The HINDRAF issue is getting complicated for the ethnic Hindus and the Malaysia Govt.

M.S. Verma

MyNews.In

The arrest of HINDRAF members and the consequent developments

One can have an idea of acute pain, which the Indian Ethnic community in Malaysia has been bearing for a long period of time from this excerpt of a letter: We refer to the above critical matters in Malaysia but which generally gets the least attention locally even by the Opposition parties, NGO’s, the Malaysian Human Rights Commission and the media for this community is generally regarded as politically insignificant, do not draw local or international funding and are deemed not press worthy. To the contrary the Malaysian government has successfully projected itself to the world as a modern Islamic thinking country, which is not true.

This letter was written to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown by Hindu Rights Action force (HINDRAF) Legal Advisor Mr. P. Uthayakumar. One may wonder why this letter was written to British Prime Minister. The answer is because the ethnic minority Indians in Malaysia was brought into Malaysia by the British some 200 over years ago. Since independence in 1957, the Malaysian Indians have been a part of Malaysian community. But we must not forget that Malaysia is an Islamic nation. 

The issue of the arrest of 24 HINDRAF members and the consequent developments can’t be viewed as a simple issue. On the one hand, the Malaysian Government’s inadequacy of not only the absence of appropriate laws to deal with such a situation but also of the power that it should have had resting with the police under the Police Act rendering it helpless and the underlying fear of the Ethnic Indians’ movement gathering momentum over a period of time following the impressive and unprecedented demonstration of a gathering comprising 20,000 people. On the other hand the genuine concern of the ethnic Indians suffering on account of indifference shown to them over a long period have complicated matters so much that no solution can be visualized in the near future.

Right now the Malaysian Government is in a jam. It finds itself unprepared to deal with the situation not only to the satisfaction of the Malaysian Ethnic Indians but also to the India and other Common Wealth countries so much so that the courts in Malaysia too would find it difficult to untangle the issue. From the prevailing circumstances even the lawyers fighting the case of HINDRAF members will have to scratch their heads a bit. Matters extending over a longer period are not easy to tackle. There are facts that have changed and re-changed umpteen times.  

The Babari Masjid or the Ram Setu issues in back in India similar in nature too are not open to easy solutions. A lot of patience and the spirit of give and take are essential. Bertrand Russel has said, “For countries to enjoy liberty some liberty will have to be sacrificed.” But then there are always people who are seldom inclined to make sacrifice and budge from their stand. The matter of ethnic Indians in Malaysia is not one with a recent history. The mere reference to compensation from the British for the Indians being taken to Malaysia over 150 years ago adds to the complexity of the issue.  

The demolition of a temple claimed by HINDRAF to have existed over 100 years would need a genuine verification of facts with reference to old records which may or may not be available. The government too will not be in a position to right away reject this claim and so too the courts. But whatever the circumstances, to a great extent the helplessness of the Malaysian Government are apparent. The people who are in the Government right now are in a pathetic predicament, caught up in a dilemma and would very much like to extricate themselves unscathed in the end. The members of HINDRAF too, it is hoped, know this fact and should not let any opportunity to slip away for finding a mutually agreed solution without either party having to lose face. 

This is expected of all concerned with this ticklish issue. Overall the situation must not come to a point where this peace loving Indian community of Tamil origin may be forced to into terrorism as what has happened to the Sri Lankan Tamils. Let us hope for the best.