Maiden HRP Human Rights Briefing 2009 for Foreign and Diplomatic Missions in Kuala Lumpur – 26/3/2010

The Indian suffering in Malaysia is from Womb to Tomb, 90% of standard one children in Tamil schools not being able to read or write because they never attended kindergartens arising out of poverty and 60% of prison occupants being Indians is  disproportionate to their small population and alarming. Give an Indian gangster group for example a petrol station to operate or the thousands of other business opportunities and the chances are they would not get involved in crime.

HRP

Today’s historic event began with Mr. Pathmarajah welcoming foreign and diplomatic missions in Kuala Lumpur from the UNDP, Frank Eggman, Counsellor & Deputy Head of Mission from Switzerland, Katarzyna Wilkowiecka, Charge de Affaires and Counsellor from Poland, Bertrand-Xavier Asselin, Second Secretary Political, Economic & Public Affairs Section from Canada, Wolfgang M. Gmask, Deputy Head of Mission from Austria, Inke Hilarie Dinesia, Third Secretary from Indonesia, Anders Ringstedt, Intern from Sweden, Heikki Vendermander, Deputy Head of Mission from Belgium, Virginie Corteval, First Secretary from France, Viorel Mosanu, Counsellor Deputy Head of Mission from Romania, Gregory D’Alesandro, Political Officer and Ravindran Manickam, Senior Associate Political Section, both from USA, and F. Selim Inal Junior, lawyer from Germany.

In the opening presentation it was said that HRP had called for this briefing because they have come up against a wall, stonewalled, and there is no recourse and remedy. So we were appealing to the said foreign missions to internationalize and highlight the critical ethnic minority Indian problems. And that this message should be taken up with their various governments and hoped that something would come out of it. “We want the world to recognize that there is a low intensity and staggered ethnic cleansing of the ethnic minority Indian in Malaysia.”

The Excellencies were also briefed on the definition of ethnic cleansing by Prof Micheal Mann of the UCLA, where in his definitive paper, “The Dark
Side of Democracy’, set the parameters of what constitutes ethnic cleansing. The Excellencies were informed that all those parameters have been met in Malaysia.

Our Information Chief, Jayathas, then played a three minute video chip of the events that led to the 25th November 2007 Hindraf Rally the ISA
detention of the Hindraf lawyers, the public campaigns for their release and the first few moments of their freedom from the ISA arrest.

Mr. P.Uthayakumar outlined the Human Rights Violations against the ethnic minority Malaysian Indians Report 2009 covering womb to tomb beginning
with denying birth certificates to an estimated 150,000 of their parents and in effect making an estimated 450,000 Indians stateless.

Also, Indians being denied equality and equal opportunities in contravention of Article 8 of the Federal Constitution (Equality before the law), denied places in elite schools, public university places, scholarships and study loans to especially Malaysian Indian medical students overseas.

Indians being denied equality and equal opportunities in contravention of Article 8 of the Federal Constitution (Equality before the law) denied
places in elite schools public university places, scholarships and study loans to especially Malaysian Indian medical students overseas.

Indians being denied licences, permits, business opportunities and business loans. P.Uthayakumar invited the dignitaries to see for themselves that there is almost zero Indians operating petrol stations, Mobil, Shell, Petronas, Esso, McDonalds, KFC, Burger King, Baskin Robins, Starbucks, etc., lucrative highway rest area food stalls etc.

P.Uthayakumar also outlined how a grassroots organization Hindraf which was merely doing campaigns in a peaceful manner was outlawed for good and the HRP has refused registration as a political party eight months now.

Also the Hindraf link to the alleged terrorist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) group was merely to justify the four (4) Hindraf lawyers detention without trial or conviction under Malaysia’s Internal Security Act. (Note: the International community through their own intelligence sources would have by now known that Hindraf was never linked to the LTTE. The Malaysian government’s silence on this matter is Res Ipsa Loquiteour, ie., the facts speaks for itself. Our biggest fear is what if the Malaysian government in the future plants drugs or link us to some other
crimes for political expediency purposes.

Finally P.Uthayakumar said, ‘pray tell me of one other country in the world with racism and supremacy to this extent with even apartheid ending
in South Africa some 20 years ago’?

In Malaysia, UMNO and not the Barisan Nasional rules. UMNO by design specifically excludes the Indians from the national mainstream development
of Malaysia.

To make matters worse, even the Opposition parties, almost all NGOs and civil society, the print and electronic media including the alternative
media by their omission have contributed to the current critical Indian problems in Malaysia.

In conclusion P.Uthayakumar said that the US Civil Rights Act 1964 and Voting Rights Act 1965 was some eight years after Malaysia’s independence.
In these 45 years a black muslim, Barack Hussein Obama could become the President of the USA but in Malaysia an Indian will not even get a post
master’s job, a National Primary school Headmasters job, let alone a District Officers job however qualified or deserving they are.

