The Coalition of Malaysian Indian NGO’s (Comin) had in December 2007 called on the government to look into the issues raised by Hindraf and resolve these issues through dialogues and peaceful negotiations rather than suppressing the grievances raised through measures that can only be considered as vengeful and hateful.

We had made our call subsequent to the peaceful mass rally on Nov 25, 2007 organised by Hindraf which was brutally suppressed by Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) who used water cannons containing chemically-laced water and tear gas on the peaceful protestors.

Five of the key organizers, P Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, V Ganabathy Rao, R Vasanthakumar and G Kengadharan were incarcerated in Kamunting under the Internal Security Act while P

Waythamoorthy is still living in exile continuing his struggle from abroad.

Many saw the Hindraf rally as a wake-up call for Indian Malaysians but in truth we now realise that Nov 25, 2007 was a wake-up call for Malaysians of all races. About three months later, on March 8, 2008, Malaysia saw a peaceful transition of power for four state governments to Pakatan Rakyat with Barisan Nasional losing its two-thirds majority in Parliament for the first time in recent memory.

The results of the general election in 2008 exposed the strong feelings of discontent against corruption, discrimination, abuse of power by law enforcement agencies, violent action taken against peaceful demonstrators, use of the ISA against dissenters, mismanagement and mal-administration in the public sector and the severe lack of meaningful initiatives to alleviate the problems of both the urban and rural poor.

For once it exposed the weaknesses of communal politics and the failure of the national leadership and that of the minority community in realising their constitutional rights. It was only after the severe defeat at the general election 2008 and the several subsequent by-elections that followed did the authorities show any sign of realisation as to the depth and severity of the issues affecting the Indian Malaysians specifically and the majority of Malaysians generally.

Though we note that some initiatives are now being implemented by the federal government and state governments on a piecemeal basis, we have concerns as to whether such initiatives are real institutional changes that will offer change and restore confidence in the minds of people.

This land belongs to all. It is our primordial duty to see that no single citizen is made to feel as if he is not one among us. There is enough for all and everyone. For democracy to succeed, it has to be a tool that ought to address the needs of the weak and the minority more than the majority.

We agree that the nation must be centred on the federal constitution, rule of law and institutional reforms that guarantee the rights of every citizen, without dwelling on our communal differences.

Noting the prevailing socio-political situation, on this, the second anniversary of the Hindraf rally, Comin makes the following proposals:

1.We urge members of the Indian community in Malaysia to engage with one another and be united in what should be a common aim of empowering impoverished Indians so they can be useful citizens of this country.

Whilst differences can and should exist and be debated rationally and through the democratic process, we urge politicians, temple leaders and NGOs to put aside personality clashes and political differences when dealing with the plight of poor Indians and work together across party lines in this common aim.

Thus, we call on all Indian members of the Dewan Rakyat, Dewan Negara and the respective state legislative assemblies to form one cross party political caucus to address Indian issues, similar to what we see in the US Congress, where Black and Pacific Island caucuses exist consisting of members from both the Republican and Democratic parties.

2.We also urge the federal government and all the state governments, be they from the Barisan Nasional or the Pakatan Rakyat, to show their sincerity in improving the lot of the Indian community.

Concrete and tangible efforts must be made to improve educational opportunities, moral upliftment, the provision of living skills training and the creation of employment and small business opportunities.

Efforts to improve national unity must be done in a transparent and genuine method. To that end, we reiterate our call for the creation of an independent non-political task force to be a monitoring body comprising representatives selected by the NGOs themselves to oversee the implementation of the initiatives for reform that are so desperately needed.

The Government’s ‘1Malaysia’ concept must be practised and implemented in a manner that gives every Malaysian the sense of pride that he is wanted, appreciated and recognised in the development and progress of our beloved country.

The writer is chairperson, Coalition of Malaysian Indian NGO’s (Comin).