[See Preston Merchant's extensive background post on the situation in Malaysia for SAJAforum from February 2008, available here]
Events in Malaysia have been heating up again in recent weeks. On October 16, the government of Malaysia banned the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF), a coalition of nongovernmental organizations that advocates greater protection for the rights of Hindus against what it regards to be a rise in Malay chauvinism within the country. According to Malaysia's Home Minister, Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar:
We are not banning it (Hindraf) because it was promoting Hindu rights or Indian rights. On legitimate issues, nobody can quarrel with Hindraf. But we are taking action because we consider the way it has gone about doing things -- promoting extremism.
Hindraf has said “our enemies are the Malays, the Muslims.” This is in some of their leaders’ speeches. We have allowed them to go on. Yes, there are some issues involving the Indians that have not been totally resolved, but to say that we oppress, commit apartheid or genocide and that the police allowed murder in Kg Medan and Kg Rawa?
Hindraf has organised 17 forums and 338 street demonstrations. We took a long time before taking action because we don’t want them to think that because it is a society that seems to speak for a certain race or religion, that we took action. We took action because we considered that they have taken a very extreme approach to propagate their ideology. [link]
The government's ban of HINDRAF followed a flurry of arrests in September against several bloggers, journalists, and opposition politicians, including Malaysia Today's Raja Petra Kamarudin, who has been referred to as Malaysia's "most popular blogger." The September arrests went largely unreported in North America and Europe, but had prompted fears by some in Southeast Asia that a wider crackdown might be on the horizon. While several of those detained were subsequently released, the government ordered Raja Petra to be detained for two years under the Internal Security Act, the same colonial-era preventive detention law under which five HINDRAF leaders have been detained since December 2007. A sedition trial for one of those give leaders, P. Uthayakumar, began last week.
The ban on HINDRAF has been criticized by the Wall Street Journal Asia:
Mr. Syed Hamid says Hindraf did not obtain the proper permits for its public rallies and blames the group for violence that erupted at demonstrations in November and February. But rather than try the alleged offenders in public courts, Kuala Lumpur used colonial-era laws to jail five Hindraf leaders without trial in December. Now it has banned the group. Hindraf says it will continue its fight for equal rights.
This is a blow to Malaysia's new rights movement. Hindraf wants the country's minority Hindus to receive equal treatment in education and professional opportunities -- a direct challenge to the government's pro-Malay affirmative-action policies. In November more than 10,000 people marched in Kuala Lumpur's streets to support the cause. The March national elections, in which the opposition made huge gains, showed that many Malaysians also want political change.
Until the government allows for peaceful protest, racial divides are only likely to deepen. Hindraf says it is a peaceful cause. If the government wants to demonstrate otherwise, it would be better to prove it in court. [link]
and by the Center for Independent Journalism in Kuala Lumpur:
Despite the reasons given by the government, the decision is a setback to freedom of expression and will only send the signal that dissent is not tolerated. Hindraf supporters have organised several gatherings to protest the Internal Security Act, in light of the detention of five of its leaders for two years in Kamunting. Its latest gathering on 27 September drew two thousand people and was also dedicated to blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin. Its visit to the Prime Minister's open house on 3 October for the Hari Raya celebration came under heavy criticism by the Malay press "Utusan Malaysia" and TV3 for their insistence of meeting the PM and submitting a memorandum despite security control....
The right to associate and expression is guaranteed under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, albeit with restrictions through amendments passed over the years. CIJ believes that the issues highlighted by Hindraf are genuine and real socioeconomic and political problems faced by a significant number of people of Indians in Malaysia. The government has failed to engage and respond to the group and the issues they raised, which was one of the many reasons for the Barisan Nasional's limited success in the March 8 elections.
Banning the movement will not remove the frustrations and problems faced by the individuals, families and the community, especially when association is a fundamental human right. The best way for the government is to engage the group and work towards a more open and participatory solution. [link]
Preston Merchant provided extensive background and resources for covering the recent political mobilization within Malaysia's Indian community, after a trip to Malaysia last winter with V.V. Ganeshananthan, in a SAJAforum post in February 2008. The New Straits Times refreshes our recollections with a short timeline of events surrounding HINDRAF during the past year:
July 28, 2007: The movement begin to register on the police’s radar after some of their leaders held talks and gatherings in several states.
