The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) movement will be marking the third anniversary of its mass rally tomorrow with a hunger strike and its fourth submission of their 18-point demand to the federal government.

The tail end of the 18-hour fast will be held at the epicentre of the rally - the KLCC Twin Towers - beginning at 9am as a reminder of Hindraf's goals of ending what they claim to be the systematic marginalisation of the Indian community.

Participants will begin their fasting from 9pm tonight and will break fast at 3pm tomorrow. The 18-hour fast symbolises the movement's 18 demands. 

hindraf isa prayer 131209 uthayakumar Hindraf co-founder P Uthayakumar ( right ) said there will be 50 participants at the events, which is being held for the second straight year.

"KLCC is a symbol of prosperity for Malaysia, but our 18-point demand would showcase the real position of the Indian community, which is largely poor and marginalised by the state," he said when contacted.

Hindraf will also be sending a five-member delegation to Putrajaya where the movement will attempt, for the fourth year in a row, to submit a memorandum to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

"Thus far, the premiers have refused to engage us. In fact, last year we had to leave the document at his doorstep. Not even the prime minister's secretary wanted to receive it.

"But if we don't persevere in presenting the document to him, we will lose the opportunity to remind him of his duties and obligations vis-a-vis the 18-point demands," he said.

The 18-point de mands drafted in 2007 call for affirmative action plans for the Indian poor in areas of welfare, culture, business and education.

hindraf british petition rally 251107 gandhi's sprayed This became the core struggle of Hindraf in 2007 and the momentum created snowballed into the mass rally on Nov 25 when tens of thousands attempted to accompany Uthayakumar in handing over a petition to Queen Elizabeth II, via the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.

Following this, Uthayakumar and four other individuals associated with Hindraf were detained without trial under the Internal Security Act on Dec 13. They were later released in batches last year.

The four others were K Vasanthakumar, M Manoharan, V Ganabatirau and R Kengadharan.

Rally in Shah Alam

Meanwhile, a newly-established organisation, Malaysian Indian Voice (MIV) - another offshoot of Hindraf - will be holding a separate function at the Malawati Stadium, Shah Alam on Saturday to commemorate the third anniversary of the rally.

Led by Ganabatirau, his brother V Papparaidu and Kengadharan, the movement seeks to rally 15,000 people at the stadium for the function that is being billed as a Deepavali ‘open house'.

Ganabatirau said that he and his associates had organised a similar meet last year at a hall on a weekday and there have been requests by supporters from across the country to hold the event on a weekend this year.

"Even though it was a weekday when we held the event last year, the hall we rented was filled to the brim. We hope for a better turnout this year," he said.

r kenghadharan Ganabatirau, who is a DAP politician and Shah Alam city councillor, said that although politicians from across the divide are invited to the event, none of them would be invited to speak because MIV was a non-partisan outfit.

Instead, speakers will include himself, Kengadharan ( left ) and philanthropist Oms Thiagarajan.

Both Ganabatirau and Kengadharan had a fallout with Uthayakumar soon after their ISA release.

In another development, Hindraf's fund raising dinner on Nov 28 has been postponed to Dec 19 due to technical reasons.

During the event, Uthayakumar is scheduled to launch his book Nov 25 Hindraf Rally 2007 which he penned during his 512 days under ISA detention.

The 400-page book chronicles the birth of Hindraf and Uthayakumar's thoughts on the movement's future.

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