saved almost every sen they could lay their hands on and went back cash rich to invest in India, taking advantage of the exchange rate. In the end, no matter where you go in the world, what matters is the exchange rate and how much you can save every month and whether you can eventually return and neutralize your “karmaâ€. Others, especially those shanghaied by the British colonialists and kept in the estates against their will on a pittance, were trapped when the Empire fell apart.
On a personal level, the Indians can take a leaf from the Chinese in their winter of discontent and not give in to negativity. Man proposes, God disposes. This is not a case of talk being cheap or easier said than done. There are deep spiritual truths here. Always be thankful and grateful and there will be more opportunities to be thankful and grateful for. Look for the silver lining in the clouds, consider everything that happens as a blessing in disguise and always count your blessings. Opportunities often come disguised as problems. You cannot keep a good man down.
For starters, one cannot insist on having the cake and eating it too. Tamil education, up to Year 6, was started by the British colonialists not only to keep the community in the estates in perpetuity but to turn out better tappers. The MIC, mooted by the British colonialists, has fought tooth-and-nail to keep the colonial system in place. Tamil Nadu can play an important role in the modernization of the Tamil schools in the country but the political will must be there. Indians should also get out of the Tamil alone trap and master the English and Malay languages. This would open up a window of opportunities in education as demonstrated by the success of non-Tamil Indians and many urban Tamils as well in various spheres of national life. Lifelong learning is the key to remaining productive and relevant in an increasingly globalised world economy.
Obviously, the lack of language skills create a communication gap with other Malaysians and even the syndrome best expressed by the Malay saying: “Seperti katak di bawah tempurung†(The frog under the coconut shell thinks that is the world.). There needs to be greater interaction between Indians and non-Indians in all spheres of national life. It’s a great loss to the nation if the Indians keep away from others, either deliberately, or because they have no choice in the matter. Already, there is polarisation between Muslims and non-Muslims thanks to rising Islamic militancy worldwide and attempts by lunatic fringe groups in the country to force the Government to elevate the Syariah courts to the level of the civil courts at the expense of all.