Aug 30, 2007: Hindraf files a class-action suit against the British government for allegedly bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years and thereafter failing to protect their rights in the Federal Constitution when independence was granted. Seeks US$1 million for every Indian currently residing in Malaysia. Announces that 10,000 Indians are expected to go to British High Commission on Nov 25 to petition the Queen of England to support their suit.
Nov 25, 2007: Thousands of Indians gather at Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak. Police fire water cannons and tear gas to disperse crowds. Four officers are injured in the fracas, one sustaining a severe head wound. 136 supporters are arrested while another 105 detained. Damage to public amenities estimated at RM100,000.
Nov 28, 2007: Hindraf denies links to political parties.
Dec 3, 2007: Hindraf legal adviser P. Uthayakumar tells Singapore’s The New Paper violence is a possibility that the Indian community would consider in order to push their agenda. The movement also previously sent an email to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown alleging “ethnic cleansing” of Indians in Malaysia.
Dec 4, 2007: Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail claims he has proof that Hindraf is linked to Sri Lankan terrorist movement Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) during a court proceeding. The statement is, however, expunged from the court recordings.
Dec 9, 2007: Hindraf denies links to terrorist movements. Uthayakumar says claims were a ploy to prevent them from seeking help from foreign governments and NGOs. Dec 11, 2007: Prominent members, V. Ganabatirau and M. Manoharan, are confirmed to be DAP members. This despite the movement earlier stating that they are not linked to any political party.
Dec 13, 2007: Described as a threat to national security and public order, five Hindraf leaders are detained under the Internal Security Act. The five are lawyers P. Uthayakumar, R. Kengadharan, V. Ganabatirau, M. Manoharan and a senior executive with Malaysia Building Society Bhd, K. Vasantha Kumar. The detainees are subsequently dubbed the Hindraf 5. Leader P. Waytha Moorthy flees to London.
Dec 16, 2007: Accompanied by about 2,000 supporters, the families of the Hindraf leaders detained under the ISA hold a prayer ceremony amid tight security at a temple in Kamunting.
Feb 16, 2008: Police use tear gas and water cannons to disperse several hundred Hindraf supporters who defy orders to hold an illegal rally at Parliament house to deliver roses to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and a petition for the release of the Hindraf 5.
Feb 26, 2008: High court dismisses Hindraf 5’s habeas corpus application, ruling their detention lawful. Dismissal later affirmed by Federal Court.
May 20, 2008: Hindraf 5 apply for a judicial review of the Federal Court decision which rejected their habeas corpus appeal.
Aug 25, 2008: In-fighting within the movement. Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy accuses K. Vasantha Kumar of being a government plant, alleging he was planted by the Special Branch to infiltrate Hindraf. Vasantha Kumar’s wife K. Vickneswary dismisses allegations as “nonsense”.
Oct 1, 2008: More than 100 Hindraf supporters turn up at Abdullah’s Hari Raya open house seeking the release of the Hindraf 5. Refusing to eat, they submit a teddy bear and Hari Raya card with their request to Abdullah. They subsequently come under fire from several government leaders for their “disrespect”.
Oct 7, 2008: Home Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof calls for the movement to be banned.
Oct 15, 2008: Hindraf is banned. [link]
Other resources:
- Preston Merchant, "Malaysia's Indian Community Struggles for Minority Rights," SAJAforum, February 2008
- Photos and posts from Preston Merchant's January 2008 trip through Malaysia and the region with V.V. Ganeshananthan for Sepia Mutiny: Background post, "Photos: Indians in Malaysia," "Malaysian Protest Theater," "Malaysia's Indian Challenger" and "A Spot of Teh"
- Human Rights Watch, World Report 2008 (country overview for Malaysia)
- Southeast Asian Press Alliance
- Committee to Protect Bloggers
- Nicole Fritz & Martin S. Flaherty, Crowley Program in International Human Rights, Fordham University Law School, "Unjust Order: Malaysia's Internal Security Act" (2003)
Photo above by Preston Merchant: HINDRAF supporters protesting the Internal Security Act in Kuala Lumpur, January 5, 2008
Post links to any additional media coverage, as well as your own reactions, in the comments below.
