Anwar after Hindraf over Ministry of Orang Asal and Minority Affairs (Moama)
Anwar is just a case of sour grapes trying to create trouble for Hindraf on the registration issue through Jayathas
Joe Fernandez
Is Jayathas of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), allegedly Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim’s newly-recruited political mandore from Hindraf, trying to say the NGO should not be registered just because his boss doesn’t like it?
It appears to be so judging from his song-and-dance act on Sat at a press conference, for his 15 minutes of fame, on the subject.
Hindraf, or any organisation, has a right to be registered. It’s the Registrar of Societies (ROS) which plays politics with registration, on the instructions of Umno, until the matter ends up in Court. Umno doesn’t own the ROS.
Anwar is just a case of sour grapes trying to create trouble for Hindraf on the registration issue through Jayathas and his other known Indian political mandores. He’s painting Hindraf’s registration as proof of it being in cahoots — whatever it means — with Umno/BN. If there’s one thing which can annoy PR and drive it up the wall, if not around the bend, it’s the registration of Hindraf and Umno/BN knows it only too well and has capitalised on it.
Anwar has never stopped trying to discredit Hindraf as a “racist” organisation ever since 2008 when he shamelessly jumped onto its makkal sakthi — people power in Tamil – – bandwagon which created the political tsunami at the 12th General Elections. He forgets that Umno/BN has never once referred to Hindraf as a racist organisation. In 67 parliamentary seats in Malaya, and the related state seats, the Indians decide. That was the reading in 2008. But “lembu punya susu, sapi dapat nama” Anwar continues to remain in a state of denial.
When unelected caretaker Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak wanted to talk to Hindraf, they said, “lift the ban first”. Obviously, the Government can’t be in discussions with an unlawful or banned organisation.
So, the ban was lifted and at the same time the organisation was registered. All the paperwork was done. Again, the Government can’t be engaged in discussions either with an unregistered organisation. The registration had to be done.
Mahathir makes it seem as if the Malays are desperate for heroes
Hindraf was banned although it was not a registered organisation and did not apply for registration. Anwar was among those who gloated in public when Hindraf was banned. He was even seen doing his usual dance jig, Oh! Hindraf sudah goyang!, at various ceramah over the banning.
The then IGP Musa Hassan even disingenuously accused Hindraf of having links with the Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka. Anwar applauded the IGP although his paternal grandfather is a Tamil Hindu and he should have known better. His main concern, as a well-known “user”, was to eliminate Hindraf so that he doesn’t have to share political space with the NGO.
The IGP wanted to cover up the fact that there was little intelligence in his intelligence service, the Special Branch, and Military Intelligence. Déjà vu!
Indians had a good laugh since there’s no love lost between the Sri Lanka Tamils and Indian Tamils. The Tamil Tigers would have been able to carve a separate homeland by now for the Tamils, Muslims and Malays in northern and eastern Sri Lanka had the Tamils of Tamil Nadu in south-eastern India supported them. The Tamil Tiger killing of Rajiv Gandhi in Tamil Nadu was the last straw.
Initially, Hindraf began as an ad hoc protest movement against the bogus conversion of Everest hero Moorthy to Islam by two operatives of former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad.
Mahathir makes it seem as if the Malays are desperate for heroes to enter, by hook or crook, in our history books which are already highly politicised and full of propaganda. Fortunately, the truth is out there in the libraries of the world. Mahathir should take his own advice not so long ago when he urged the Malays to commit hara kiri should they bring shame upon their own people.
Then, in response to Mahathir on Moorthy, the Indian community jumped on the Hindraf bandwagon with all their pent-up demands from over the last half century. The rest is history.
Buku Jingga, Manifesto an irritating response to Blueprint
One needs to read the Tamil papers, not Malaysiakini and the like, to get an idea of what’s going on in the Indian community.
Hindraf can help Pakatan Rakyat (PR) against Umno/BN despite the Indian community not having even one ethnic-majority seat in any legislature. Anwar doesn’t seem to realise that the people did not vote for PR in 2008. It voted against Umno/BN. Who channelled the hate against Umno/BN into the political tsunami if not Hindraf? That does not mean that Indians, in the absence of a clear direction from Hindraf, will take leave of their senses and root wholesale for Umno/BN.
However, Hindraf cannot be a political mandore for PR or BN, after having been so vocal on the issue and for so long.
Political mandoreism is a theory on which Hindraf holds intellectual property rights. Jeffrey Kitingan, similarly, holds intellectual property rights with his theories on the Dependency Syndrome, and Putrajaya’s rule by proxy, composed of traitors who are proxies, stooges and rogue elements, in Borneo.
If Umno/BN supports the proposed Ministry of Orang Asal and Minority Affairs (Moama), it must make an open declaration and not come to a secret understanding, as feared, with Hindraf.
Anwar can steal the thunder from Umno/BN by openly declaring PR’s support for the proposed Ministry instead of taking pot shots at Hindraf through minions like Jayathas who may mean well but are naïve enough to be like buffaloes led by a rope through the nostrils. Let not the Ministry become yet another Fixed Deposit for Umno/BN. The ball is in PR’s court.
Anwar must realise that Hindraf, being apolitical, cares two hoots about his PR or even Umno/BN.
He has already made a big mistake by not probing whether the Hindraf Blueprint may have been a Red Herring.
Instead, he was going on and on about his Buku Jingga whatever and Manifesto, both of which doesn’t interest Hindraf and Indians in the least. They are all about the Chinese and Malays.
