Image : Net
The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) is seeking to engage Barisan Nasional in a dialogue, subject to releasing its five leaders presently detained under the Internal Security Act.
The five - P Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, V Ganabatirau, R Kengadharan and K Vasantha Kumar - were arrested on Dec 13 for their alleged involvement in organising illegal gatherings on Nov 25 and making seditious statements against the government.
They are now serving a two-year detention without trial following.
Hindraf’s exiled leader P Waythamoorthy said in a statement today that Hindraf was keen to initiate immediate discussions with political parties on both divides regarding the future of Indian Malaysians.
While maintaining its non-partisan stand, Hindraf warned that “it is now forced to advice Indian Malaysians on whom to vote in the upcoming general elections.”
The reform movement is calling on opposition parties to explicitly state their commitment to advocate and implement steps to enhance Indian rights should they be elected to lead the next government.
However, Waythamoorthy urged the Indian community “not to blindly assume that voting for the opposition will solve the problems of oppression, suppression, marginalisation and permanent colonisation of the ethnic Indian community.”
Review our 18 demands
Hindraf reiterated the need to study their Review our 18 demands submitted to the prime minister on the needs and demands of the Indian community.
Several of the key demands relate to:
• The maintenance of Malaysia’s status as a secular state
• Full revamp of National Integration Policy
• Reinstatement of Pupil’s Own Language classes in national schools.
• Preserving places of worship
• Affirmative-action plans for the Indian community
“These points should be the paramount consideration in respect to the Indian needs,” it said.
With the elections impending, Hindraf urged political parties on both sides to be transparent and fair to Indian candidates in terms of parliamentary and state seat distribution.
Leading Hindraf from London, Waythamoorthy also called on the ruling coalition to accept the movement as a legitimate pressure group.
Hindraf came to prominence after the Nov 25 rally that saw some 30,000 take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to highlight the economic plight of ethnic Indians in Malaysia and what they say is continual discrimination by the Malaysian government.
Hindraf had filed a lawsuit against former colonial ruler Britain seeking four trillion dollars' compensation for the estimated two million ethnic Indians whose ancestors were brought here as indentured labourers in the 1800s.
The public gathering in November was in support of a memorandum to the British high commission seeking a Queen's counsel be appointed to represent Hindraf in their lawsuit.
The movement is widely perceived to have caused a shift in the Indian community, with the prime minister’s approval ratings plunging to an all time low since the November rally.
No comments:
Post a Comment