Filed under: Politics — the whisperer @ 3:24 pm
The PM and police force do not seem to understand the words ‘peaceful gathering’. After being repeatedly demonised and labelled ‘extremists’ and ‘terrorists’, Hindraf tried to take a more docile approach with a walk with roses for the PM. Once again, Ahmad Badawi responded with his usual grace and tolerance.
I am in no way endorsing Hindraf neither am I opposed to their fight and choice of self-expression. In a country that is already half a century old, surely we are matured enough to be able to listen to other people’s opinions and grouses. Sometimes people just need to express themselves and sometimes they just want to be heard. Even if it means that nothing happens after they have finished demonstrating and shouting, yet I’m sure they would go home more relieved and slightly more contented. Firing teargas and water cannons is one of the loudest ways of telling people you do not respect them. And that you do not respect what they have to say.
After the demo, the PM, in his infinite wisdom, linked Hindraf’s actions to intentions of wanting to disrupt the elections.
“According to a Bernama report today, Abdullah said that Hindraf’s illegal assembly in Kuala Lumpur this morning was an attempt to raise fear in the people and disrupt the polls which would be held on March 8.”
That is such a stupid statement and a blatant lie. First of all, this rose campaign, originally planned for 200 children to bring roses to the Parliament, had been organised a couple of weeks ago at a time when the country did NOT know when the elections were. Remember? WHen the PM was playing hide and seek with us about the dissolution of Parliament.
Secondly, the act of bringing roses, planned for Feb 16, was in conjunction with Valentine’s Day (Feb 14) and not the elections. An act of showing ‘love’ to the PM.
Thirdly, the fact that Hindraf moved the event from Feb 14 (Thurs) to Feb 16 (Saturday) showed that they felt demonstrating on a weekend was better. It wouldn’t cause inconvenience for people working in the city. Of course, the efficient police force put up enough road blocks to make us believe that either Godzilla or that alien monster from Cloverfield was rampant in KL. When it was just 200 people chanting “We love Badawi”.
So apparently anyone carrying roses are extremists and terrorists - threats to national security.
Once again, I’m not siding Hindraf but as a Malaysian, I would also want to be comforted by the fact that if I ever had anything to say to the PM or anyone in authority, I would be able to do so peacefully. That they would listen and respect my views. That I knew they could accept constructive criticism and feedback so we could all improve together as a country. But I know the current government does not offer that to me or anyone else. And it’s this kind of selective openness to truth and freedom or double standards that is so dangerous for Malaysia.
I was comforted to know, however, that I was not alone in feeling a sense of injustice for Hindraf. Apparently lots of people all around the world feel the same too.
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Rose violence: Global demo against M’sia
(Source: Malaysiakini.com)
Feb 17, 08 1:37pm
Indians across the world demonstrated outside the offices of Malaysian embassies and high commissions on Saturday to condemn the government and police, hours after tear gas and water cannons were fired in Kuala Lumpur at people bringing flowers to persuade Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi to release five Hindraf leaders from detention.
The demonstrations – which took place almost simultaneously in New York, Los Angeles, London, Belgium, Northern Island, Indonesia, New Zealand, New Delhi and Mumbai – were believed to be the first internationally-coordinated action in support of the Indian cause in Malaysia. Hindraf protest in New York Feb.16, 2008 group
Although there were no more than a few dozen people protesting in each of the cities, their action underlined the growing disgust among Indians all over the world at Abdullah and his police force, said organisers who e-mailed Malaysiakini with details and pictures of the demonstrations. Videos were also posted on YouTube.
“Which sicko of a prime minister would allow his police to fire tear gas and chemical-laced water at people trying to bring him flowers?” asked Anantha Paskaran, one of those who led the demonstration outside the Malaysian Consulate General’s office in New York.
“We talk about the Soviet Union, Chechnya and Burma when it comes to human rights violations,” said Anantha. “What about this so-called moderate Muslim country Malaysia? It has a police force than can rival the Gestapo and KGB”.
On Saturday, Malaysian police used teargas and water cannons to disperse about 300 Hindu Rights Action Force supporters who had gathered along Jalan Raja Laut to hand Abdullah hundreds of roses. Hindraf march of roses to Parliament 16/02/08 many were arrested
Calling it a “rose protest”, Hindraf had said it wanted to give the flowers to the premier, asking him, among others, to release the five Hindraf leaders held under the Internal Security Act. The plan was initially to get a group of children to hand over the roses to Abdullah at Parliament. That, however, fell through when police blockaded roads leading to Parliament, forcing the supporters to group at Jalan Raja Laut instead.
The police eventually arrested about 200 people and released all but nine whom they said defied repeated orders to disperse.
Abdullah, in an immediate reaction, labelled Hindraf as group of “extremists” out to disrupt general elections scheduled on March 8.
Mock coffin
Anantha said it was “most laughable” for the premier to link the incident with the upcoming polls in Malaysia.
“In what way can the Indians in Malaysia disrupt the hindraf march of roses parliament 160208 chemical colored waterelectoral process that’s underway? They are minorities, marginalised in every sense of the word, and don’t even have enough resource to fend for themselves, let alone disrupt a national election,” he said.
The 51-year-old former Malaysian-turned-US citizen who runs a financial consultancy in Queens, New York, also appeared to pre-empt any possible remark by Abdullah that Indians outside of Malaysia had no business with what was happening in the country.
“For the prime minister’s information, I still have family members in Malaysia and they are paying income taxes too, so I have every right to speak on their behalf,” Anantha said.
He said the weather in New York was below 32 degrees Farenheit (0 degrees Celcius) on Saturday and those who turned up outside the Consulate General’s office in Manhattan, including women and children, braved icy winds for nearly 2 hours.
“We were freezing on the outside but we were burning on the inside at what’s happening to our fellow Indians in Malaysia,” Anantha said. Hindraf protest in New York Feb. 16, 2008 coffin
Pictures received by Malaysiakini showed demonstrators carrying placards such as “Malaysia, Provide Equal Opportunity and Equal Treatment for All” and “All Malaysians, Act Now or Lose Your Freedom, Your Rights and Your Identity Forever.
“In New York, demonstrators even brought a mock coffin for MIC President S Samy Vellu, who has been fiercely criticised for failing the Indian community. A sign above the coffin read: “Samy Vellu – Traitor of Indian Malaysians, R.I.P. (Rest In Peace).” (photo above)
In another interesting picture, five people also wore cut-out pictures of the faces of the five detained Hindraf leaders, holding up their wrists in a symbolic sign of incarceration.
A big sham
And not all those who participated in the foreign demonstrations were Indians of Malaysian origin. Hindraf protest in New York Fiona Feb. 16, 2008
Fiona Lee (photo), an ethnic Chinese from Malaysia, said in comments to Malaysiakini that she decided to join the protest in New York “because these are issues affecting all Malaysians.”
“To me, the marginalisation of the Indian community is very real,” said the 25-year-old, who has lived in the United States for seven years now and is pursuing a doctorate in English at the City University of New York.
“I grew up in Cheras and I belonged to a church group that used to visit Indian slums where the children had little access to education, food and even clothing,” Lee said. “To say they are being equally treated is the biggest sham.
“There were no officials from the Malaysian Consulate General’s office in New York to receive the memorandums from the protesters. However several officials were seen snapping photographs of the protesting crowd.
The writer is a New York-based Malaysiakini reader who wishes to remain anonymous.
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