MAHATHIR MOHAMAD, YOU ARE ONE BLOODY HYPOCRITE!
"Why are Malays so worked up and angry about Israeli soldiers killing Palestinian civilians? Palestinians are not Malaysians. They are not even Malays. So why poke our nose into something that is happening so far away in a land we have never visited and to people we have never met? If we have no sympathy for non-Malays killed in our own country why are we so nosy-parker about the same thing in a far away land?"
YM Raja Petra Kamaruddin
According to Malaysiakini former Prime Minister and anti-Semitic, Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysians "will not die if they do not use the US goods" and urged those working for US companies such as fast-food giant McDonald's to quit their jobs, while Education Minister Hishamuddin ‘Keris’ Hussein says he is going to mobilized school kids to demonstrate against Israeli though that Demonstrations are against Malaysian culture. It looks like Kerismuddinwant to add Demonstration to the school curriculum.
Meanwhile chief hypocrite, Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad admitted that disgraced U.S. lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize a meeting between him and President Bush in 2002.
Despite Hezbollah firing Katyushas at northern Israel, Malaysian machining company ACM acquired Kodak Israel's automated processing activity, a minor activity. The companies did not disclose the size of the sale, but it is reportedly for a fairly small amount of a few million shekels. Kodak Israel is a digital printing and imaging company. Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE:EK) acquired Scitex Digital Printing in 2004 and Creo in 2005.
While all this was going, PM Abdullah Badawi made a starling revelation when he said. Malaysia was committed to solving the issue of Palestine involving two countries (Palestine and Israel) which had their own boundaries and to be recognized by the international community. Does this mean that Malaysia now recognizes Israel as a sovereign state? Because up until now, Malaysia has refused to accept Israel and denied entry to its citizens. Before we go on its best you check what Zionism is all about by reading this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism
This Scribe has long been trying to get an answer to this question. Why is Malaysia as a Non-Aligned nation having animosity towards the state of Israel? Can someone give me an incident where any Malaysian had been killed or imprisoned by the State of Israel? What has Israel done to Malaysia that we need to have a hostile stance towards Jews and the State of Israel?Being Jew or Israeli doesn't mean you are Zionist. Just like being a Muslim doesn't make someone a terrorist. Only a racist and a bigot would subscribe to this notion. What's happening in the occupied territories of Palestine is a human tragedy. No human deserves to be treated by their Israeli occupiers the way there are being treated.
According to Malaysiakini former Prime Minister and anti-Semitic, Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysians "will not die if they do not use the US goods" and urged those working for US companies such as fast-food giant McDonald's to quit their jobs, while Education Minister Hishamuddin ‘Keris’ Hussein says he is going to mobilized school kids to demonstrate against Israeli though that Demonstrations are against Malaysian culture. It looks like Kerismuddinwant to add Demonstration to the school curriculum.
Meanwhile chief hypocrite, Former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad admitted that disgraced U.S. lobbyist Jack Abramoff was paid $1.2 million to organize a meeting between him and President Bush in 2002.
Despite Hezbollah firing Katyushas at northern Israel, Malaysian machining company ACM acquired Kodak Israel's automated processing activity, a minor activity. The companies did not disclose the size of the sale, but it is reportedly for a fairly small amount of a few million shekels. Kodak Israel is a digital printing and imaging company. Eastman Kodak Co. (NYSE:EK) acquired Scitex Digital Printing in 2004 and Creo in 2005.
While all this was going, PM Abdullah Badawi made a starling revelation when he said. Malaysia was committed to solving the issue of Palestine involving two countries (Palestine and Israel) which had their own boundaries and to be recognized by the international community. Does this mean that Malaysia now recognizes Israel as a sovereign state? Because up until now, Malaysia has refused to accept Israel and denied entry to its citizens. Before we go on its best you check what Zionism is all about by reading this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zionism
This Scribe has long been trying to get an answer to this question. Why is Malaysia as a Non-Aligned nation having animosity towards the state of Israel? Can someone give me an incident where any Malaysian had been killed or imprisoned by the State of Israel? What has Israel done to Malaysia that we need to have a hostile stance towards Jews and the State of Israel?Being Jew or Israeli doesn't mean you are Zionist. Just like being a Muslim doesn't make someone a terrorist. Only a racist and a bigot would subscribe to this notion. What's happening in the occupied territories of Palestine is a human tragedy. No human deserves to be treated by their Israeli occupiers the way there are being treated.
