The reaction of BN leaders following Hindraf's brazen rally was unrelentingly ridiculous though expected. The 'one and only' representative of Indians in the government implored the community to work within the system. The deputy prime minister questioned sudden allegations of discrimination contrary to the community's overwhelming support in the past.
The de facto law minister noted that 30,000 people demonstrating from a community of two million was insignificant and that the proper channels should be used, that is by sending a memorandum to the Prime Minister's Office. Ostensibly illiterate in statistics, the minister should note that Manila saw the People's Revolution of over a million people from a population of approximately 55 million in 1986.
To answer the three ministers curtly;
- the BN system of racial governance is an enormous failure
Contrary to the nonsensical allusions by Mansor Puteh , Hindraf's US$4 trillion suit was filed on behalf of the two million Indians in the country. The community is not divided along parochial religious lines given the minority status that impedes it. To this extent, family ties cut across religion with many having Christians, Hindus and Sikhs in their families. Uthayakumar's representation in the infamous Francis Udayappan case is testimony to where his conviction lies.
It is worth noting that Hindraf had appealed to the opposition parties in the past to highlight issues in Parliament on its behalf but without much success. While we are quick to take a shot at the ethno-religious platform of Hindraf, it is imperative to acknowledge that "Indian issues" end up being championed by Indians because the other races fail to do so. In short, the issues are never dealt with as "Malaysian issues". It appears that the onus is on the minority community to lead the way in charting a permissive Bangsa Malaysia culture, demanding as it may be.
Nevertheless, the sentiments expressed by Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang on the Hindraf rally and their presence in court when the Hindraf trio were to be charged signifies an enlightened appreciation of the greater ills plaguing our nation. It is high time Hindraf's leaders form a viable pact with the opposition.
The tens of thousands of people who demonstrated were not foreigners. It is unbecoming to suggest that the protesters go to India, insinuating that they be relieved of their citizenship for exercising a democratic right. With due respect, no one made the call for reformasi protesters to leave the country at the height of their rallies in the late 1990s.
Malaysia was ranked the second last of 54 countries in the flawed democracy category a 2006 survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit. In other words, there were 28 full democracies and 52 flawed democracies ahead of us. We were just two steps away from being categorised as a hybrid regime. We have the rare distinction of outdoing Singapore in this regard.
Not surprisingly, the government has resorted to using sedition laws and has not ruled out invoking emergency promulgations such as the Internal Security Act against the protesters. Sedition is a common law doctrine (codified in Malaysia) and for the charge to stand, it is vital to prove the motive of violence. Hindraf has throughout maintained that its rally was peaceful. There were no reports of weapons found on the protesters. It is laughable that a "democracy" requires a permit if five or more of its subjects wish to assemble in public.
For far too long, the government has been ruling on a majoritarian platform. The New Economic Policy's noble objectives to eradicate poverty and disassociate race with job functions have been usurped to benefit the elites and certain segments of the bumiputera. Bumiputeras and Orang Asli in the rural hinterlands and in East Malaysia can scarcely claim social upliftment in nearly 40 years.
Where the bumiputeras face a problem of implementation, the non-Malays, specifically Indians face total neglect. It is incumbent upon the MIC to be forthright on how much of government funds, if at all, were obtained for the setting up of Tafe College, AIMST, Maju Institute, Maika Holdings, schools, places of worship and skills and vocational training. Until recently, not a single Indian was enrolled in the Arumugam Pillai Institute.
There is nothing to be proud of if the downtrodden community's own money was used to set up these institutions. That does not live up to the motto of the "sole representative of Indians" in the government.
It is downright idiotic for Umno ministers to claim that many Indians are professionals without considering the route their families took to get them there. Perhaps they don't know what it means to beg, borrow, steal or sell their only property to fund their children's education. A comparison of what the government has done for the bumiputeras was aptly highlighted by letter writer Colin Nathan .
Of course, I need not write along these lines if this country was governed along a need-based platform as opposed to a race-based one. It is our duty as citizens to ensure that we put an end to this rubbish after half a century of independence.
