Watch Videos:
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=guS4555AWys
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=F-lzscTYX9E
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=Kjty7Y0TFcI
http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=3noWZPvfOqQ
Joe Fernandez & Chen Yi Ling
Mar 11, 10
11:27am
It was a historic first in London on Tuesday when Hindraf joined forces
with an indigenous group from Sabah and Sarawak to lobby legislators on
issues still lingering from the British colonial period in Malaysia.
Hindraf chair P Waythamoorthy and advisor N Ganesan made the case for
their Hindu Rights Action Force at the House of Commons, while Sabah and
Sarawak were represented by Common Interest Group Malaysia (Cigma)
activists Daniel John Jambun and Nicholas Bawin Anggat.
Both Cigma and Hindraf reiterated the case that Britain had a lingering
historical, legal and moral obligation towards its former subjects in its
ex-colonies.
"We are only asking for our rights under the federal constitution,"
stressed Hindraf advisor Ganesan in highlighting 15 areas of human rights
violations by the Malaysian government. "We want our place in the
Malaysian sun."
Ganesan (right standing) went on to allege that the Indian community,
largely the descendants of indentured plantation labour brought in by the
British from Tamil Nadu, were being systematically marginalised by the
ruling BN government.
"The various issues causing marginalisation are not individual aberrations
or decisions gone wrong but are systematic and repeated in many specific
instances," said Ganesan in summing up several case histories and
studies.
"The problem with the Indian poor is multiplying and this has been
illustrated with clear evidence."
Ganesan is also advisor to the Human Rights Party, helmed by P
Uthayakumar, the elder of the Hindraf brothers.
The special privileges for the Malays and natives, in its original form,
covered only four areas - reasonable representation for the Malays and
natives in the civil service; intake into government institutions of
higher learning; government scholarships; and a share of
government-created opportunities to do business.
However, Hindraf alleges that the government had unilaterally extended it
to every facet of life in Malaysia.
KL not abiding to Malaysia Agreement
Meanwhile, Cigma senior activists Jambun from Sabah and Nicholas Bawin
from Sarawak, made the case for Malaysian Borneo by urging the British
government to return to a revived Inter-Governmental Committee (IGC) on
the Malaysia Agreement.
Other members of the IGC are the governments of Sabah, Sarawak, Malaysia
and Singapore.
The IGC, pointed out both activists, was a permanent institution meant to
monitor the Malaysian government's compliance with the 1963 Malaysia
Agreement.
The Malaysian government, in the absence of the IGC, has been in
non-compliance, according to both activists.
"Kuala Lumpur could easily impose proxies, stooges and traitors in Sabah
and Sarawak and ignore the legitimate aspirations of the people."
Jambun said that over the past 50 years "various modifications and
adjustments" to the Malaysia Agreement have eroded the rights and
privileges of Sabahans.
"Forty-six years after independence, Sabah is now the poorest state
despite its abundant natural resources," he lamented.
Bawin (left) gave a brief history of the Abdul Taib Mahmud government in
Sarawak which, according to him, has been a proxy for the last 30 years
for the ruling elite in Kuala Lumpur.
"Land, timber, oil and gas are all resources which are not benefitting the
people of Sarawak," said Nicholas.
Both Bawin and Jambun pointed out that Brunei stayed out from Malaysia at
the 11th hour and Singapore left two years after.
The two countries, it was stressed, are light years ahead of Sabah and
Sarawak "who were forced into a bad idea called Malaysia". The statistics
on poverty, it was pointed out, tell the whole story.
Sabah facing new threats
The Sabah activist, in his presentation on behalf of Cigma chair Jeffrey
Kitingan, detailed the threats to the security and sovereignty of Sabah
since Malaysia in 1963.
The thrust of his case was that the indigenous majority were being
overwhelmed by hordes of illegal immigrants from neighbouring nations.
"We acknowledge that Sabah has labour needs and especially in an
increasingly globalised economy," said Jambun. "But what we cannot accept
is illegal immigrants being issued with Malaysian personal documents via
the back door and being placed on the electoral rolls."
The presence of illegal immigrants on the electoral rolls, especially in
marginal seats, has been at the expense of the indigenous majority,
stressed Jambun, "and compromised the security and sovereignty of Sabah".
For the first time, a Sabah leader openly alleged that the state was now a
safe haven for terrorists on the run, rebels and kidnappers. "JI or Jemaah
Islamiyah, a terror network, has been identified as having its presence in
Sabah," disclosed Jambun. "So has Darul Islam Sabah."
Hence, with the presence of "armed foreigners on our soil", thundered
Jambun, Sabah is no longer a secure state. "Where is the security
promised us by the Federation of Malaysia in 1963?" he asked the British.
Hindraf chair Waythamoorthy in summing up for both his movement and Cigma
alleged that Malaysia has been re-colonised by a ruling elite with the
departure of the British.
"Independence has brought us a raw deal. The promises have not
materialised whether for the indigenous people in Sabah and Sarawak or
for the Indian community and others in Peninsular Malaysia," said
Waythamoorthy.
"The New Economic Policy was supposed to eradicate poverty irrespective of
race. Instead, the benefits have gone to an elite minority."
Statelessness, continued Waythamoorthy in elaborating on a point earlier
raised by Ganesan, continues to plague not only the Indians but also the
indigenous peoples in Sabah and Sarawak and others.
Labour MP chairs meeting
British Labour MP Virendra Sharma for Ealing Southall, a community known
as 'Little India' in London, chaired the meeting.
Speaking on behalf of his peers, he expressed their dismay at the alleged
serious violations of human rights by the Malaysian authorities detailed
by Hindraf and Cigma.
"I will bring this up to my government," he assured. "We will also
initiate a committee at the parliamentary level to further deliberate on
what we have heard here today for follow-up measures and action.
'We can certainly set up a group in Parliament to talk about the plight of
marginalised Malaysians."
He said that overseas Malaysians can lobby their local MPs to exert
pressure on the Foreign Office in Malaysia.
Isabel Tay, a Malaysian who attended the briefing, said, "I'm now a lot
more aware on how the minority communities view the situation in
Malaysia."
----------------------------------------------------------------
This e-mail has been sent via JARING webmail at http://www.jaring.my
No comments:
Post a Comment