The overcast and gloomy weather in Putrajaya reflected the mood of the thousands of Indian Malaysians who had gathered at the administrative capital.
There was a reason for this crowd to be in Putrajaya on a wet Sunday. They wanted to tell Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that they should not be further marginalised as Malaysians.
The organisers, Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), claimed that many buses with would-be protesters had been halted from entering Putrajaya. The organisers claimed that despite this, some 3,000 people had participated in the protest.
Eyewitnesses, however, estimated a lower figure, saying that the protesting crowd stood between 1,500 and 2,000. The three-hour peaceful gathering started at 9.30am under the watchful eyes of about 30 police and Federal Reserve Unit (FRU) personnel. The crowd, with silent anger with the manner their community was being treated, chanted slogans, carried banners and placards to display their protest.
Some of the banners and placards read “We demand equal rights”, “We want freedom of religion” and “Stop demolishing Hindu temples and Tamil schools”. Hindraf also planned to submit an 18-point resolution to Abdullah to demand the government not to further sideline the Indian community in the country. However, the organisers could only relay their concerns through the memorandum to Abdullah’s private secretary Ahmad Yaakob—the prime minister is overseas visiting Brunei.
No proper representative
“We wrote a letter to the PM to let him know of today’s gathering on Aug 6, and he sent us an acknowledgement letter on Aug 7. However, he’s not here today,” lamented Hindraf legal adviser P. Uthayakumar. “He’s the number one civil servant of our country and he has to be here to answer to this. But where is he?” he asked. “They say all department officials are at a meeting in Penang—not even one of his five secretaries is in town?”
Earlier, the organisers had a discussion with Putrajaya OCPD Razak Majid regarding with whom they should submit the resolution. When Razak brought an Indian official from the PM’s Department, organisers refused to submit the resolution to him, claiming that the Indian officer “is part of the Indian community” that is fighting for their rights and therefore was not appropriate for the government to send him as a representative.
“We will only submit the resolution to a Malay representative from the PM’s Department,” said Uthayakumar. The crowd then waited for about an hour before the PM’s Department could find a suitable person who could represent the premier.
The demands
Uthayakumar also claimed that Putrajaya police blocked some 15 buses carrying protestors from entering Putrajaya. “They only stopped buses carrying Indian passengers. They say the drivers were not carrying valid driving licences,” he said. “How is it possible that only buses with Indian passengers have no valid licences? They let the other buses in,” he said, describing the situation as “a clear-cut discrimination”.
Before submitting the resolution to Ahmad, Uthayakumar and Hindraf chairperson P. Waytha Moorthy read out the content of the resolution, which was drawn up in a forum on July 30 (photo), where some 1,000 people unanimously supported the move to submit the resolution to Abdullah. Among the points that were highlighted in the resolution are:
- End Malay privileges on the 50th Independence celebration
- Call for affirmative action plans for all poor Malaysians
- Pass Protection of Ethnic Minority Malaysian Indian Act 2007
- All Tamil schools to be made fully government-aided schools
- All homeless are to be provided affordable homes and not low-cost flats by law
- Call for a minimum wage of RM1,000 for each and every Malaysian
- To initiate a Royal Commission of Inquiry on the violation of Federal Constitution by the government.
Broken promises
Hindraf chairperson Waytha Moorthy (photo) said that he was pleased with the good turnout. “Despite the diversion of many buses by the police, we are glad so many people came,” he told Malaysiakini. “People now realise that after 50 years of independence, Indians have been shortchanged. Their sacrifices for 200 years have been forgotten by the government… they are treated like slaves by the neo-colonialist Umno regime,” he added.
Businessman S. Mageswaran, 52, said he came for the gathering after hearing that a group of Indians have come forward to fight for their demands to be met. “I am here to give moral support. It’s high time we fight for our rights which have been forgotten by the government,” said
Mageswaran.
“Looking at the crowd, I can see a form of inner spirit developing in Indians. It’s a good start,” he said. Meanwhile, 70-year-old N. Gothandam from Kajang said he could see a lot of difference in the treatment given to Indians presently. “We (Indians) were promised many things by the government when we gained independence, but all those promises have been broken now,” he said. “I just hope that we get at least something by being vocal,” he said hopefully.
Despite Indian Malaysians making up about 8 per cent of the country’s population, they own less than 2 per cent of its national wealth. The community also faces severe problems of hardcore poverty and crime.
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