Waytha Moorthy’s hunger strike to highlight humanitarian aspect of Hindraf blueprint
Written by Dr V.S. Paraman Tuesday, 05 March 2013 09:54
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Since the outpouring of Indians onto the KL streets on Nov 25, 2007 much water has flowed under the bridge but very little has changed in the lives of the Indian marginalized and poor, said Hindraf in a press statement yesterday.
This 'Hunger Viratham' by Waytha is a prayer to emphasise to all the peoples of Malaysia and to the government that there are serious issues of morality and governance surrounding the 2007 Hindraf rally. The public and the government must be made to see that the fate of the Indian poor is "a national and a moral problem", said Hindraf advisor N. Ganesan.
Waytha's hunger strike will begin on March 10 after prayers at the Arulmigu Agora Veerabathrar Sanggili Karuppar Temple in Kg Benggali, Rawang.
This course of action is seen as necessary after the stalemate encountered in the protracted discussions with PKR to obtain Pakatan Rakyat endorsement for the Hindraf action plan.
Similar to existing Felda programme
The Hindraf blueprint outlines proposals to be implemented over the next five years as solutions to the serious problems affecting the Indians.
Laying out the specific institutional interventions necessary, the document calls for government action which is practical and comprehensive to uplift internally displaced estate workers (DEW), believed to number more than 800,000 today.
Over the last several decades, these DEWs have been force fitted into the urban community. As a significant section of the new urban underclass, they have become indistinguishable from the overall population segment of the Indian poor.
The Hindraf blueprint proposes one, allocating land to DEWs under a contract farming programme resembling the Felda scheme,two, developing a housing programme for DEWs, three, rebuilding the DEW youth through training and skills programmes, and four, building places of worship and granting burial grounds for DEWs.
Destruction of temples and fragmentation of communities, loss of livelihood as well as a roof over the head came about when the DEWs were gradually evicted from the rubber estates and plantations during the last several decades.
The affirmative action programme drawn up by Hindraf to uplift DEWs is not limited to Indians alone but also open for other races provided they can show valid proof of being a DEW or a descendant of one.
End objectives of blueprint benefit all
Although the solutions put forward have been designed for Indians who suffer the severest impact from longstanding institutional neglect, they nonetheless address issues of socio-economic development from universal and class perspectives.
Benefits arising from the correction of social and economic inequality will contribute towards stability for all strata of Malaysian societies in more ways than just reducing crime, often associated with the Indian poor demographic.
The proposals made in the Hindraf blueprint for the estimated 350,000 stateless Indians include:
One, to identify all stateless Indians – those without birth certificates, those without MyKads, and those without blue identity cards
Two, all the stateless Indians without MyKads are to be issued with full Malaysian citizenship status (MyKad) immediately unless if it can be proven without a doubt that the individual is from another country
Three, all those without MyKad and birth certificate should be permitted a simplified requirement of having just two other fellow Malaysians declare in a statutory declaration their knowledge of birth and parentage of the applicant. This is to avoid unnecessary hassle, delay and roadblocks posed by bureaucratic red tape
Four, there needs to be a permanent simplification of registration procedures to prevent an extension of the current situation of statelessness
If it needs be reminded, the stateless Indians in question are not all necessarily Hindu. The documentation problem even extends to those of mixed parentage.
The Hindraf proposals addressing the issue of stateless persons will also stand to benefit those Chinese who are holders of red ICs.
Maltreatment of Indians in custody
Other proposals made in Hindraf blueprint concern the urgent issue of death in custody where the Royal Malaysian Police appear to behave with impunity in relation to their treatment of Indian detainees.
Hindraf recommends the
a) Setting up of an Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission immediately in line with the Royal Commission findings in order to enhance the operation and management of the uniformed services
b) Putting in place effective measures to immediately curb all extra-judicial killing in custody at the hands of the Malaysian police
Benefits from these measures will be felt by all Malaysians, and it goes without saying that they transcend racial and religious boundaries.
The Hindraf blueprint also makes proposals made in reference to 'the standards of Human Rights Practices' and requires the government to sign and ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as well as the International Covenant on the Elimination of all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).
It further calls upon the government to adopt the guiding principles as set forth in the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement promulgated by the United Nations.
Therefore if one were to view the Hindraf blueprint document from a humanitarian aspect as well as with an unbiased point of view, it will be easily comprehensible that the proposals by this civil rights movement truly transcend not only racial but also religious boundaries.
What is lacking is only the political will of the powers-that-be to accept it without reservation. Waytha Moorthy's hunger strike to commence next week is a last resort to appeal to the conscience of the nation.
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