Likewise, the killing of innocent Israeli civilians must be condemned. The killing, torture and unlawful detention of innocent civilians must be condemned to the fullest. Even strange when Arab Muslim countries like Egypt and Jordan can have diplomatic relations with Israel but we don't. I hope our foreign policy is not based on religion but reason.I often ask myself, why when terrorist brutally kill innocent Israeli civilians, the BN/Umno regime stays silent. However, when a Palestinian gets killed, there is a hue and cry by politicians and the MSM. Is it Halal to kill Israelis because they are not Muslims? Our silence each time when an innocent Israeli civilian is blown to bits does not reflect well on our claim of being a civilized nation. I challenge the bigot Khairy JaMALUddin to organize a demonstration with his Umno Youth Gang in front of the Palestinian, Syrian and Iranian Embassies each time an Israeli is killed by either Hamas, Hezbollah or Islamic Jihad.
First year Anniversary of the HINDRAF People Power Makkal Sakthi fell on the 25/11/08 in a small but meaningful way. After a series of nationwide roadshows in September- November 2007 we have succeeded in awakening the Indians out of their fear of violence by UMNO as in the 13th May 1969 or the Kg. Medan violence. Our estimate was that about 100,000 over Indians had braved the whole Government machinery and threats of arrest and even rumours of a shooting order to attend the HINDRAF rally on the 25th of November 2007. The Chief Police Officer of Selangor had on the TV1 news at 7.00 am on 26.11.08 acknowledged that 300,000 had turned up on the 25th November 2007 HINDRAF rally. To all of you who had attended this rally, be proud that you were actually part of that historic rally which may never happen again in that magnititude during our lifetime.
When I complained to the Kuala Lumpur High Court that the said doctors and prison authorities had “compromised” my medical records and that my hypo kinetic heart condition and the lumbar spondalysis was kept away from my knowledge until I found out very much later from some other sympathetic Hospital staff and subsequently agreed to by the said doctors. I also complained to the High Court that the hospital authorities and the prison and Police Special Branch and Home Ministry authorities had refused to exhibit my medical reports. I had created a doubt but the benefit of the doubt was not given to me and neither was I given the opportunity to appear before the Learned Judge to be heard and the Judge had turned down my application and dismissed my application to be set free to be able to receive independent medical treatment. On hearing this my “predicament” the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) without being prompted rushed to hold an “inquiry” which was held behind closed doors at Kemta prison, met all the Hospital, prison, Special Branch, Doctors and everybody else except myself the victim and cleared the Malaysian Government authorities and spoke on my behalf that I was happy with the treatment and medication given to me without even getting evidence from me. The said “inquiry” was concluded within 3 hours and the Human Rights Commissioners held a Press conference the next day to reveal their “findings”. But this is what you have for Malaysia- A Human Rights Commission which is the servant and slave of the ruling UMNO Government.
What keeps me going in prison is knowing that you people out there are continuing with the struggle in your own ways. Hundreds of HINDRAF supporters have been arrested, jailed and beaten up by the police when campaigning for our release and the People Power Movement. Many have lost their jobs, promotions, bonuses some demoted. At least one Indian man died of a heart attack on 25th November 2007 when he was believed to be attacked by the Police tear gas.
The unprecedented demonstration by Malaysian Indians before the British High Commission in Kula Lumpur at the end of November 2007, under the sponsorship of the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF), has brought into sharp focus the pathetic situation in which the Indian community finds itself today. The HINDRAF is a coalition of 30 non-governmental organizations, committed to the preservation and promotion of the Hindu identity. The coalition had been agitating against what it calls the unofficial policy of temple demolition and the steady introduction of Sharia-based law. The Memorandum, submitted to the British High Commission, demanded that the United Kingdom should move an emergency resolution in the United Nations condemning the “ethnic cleansing” taking place in Malaysia. It also appealed that the issue should be referred to the World Court and International Criminal Court of Justice for crimes against its own ethnic minority Indians. In August 2007 the Malaysian Indians had approached the Royal Court of Justice demanding compensation of US Dollars 4 Trillion, which works out to US Dollars one million to every Malaysian Indian, for bringing their forefathers as indentured labourers and failing to protect their rights and interests on the eve of Malayan independence. 
The Malays feel that they are the indigenous people (Bhumiputra) and, therefore, they have a special claim for dominance in the political and cultural life of the country. The British colonialists upheld this claim and ruled the country in the name of Malay Sultans, on whom sovereignty vested. At the same time, as part of imperialist objectives, the British also encouraged large-scale immigration of Chinese and Indians for the economic exploitation of the country’s natural resources. The existence of a plural society prevented the growth of anti-British feelings and a sense of common nationalism in Malaya before the Second World War. As the English novelist Somerset Maugham wrote, “Malaya was a first rate country for third rate English men”. 
Nasional in the 1970’s, with the incorporation of various Malay and non-Malay political parties, further reduced the political clout of the MCA and the MIC. 