P. Uthayakumar’s lawyer Mr. Surendran brief the diplomats on the difficulties P. Uthayakumar is having with the not so independent Judge who had even said that she had to get instructions from somebody? How the police and the Attorney General were going to nail P. Uthayakumar on UMNO/BN’s instructions! And that P.Uthayakumar is looking at another 18 months or so jail as the Judge is most likely to convict him in any event.

Surendran briefed the diplomats on the origins of the Tudors, 1600 or so, Sedition laws introduced by the British colonial rule in Malaysia and rarely used by the British but liberally used by the UMNO/BN Government after independence.

Mr. Jeevendra Kumar, a central committee member of HRP briefed the diplomats with a pictoral slideshow presentation of deaths in police custody and deaths by police shooting, the Kampung Medan ‘ethnic cleansing’ tragedy in 2001 which involved 5 Indians being killed and 91 injured, and being the worst case of human rights violations in the history of Malaysia. But despite that no Royal Commission of Inquiry, no white paper by the  government, no inquest into the pogrom and no serious charges for murder and manslaughter.

Other issues on housing and welfare help for the poor Indians the pathetic state of Tamil schools, 817 7As scoring Tamil school pupils being denied
places in MRSM elite schools and the like. Indians denied places in universities and especially top government and private sector jobs, scholarships, etc.

During question time one member of the diplomatic corps asked if we expect HRP to be registered. P.Uthayakumar replied in the negative but that HRP would irrespective proceed to contest in the next general elections as a group of independents as per our Indian Political Empowerment Strategy – the Way Forward.

Another diplomat asked about our relationship with Pakatan Rakyat. In reply P.Uthayakumar replied quoting Confucious, ‘a thousand mile journey
begins with a single step’. So when Pakatan Rakyat had not allocated state land to the 98, 58, and 28 Tamil schools in Selangor (PKR ruled) Kedah
(Pas ruled) and which Penang (DAP ruled) and which land matters are 100% within their purview and in which event the UMNO Federal government would be forced to grant fully financial aid status to all these Tamil schools; when P.R has even refused to do this, then they are not going to address the scores of the other critical Indian problems.

On why PR is refusing to grant state land to all these Tamil schools P.Uthayakumar answered that PR fears losing Malay votes which may be exploited by UMNO and also that Tamil schools which are sitting on prime land are multi million ringgit land banks for the pickings of PKR, DAP and PAS at their call and pleasure.

To another question on birth certificates, Mr. Uthayakumar replied that it is the 1,016,799 Biro Tatanegara graduates –  almost all civil servants who implement UMNO’s racist, religious extremist and supremacist policies and denies Indians their birth certificates and identity cards, educational, jobs and business opportunities, denies Indians licenses, permits, tenders, projects, etc.

Another diplomat remarked that MIC which is in the government and the Indians are represented, to which Mr. Uthayakumar replied that while there
are Indian representatives in the government there is almost zero representation. The MIC is powerless and used as mere show pieces and does not wield any power in the government as any other coalition would have in any other democracy.

If at all the MIC Minister of 29 years standing should have had almost dictator level powers but he is powerless to even help solve the very elementary 150,000 Indians being denied their birth certificates, let alone the scores of the other critical Indian problems. In fact the Indians are almost always passive, timid and fear riddled. But 100,000 Indians would not have unprecedentedly come to the streets at the 25th November 2007 Hindraf peaceful assembly after which the Hindraf lawyers were detained under the ISA for 514 days, if they felt they did not have a strong case.

Appeal to the Diplomats and International community

In winding up Mr. Uthayakumar appealed to the diplomats:-

1) To raise these issues on the diplomatic front and on a government to government basis as Malaysia is sensitive to international security.
2) That we hope some country could consider bringing the plight of the Indians to the International Court of Justice/ World Court as individuals,
NGOs and Political parties are not allowed to do so.
3)Raise and discuss these issues with Malaysia at Trade and other Meetings.

Mr. Uthayakumar ended by saying that the Indian suffering in Malaysia is from Womb to Tomb, 90% of standard one children in Tamil schools not being able to read or write because they never attended kindergartens arising out of poverty and 60% of prison occupants being Indians is  disproportionate to their small population and alarming. Give an Indian gangster group for example a petrol station to operate or the thousands of other business opportunities and the chances are they would not get involved in crime.

Mr. Uthayakumar invited the diplomats to visit our inhouse lockup cum gallery and to visit our website www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com for day
to day updates on how the Malaysian state violates the human rights of the ethnic minority Malaysian Indians.