Ministry of Orang Asal and Minority Affairs (Moama) the key concern
Malaysia is perhaps the only country in the world where politicians expect free votes especially from the marginalised and disenfranchised.
Even the great Obama had to make concessions on immigration reform, for example, before he could clinch the Latino votes to win a second term as US President. Otherwise, how could a black man enter the White House, in a largely white country which is still generally racist to the core?
Anwar offers Indians nothing in return for their votes except the remote possibility of throwing out Umno/BN in retaliation for the 56 years of internal colonisation they suffered under the ruling party’s bangsa, agama, negara driven ketuanan Melayu (Malay political supremacy and dominance) “ideology”, a sick combination of Apartheid, Nazism, Fascism, Communism, Political Islam, terrorism, militancy, “ethnic cleansing”, and the caste system which denies the non-Malays upward social mobility.
Dap compounded Anwar’s big mistake by copy pasting the Hindraf Blueprint in part for their 14 Point Gelang Patah Declaration. No reference was made, if any, to the Hindraf Blueprint. Now the Dap has both egg and mud on their faces as Hindraf cried plagiarism and rolled on the floor with laughter. Don’t underestimate these estate Indians. They had 56 years to work out which side their bread is buttered.
All Hindraf is concerned about is pushing through the proposed Ministry, an idea which has the support of State Reform Party (Star) chairman Jeffrey Kitingan and the Orang Asal on both sides of the South China Sea, the Suluks, the Chinese, Christians, Siamese, Portuguese, Eurasians, Anglo Indians, Baba Nonya, Chitty and other members of the 45 per cent non-Malay minorities in Malays. The mood is clear from Hindraf’s ceramah, tea party talks and town hall-style meetings.
Entry of Star into the fray in Malaya an unknown factor
Once the Ministry kicks off, the Hindraf Blueprint will automatically take on a life of its own. If Anwar is smart, he will say that he supports the proposed Ministry and will leave any decision on the Hindraf Blueprint to it. Many countries have a ministry for minorities, an idea promoted by the UN High Commission on Human Rights.
If both PR and Umno/BN refuse to endorse the Hindraf Blueprint, the NGO has pledged to urge Indians to abstain from voting. This is equivalent to spoiling the ballots. In the former case, Indians don’t have to bother visiting the polling stations.
If Indians abstain, there are no prizes for guessing what will be the result come polling day. The winners (BN) will know that they won because the Indians didn’t vote against them. The losers (PR) will know they lost because Indians didn’t vote for them. In 2008, 85 per cent of Indians voted against BN. This means PR needs Indian votes more than BN does.
We still haven’t factored in Hindraf’s reported plans to field candidates under the State Reform Party (Star) symbol and flag in Malaya. Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy, win or lose, can be expected to take on MIC President, G. Palanivel, in Cameron Highlands or wherever he’s fielded.
Hindraf wants deviations, distortions and anti-non Malay laws ended
Hindraf must remain an apolitical NGO on human rights for all (hurifa).
Hindraf is not about Hinduism or a particular religion as Anwar keeps preaching to his mandores and others.
It has never been about Hinduism as evident from its stand on Article 3 of the Federal Constitution, which does not mention an official religion, and about creeping Islamisation in the country.
Hindraf’s stand against the intrusion of the Syariah and the Syariah Court into civil law, bogus conversions, forced conversions, and the lack of freedom of worship, has the support of all right-minded Malaysians.
Hindraf’s stand on the deviations and distortions on Article 153 of the Federal Constitution and the New Economic Policy (NEP) and the anti non-Malay minorities administrative laws must also have the support of all right and fair-minded Malaysians.
Hindraf wants these deviations, distortions and administrative laws ended and abolished.
It has further called for Article 153 and the NEP to be ended and abolished. The jury is still out on this matter among the Malay-speaking nation — Bugis, Javanese, Minang, Acehnese, Arab Muslims, Indian Muslims etc — in Malaya and the Orang Asal.
Hindraf has taken a stand against the ruling elite running up the National Debt Burden to put their hands in the National Cookie Jar under the guise of bringing development to the people but in fact to feather their own nests at the expense of the nation. Consider the fact that the Malay-speaking communities are no match for the Chinese as a people despite 56 years of racist rule by Umno pushing the so-called Malay Agenda.
Had it remained ad hoc, Hindraf could have been a Hydra on human rights
The Orang Asal can join Hindraf as they were originally Hindus, are culturally Hindus, and the pagans practise an animist form of Hinduism.
All Indians, Afghans, Iranians, and southeast and East Asians, irrespective of religion, are culturally Hindus.
Had it remained ad hoc, Hindraf could have been a Hydra on human rights.
Now, that possibility remains unclear even diminished, as the inevitable struggle for posts, come in-house elections if any in Hindraf, would give rise to internal politicking and power struggles. Jayathas is not Anwar’s only political mandore. He has others bidding their time in Hindraf while feeding him with information in return for a little tambang bas but there should be no witch-hunt. They are under the constant watch of the hardcore Hindraf loyalists.
Joe Fernandez is a graduate mature student of law and an educationist, among others, who loves to write especially Submissions for Clients wishing to Act in Person. He also tutors at local institutions. He feels compelled, as a semi-retired journalist, to put pen to paper — or rather the fingers to the computer keyboard — whenever something doesn’t quite jell with his weltanschauung (worldview) or to give a Hearing to All. He shuttles between points in the Golden Heart of Borneo formed by the Sabah west coast, Labuan, Brunei, northern Sarawak and the watershed region in Borneo where three nations meet. He’s half-way through a semi-autobiographical travelogue, A World with a View.
