As predicted, the Hindraf leaders who enjoyed the rare support from the Indians, the race known to be voters whose votes are already in the safe deposit box of the ruling coalition, will now be made to know that dissent, open debate and pertinent questions as to their marginalisation will not be tolerated by the current regime. In the name of national security they can do just about anything and no judge in any court of law in this land can question them.

The arrest and incarceration of the five Hindraf leaders, four of whom are members of the Malaysian Bar goes to show that we are in the same boat as the people of Pakistan and Turkey where the courts have been made powerless and those in power will want to hang on to it by whatever means. It is an utter shame that one is locked up for having a different opinion with the majority of whom are happy to be kept misinformed for as long as their interest are served.

The racial sentiments of pitting the dominant, major race against the minorities is the best and only way to guarantee the ruling coalition the power they need to continue ruling in perpetuity. Indian Malaysians who have been the blind followers of the ruling elite and the most submissive of the minorities in the country will now have to ponder as to whether they are being considered at all in policies that affects change for betterment and for a more open and tolerant society based on the strong guiding principles of democracy enshrined in the Federal Constitution.

Religious intolerance is what caused the momentum to build up to this stage. There were no avenues to speak and nobody in power who wanted to listen. The ruling elite Indians could not respond out of fear of repercussion from the dominant elites and more so for the fear that their positions will be jeopardised.

This led to the majority of poorer Indians, who always seek solace and peace in the open halls of a Hindu temple when their fortunes are down, to look elsewhere for answers. If our leaders are not bothered and are only determined to demolish, what else can the minority race do when it has been threatened by the diminishing pace of religious intolerance by the dominant race?

If the courts have been dominated by the appointees of the powerful elite and justice can be thwarted to suit the needs of the privileged few, where else can the minorities go for justice except to the streets? With politicians threatening the use of detention without trial and the revocation of one's citizenship to silence criticism and dissent, what and where do the minorities go for urgent and affirmative answers?

The judiciary was always seen as the last bastion in which the people could put their trust and faith in. But even that institution has been systematically dismantled and propped up with loyalist who are more concerned about their positions than their oath to uphold justice without fear or favour.

The very reason the Hindraf movement saw mass support is because Indians were feeling that their voices were not heard regarding matters of religious conversion without due information given to the next of kin, the tussle by the Islamic authorities for Indian dead bodies whose conversion is very questionable and issues of interracial and interreligious marriages which will cause a nightmare for persons concerned in government departments when it comes to filling in forms.

One wonders how a temple which has existed legally for decades in an estate suddenly becomes illegal just because the buyer of the land later converts the status of the land and decides to develop the land. If the developer argues that he bought the land fair and square, the state authorities should at least protect the temple by making sure that land is designated.

After all, Indians have not asked to built gigantic structures that will undermine Islam in the country. They have always kept by the rules and built temples with funds from the Indian masses. If a Hindu temple can exist with relative peace right in the centre of a Felda Jengka scheme whose benefactors are largely Malays, why can't other state governments and local authorities follow this example?

Indian Hindus have now become very concerned and awakened by the demolishment of their temples. If they don't, it may not be there for them one day. The constant chanting of "Go through the proper channels and work within the system" by the government does not seem to work. The message is not put through to the person who makes the final decision. Therefore we see the birth of civil rights movements who are more aligned to the opposition because their causes get addressed in a platform where the message can be put through.

The Hindraf 5 have gone into detention for the protection and continued existence of Hinduism and its practices in Malaysia. Will the Indians in Malaysia appreciate them for their sacrifices? We may not get equal rights or convince the dominant race to relinquish their rights as safeguarded in the constitution, but we may at least get them to sit up and realise that we have been here right from the time the Bujang Valley existed.

Therefore, we cannot and will not tolerate being termed as kaum pendatang forever. Malaysia is nothing but a melting pot of diverse cultures and if handled properly, will be our strength.