I refer to the Malaysiakini report BUM 2010: Uthayakumar sparks row . I was there at BUM 2010 and quite frankly feel that parts of this report borders on sensationalism. 

First of all, the general theme of the panel discussion was on the bloggers role to bridge the religious divide within the country. In this regards, Teresa Kok spoke on the religious issues that led to her detention under the Internal Security Act, D. Zulkifli Ahmad spoke on the Allah issue, while P Uthayakumar on the plight of poor, marginalised Indians, amongst other things.   

 

Bloggers in the audience could have used the opportunity to have a lively discussion in line with the theme, 'Blogger's Role in Bridging the Religious Divide'. Instead, they missed the woods for the trees, by simply nitpicking on what Uthayakumar said.  Whatever the case, Helen Ang did a wonderful job of moderating the event.

 

Uthayakumar started his slide show presentation with what happens behind the trees as we drive past the North-South highway.  He was referring to the many plantation workers who work in the rubber estates. He also touched on the temple destruction and the deaths in custody.  Uthayakumar smilingly referred to a private conversation between himself and a blogger prior to the panel discussion, where that blogger apparently told him that his stand was overly ethnocentric. The concerned blogger, Haris Ibrahim, smiled back in acknowledgment.

 

It was during the Q&A session that Blogger Big Dog went into pit bull mode and started accusing Uthayakumar of being ethnocentric simply because he was speaking up only for Indians.  This was followed in rapid succession by another blogger, Salahuddin Hisham, who highlighted that there were non-Indians in the estates as well.

 

Uthayakumar mentioned that the Human Rights Party spoke up for the deaths of Teoh Beng Hock, Aminulrasyid Amzah and many other cases of death at the hands of the authorities. Salahuddin Hisham pointed out that the non-Indians spoke up for Kugan, to which Uthayakumar said that Kugan was the exception. Uthayakumar then asked Salahuddin Hisham to name other Indians who were killed in custody, to which Salahuddin Hisham could not answer.

 

There was a later exchange between Harris Ibrahim and Uthayakumar on the deaths of Aminulrasyid Amzah and the two Indian brothers, Satchithantham and Logeswaran. This has been covered by the above Malaysiakini report, so I am not going to repeat it, except to say that it wasn’t the only thing that was discussed as made out in the above report.

 

N Ganesan also responded to the questions posed by the other bloggers, trying to clarify what Uthayakumar had said. While the exchange was lively, I would hardly describe it as a ‘row’ as the Malaysiakini report has.

 

I am all for people of all races and religions to call themselves ‘Malaysian’ and treating everyone else as Malaysians. I am sure Uthayakumar is too. But with the exception of Harris Ibrahim and a handful of others, how many other bloggers have spoken up for marginalised minority communities, not to mention Indians, as Malaysians?  

I looked up Big Dog’s blog and found nothing there which would qualify. I tried looking for Salahuddin Hisham’s blog. I couldn’t find it, except for a brief mention on ‘Malaysia Today’ citing a person with the same name to be an Umno blogger!  

 

So where is all this sanctimonious pontificating coming from? With due respect to Harris Ibrahim and his ‘Anak Bangsa Malaysia’ programme which I deeply admire, it is not going to happen overnight. It took decades of suppression along racial and religious lines to get to where Malaysia is today. It will take time to become truly Malaysian, and actually feel proud to be Malaysian. It’s a slow, grinding, step-by-step process which requires the dismantling of all overt and covert racist institutions and practices.  

 

Uthayakumar did something nobody else has been able to achieve in Malaysia – unite the Indians. The Indians are generally individualistic, and are also generally spiritually inclined. But the spate of temple demolitions and deaths in custody, and the grinding poverty was too much for the Indians, which were the key reasons why they rose as one during the Hindraf November 2007 rally.

And it wasn’t just marginalized Tamil-speaking Hindus who went. All Indians regardless of their ethnic background, religion and social standing went. It instilled a sense of pride in being an Indian, a pride that was non-existent after decades of being marginalised. This was, like it or not, the first step, towards becoming truly Malaysian.

 

But now we see Uthayakumar and the Human Rights Party being branded by bloggers as ‘racist’.

 Would these bloggers hit out at Nelson Mandela and call him ‘racist’? After all, he spoke up only for Africans and not the other racial groups in his country.

 

Would these bloggers hit out at Martin Luther King and call him ‘racist’? After all, he spoke up only for African Americans and not other racial groups in his country.

 

Would these bloggers hit out at Mahatma Gandhi and call him ‘racist’? After all, he spoke up only for Indians and not the other racial groups in his country.

 

Yet, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Mahatma Gandhi are seen and acknowledged as heroes who helped foster justice and social change for the entire planet. Their examples are emulated worldwide.

 

The fact is that many bloggers, NGOs and opposition party members, never did speak up on the plight of the poor, marginalised Indians as Malaysians before, during and after the Hindraf rally in 2007. It is for this reason that the likes of Uthayakumar and the Human Rights Party continue to exist. If these other bloggers, NGO’s and opposition party members were to address the issues concerning the invisible community sincerely, I am quite sure that Uthayakumar and the Human Rights Party would be glad to call it a day.

 

Now, if these bloggers are genuinely sincere in instilling a sense of Malaysian-ism, then they can start by highlighting all issues affecting all marginalised communities, including Indians. They can even champion a few causes too, to combat racism.  Take the job advertisements one sees in the newspapers, where it is stated ‘bumipteras preferred’ or ‘Mandarin speakers only’. Is this being Malaysian? Or is this being racist? Think about it.

 

Bloggers can start showing their true Malaysian spirit by combating this form of blatant overt racism. But it is not just this form of overt racism one sees, but even covert racism in hiring practices.  This makes it very difficult for even well-educated and experienced Malaysian minorities, which includes Indians, to gain employment and to contribute positively to society.

 

Yes, racism is so yesterday, but the reality is that we have the same racist problem today. Racism remains all around us. If these bloggers are truly Malaysian, then prove it. Take on the racist advertising of jobs and racist hiring practices. Bloggers should champion this cause and prove that they are truly Malaysian, instead of just talking about it and telling Indians that they should be more Malaysian.