An important clue to the understanding of the political economy is the social and political contract arrived by the elite of the three communities on the eve of independence. It was assumed that the economic predominance of the Chinese would be offset by the political supremacy of the Malays. It was believed that with the passage of time this equilibrium would give way to a more balanced one, the Malays would play a greater role in the economic life and the Chinese and the Indians would play a greater role in politics. The pre-eminent position of the Malays was enshrined in the Constitution – the retention of the Malay Sultanate, the acceptance of Islam as the State Religion, constitutional provisions safeguarding the “special rights” of the Malays and the acceptance of Malay as the national and official language. The major concession made to the non-Malays was the conferment of citizenship on them. 
The fragility of the Malaysian political system came out into the open on May 13, 1969, when following the reverses suffered by the Alliance in the general elections, large-scale Sino-Malay clashes took place in Kuala Lumpur. Emergency was proclaimed and when democratic process was restored after amending the Constitution, Malay political power was further entrenched. The Royal Commission appointed to enquire into the riots was of the view that the crisis was due to the disenchantment and frustration of the Malays, who had not enjoyed the fruits of independence. In 1970, Malay corporate ownership was a meager 2.4 per cent, compared with 63.3 per cent enjoyed by the foreigners, 22.4 per cent enjoyed by the Chinese and 10.0 per cent by unknown parties. While the overall poverty incidence was high, 51.2 per cent in 1970, 76.0 per cent of them were Malays. A New Economic Policy (replaced by National Integrity Plan in 2004) was launched to bring about economic transformation, with particular emphasis on the development of the Malays. In the political sphere, democratic rights were curtailed, it was made a seditious criminal offence to challenge the special rights conferred on the Malays, the language provisions in the Constitution, institution of Sultanate and citizenship laws. 
Let me now take up the second part of the essay dealing with the complex issues relating to the marginalization of the vast majority of Malaysian Indian community. At the end of the Second World War, the Indians (the term today includes Indians, Pakistanis, Nepalis, Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans) constituted about 14.0 per cent of the population of Malaya. Number of them returned to India during the years of the communist insurgency and the dark days following the communal riots in May 1969. By 2,000, Indians numbered 1.8 million, representing 7.7 per cent of the total Malaysian population of 21.89 million. According to the Singhvi Committee Report, the total number of Indians in Malaysia is 1,665,000, of which 1,600,000 are Malaysian citizens, 15,000 are non resident Indians and 50,000 are stateless people. Approximately, 80.0 per cent of them are Tamils; followed by North Indians (mainly Sikhs) 7.7 per cent; Malayalis 4.7 per cent; Telugus 3.4 per cent; Sri Lankan Tamils 2.7 per cent; Pakistanis and Bangladeshis 1.1 per cent and others 0.4 per cent. As far as religion is concerned, Hindus number 81.2 per cent; Christians 8.4 per cent; Muslims 6.7 per cent; Sikhs 3.1 per cent; Buddhists 0.5 per cent and others 0.1 per cent. In the specific context of Malaysia, where Islam, the religion of the Malays, is the State religion, sections of the Muslim community of Indian origin have got assimilated into the Malay society. 
A notable feature of the Indian community is its changing socio-economic profile. In 1970, 47 per cent of the Indians were engaged in agriculture, 74 per cent of them in the plantations. With rapid economic expansion and diversification of the economy, the plantations have been converted for other purposes, including the construction of luxury homes. The uprooted Indians were only paid a pittance as compensation. They naturally migrated to urban areas and joined the squatter population. Few years ago, Samy Velu, the President of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), deplored the plight of thousands of estate workers “living in squalor in slums in dozens of long-houses and squatter settlements all over Selangor”. 
movement, provided statistical details, few years ago, which made alarming reading. 40 per cent of the serious crimes in Malaysia are committed by the Indians; there are 38 Indian based gangs with 1,500 active members; during the last few years, there had been a hundred per cent increase in the number of Indian gangsters; Indians recorded the highest number of those detained under the Emergency Regulations and banished to Simpang Rengam prison. In the field of social woes, it is the same story. In Kuala Lumpur, 14 per cent of the squatters are Indians; they have the highest suicide rates; 41 per cent of the vagrants and beggars are Indians; 20 per cent of the child abusers are Indians and also 14 per cent of the juvenile delinquents. 
The deplorable status of the Tamils is directly related to poor educational attainments. Though the Malaysian Government has expanded educational facilities in a big way since independence, the fruits of education have not percolated to the disadvantaged sections of Indians population. The importance of education in the development of disadvantaged sections of population has been highlighted by many writers. It is a means of upward social and economic mobility; an avenue of modernization; an instrument to enrich cultural life and, above all, in the Malaysian context, a means of national unity and integration. The Indians continue to be the most disadvantaged section at all levels of education. The Tamil medium primary schools are in a deplorable stage. Single teacher handling multiple classes; ill equipped schools with teachers having no commitment and high drop rates are some of the serious drawbacks. The family life is characterized by alcoholism, violence against women and addiction to Tamil TV Channels. They do not provide a congenial atmosphere for study. As a result, only limited number of Tamil students reaches the university stage. The current intake of Indian students in Malaysian universities is only 6.2 per cent, most of these students hail from non-Tamil and Sri Lankan Tamil sections; the few Indian Tamils, who are lucky to get admission in the Universities, are also from relatively affluent families. 
