I write in desperation that you hear the voice of Malaysians. The government talks about a democratic country but there is no freedom of speech. Citizens are not allowed to voice their grievances and if they try to, they are dealt with punishment without trial.

I refer to the protest rally by the ethnic Indian community that took place in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25. The agenda of the march was to make an appeal to the Queen through the British High Commission and to bring the world's attention to the inequalities that the non-Malays have been facing for the past 50 years.

In this country, Malays are given preferential treatment and benefits like special pricing in housing, confirmed placements in education, preferential jobs especially in the government sector. Top government positions have been held by the Malays. The demonstration that took place on Nov 25 is to shed light on the plight of the minority communities and to demand equal rights and opportunities.

Unfortunately, the request to proceed with the peaceful rally fell on the deaf ears of the government who did not give them permission to go ahead with it. Furthermore, the citizens were threatened that if they participated in the rally they would be arrested immediately.

Governments servants, teachers and students were told that they would be dealt with harshly if they attended the rally. To make things worse, three days before, roads were blocked and Malaysian Indians were not allowed to enter the city. Instead, these acts of non-support from the government motivated people to attend the rally with enthusiasm.

On the day of the rally, thousands of people gathered in Kuala Lumpur and patiently waited to be heard. The march was a call for Indians to be listened to, that's all. How did the government react? They repeatedly attacked the crowd with tear gas and chemically-laced water. There was no provocation from the protestors. It was a planned attack by the police who are mere puppets of the ruling government.

What scares me the most is that the truth of what happened is not being broadcasted. Local television channels, which are accessible to every Malaysian, only talk about how it was an illegal protest, one not supported by the government.

The print media is only showing one side of the story, such as how one policeman was injured and pictures of barricades broken by an unruly crowd (the same crowd who tripped and fell when their eyes were burning with tear gas). Friends and family in other parts of the world do not even know that 20,000 people protested in the city centre.

Hence the question: Is this a democracy or is it communism?