Compounding the complex situation is the general perception that increasing Islamisation of the country and destruction of Hindu temples are posing grave threats to the Hindu way of life. Given below are two illustrations which took place in 2003. The first related to Shyamala Sathiaseelan. Shyamala’s husband got converted to Islam, he gained custody of their two children and had them converted to Islam without the permission of his wife. Shyamala’s appeal for help from authorities went unheeded. The second case involved Murthy Maniam, a convert to Islam, whose dead body was buried according to Muslim rites by the religious authorities despite his widow’s claim that he had remained a practicing Hindu until his death. The non-Muslim members of the Malaysian cabinet requested the Prime Minister to provide constitutional guarantees for religious freedom, but their appeal was ignored by Prime Minister Badawi. Many Hindus also were deeply hurt when, for the first time, the UMNO General Assembly was held during Deepavali. As Dilip Lahiri, former Indian diplomat has written the UMNO youth leaders brandished and kissed the Kris (dagger) and threatened to shed Chinese and Indian blood if Malay supremacy was challenged. The Hindus also began to feel that the Government was lukewarm on the sensitive question of destruction of Hindu temples. As a result, the HINDRAF and allied organizations began to take deep roots in the Hindu community. 
towards Islam. When the desecration of the Hindu temples began in 1978, the most horrendous being the destruction of the Murugan temple in Kerling, Prime Minister Hussein Onn came down heavily on the Islamic extremists. But the situation has been allowed to drift during recent years. In its Memorandum, the HINDRAF has pointed out that in every three weeks one Hindu temple is destroyed in Malaysia, the most significant being the demolition of the Mariamman temple in Shah Alam. The Government maintains that most of these temples have been constructed in government owned lands without proper authorization. But the temples have been functioning for many years; strangely there are no reports of the destruction of Chinese places of worship. Is it because the Chinese are more organized and will hit back if their religious beliefs are tampered with? 
The question should legitimately be asked – to what extent has the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), which represents the Indian community in the government, has succeeded in its primary objective of safeguarding the interests of the Indian community? An Indian observer of the Malaysian scene comes to a dismal conclusion. Factional struggle and disunity had been the major curse of the Indian community. Since its inception in 1946, fight for power, petty politicking and mud slinging had been its major attributes. The rivalry between Devaser and Sambandan; between Sambandan and Manickavasagam; Manickavasagam and Sami Velu; and among Sami Velu, Padmanabhan, Subramaniam and Panditan – it brings no laurels to the Indian community. Samy Velu is more interested in ingratiating himself with the Malay leadership rather than championing legitimate Indian interests and aspirations. What is more, self-help measures, initiated by the MIC, with much fanfare, have not led to desired results. For example, the Maika Holdings Bhd, started in 1982, as an investment vehicle for the Malaysian Indians, incurred heavy losses, resulting in the loss of savings of large number of poor Indians. Frustration and anger against the leadership found expression when the Indian youth began to disturb the functions organized by the MIC; very often Samy Velu was booed and jeered. How distant the MIC was from the ordinary Indians became evident when the results of the 2008 parliamentary elections were announced. Of the nine MIC candidates of the Barisan Nasional, only three could win their seats, and that too with slender margins, those who were defeated included Samy Velu, the President of the MIC, who lost the Sungai Siput constituency in the Perak State. The emergence of the HINDRAF has to be viewed in the backdrop of the alienation of large sections of Indians, coupled with a non-performing MIC. 
The increasing intolerance of the Malaysian Government and its vocal advocacy of OIC sponsored causes have cast a long shadow over India – Malaysia relations. As the former Indian diplomat, Dilip Lahiri has pointed out, on a range of issues affecting India-Southeast Asia relations, Malaysia had been the “most difficult” among the member states of ASEAN. The Malaysian Government is preparing itself to crack down on the HINDRAF; few government spokesmen have started leveling the unsubstantiated charge that the HINDRAF has links with the Tamil Tigers. The perceptive Indian observers of the Southeast Asian scene remember that when General Rabuka began systematically to discriminate against the Indian community in Fiji, in order to justify himself, he was quoting chapter and verse from Dr. Mahathir’s book, The Malay Dilemma. Few years ago, in Brickfields in Kuala Lumpur, few Indian expatriates, who were working in the IT industry, were rounded up and detained as illegal immigrants, though they had proper documents to prove that they had entered Malaysia through legal channels. The shocked Indian diplomats immediately protested, and the Malaysian Government had to tender an apology for its inhuman behaviour. Turbluent times are ahead in Malaysia and for the Malaysian Indians.