This document is downloaded from DR‑NTU (https://dr.ntu.edu.sg) Nanyang Technological University, .

From the shadows : the political awakening of ’s Indians

Bhavan Jaipragas; Ng, Jun Sen

2013 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/80127

Nanyang Technological University

Downloaded on 30 Sep 2021 18:54:03 SGT from the shadows Bhavan Jaipragas the political awakening of Malaysia’s Indians Ng Jun Sen A Final Year Project from the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological university

from the shadows the political awakening of Malaysia’s Indians

Bhavan Jaipragas Ng Jun Sen Preface

ll eyes are on Malaysia as it hurtles towards its 13th general election, which is widely expected to be the country’s closest ever political contest. AFrom the Shadows, borne out of six months of field work in peninsula Malaysia, takes a detailed look at the struggles of the country’s marginalised ethnic Indians, and their potential role as kingmakers in the coming landmark polls. This project would not have come to fruition without Mr MS Mahendran lives a life without a proper home. Displaced by urbanisation, the the candour of the countless ordinary who 52-year-old is a member of an Indian rights group, seeking justice in the political arena. opened their homes and hearts to tell us the stories of their extraordinary lives. Wherever we went, whether it was the FOR MORE, TURN TO PAGE 24 busy streets of or the quiet suburbs of Ipoh, there was never a moment when we were made to feel like outsiders. from the We would like to thank all the political leaders, civil society activists, journalists and academics whose insights shadows added tremendous value to our work. We are also indebted to the Wee Kim Wee Endowment Fund for its generous grant. 6 Feature From the margins to centre stage Last but certainly not the least, we would like to thank our supervisor Dr Cherian George for nudging us towards taking 14 Where the indian vote is on this challenging topic and for his incisive feedback over 16 No Land for countrymen the past months.

24 profile Mahendran, the activist Bhavan Jaipragas 28 Foreigners at home Ng Jun Sen 32 jostling with the gods

38 beacons of hope

41 Editorial what is next for Malaysia’s Indians? 4 5 Feature From the Margins to Centre Stage

Malaysia’s 1.9 million Indians, who have long complained of being treated as third class citizens, now find themselves thrust into political centre stage ahead of what is expected to be the country’s tightest ever general election.

by Bhavan Jaipragas and Ng Jun Sen

 Leader of Indian rights group HINDRAF, Mr P Waythamoorthy, addresses his supporters at the fifth anniversary of the 2007 protest in the KL- Chinese Assembly Hall on November 25 last year.

6 7 Soundbite

“If you give me and the government ‘nambikei’ (trust) we will certainly do more for the success of the Indian community in the country.”

Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak

Kuala Lumpur

athed in a sea of resplendent saris and kurtas, and with the latest Tamil songs blaring out of overhead loudspeakers, Malaysia’s historic Dataran Bswarmed with thousands of the country’s ethnic Indians on February 2, for what was billed the ‘Indian Unity Festival’. The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), the festival’s main organisers, said the cultural event, which featured high-octane song and dance per- formances by local Tamil artistes, was meant to bring the Indian community together to celebrate the ‘Pongal’ harvest festival, but it was a galva- nising political speech by the country’s leader towards the end that stole the show. “I will ensure that the Indian community will enjoy a better future, just like the other commu- nities in the country,” said prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, clad in a beige kurta, to a crowd of nearly 100,000, the largest congregation of Indians in the national capital in recent years. “Please give me ‘nambikei’ (trust), please believe and have confidence in me. If you give The community shunned the MIC, the  me and the Barisan Nasional (BN) government country’s biggest Indian based party, in the 2008 Local Tamil celebrities ‘nambikei’ we will certainly do more for the polls, partly causing the BN to lose its two-third join prime minister success of the Indian community in the country,” parliamentary majority and control of five states Najib Abdul Razak added Mr Najib, who heads the 14-party ruling to the Pakatan Rakyat opposition alliance led by (middle, in white) coalition that includes the MIC. former deputy premier . and MIC president It was the strongest signal yet that Mr Najib is Months before the revolt at the ballot box, G Palanivel at the mounting an all-out push to regain the support thousands of Indians participated in a street rousing finale of the of the country’s 1.9 million ethnic Indians for the protest organised by Indian rights group Hindu MIC-organised Indian coming general election, largely expected to be Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) to voice their Unity Festival. the tightest political contest since independence. discontent with racial discrimination, which Ethnic Indians, who make up less than eight they said was perpetuated by the BN’s affirmative  percent of the national population, have long action policies for the Malays. Around 100,000 complained of running a distant third in terms Five years on, MIC insiders now say the Indians attended the of wealth, opportunities and education. About personal attention Mr Najib is giving to solve the festival at Dataran 800,000 of them are registered voters. problems of the Indian community is reaping re- Merdeka, though many left halfway after stalls giving out free meals ran out of food. 8 9  Prime minister Najib appears on screens put up around the festival grounds. He later delivered a speech announcing several pro-Indian policies. The feed was broadcast live on national television. Soundbite

public relations executive, who won the Hulu Se- “The Indians don’t lose langor parliamentary seat in a by-election against anything by putting Pakatan to an opposition heavyweight in 2010. Political observers, however, are not optimis- power because they are getting tic, and forecast a further slide in Indian sup- screwed up from all directions. port for the MIC and the ruling coalition in the coming polls. The latest survey by independent pollster Pakatan can’t make Merdeka Centre between January 23 and Febru- it any worse.” ary 6 showed dissatisfaction towards the BN among Indian voters at 43 percent, the highest level in a year. Mr R Sivarasa, opposition member “If you compare MIC’s articulation of Indian of parliament for Subang interests with that of others, MIC’s voice is just being drowned,” said Dr Bridget Welsh, an expert in politics at the Singapore Man- agement University. MIC’s secretary-general G Palanivel, who took over from veteran politician in Opposition power 2010, has done little to boost the flailing legiti- Human rights lawyer R macy of the party, added Dr Welsh. Sivarasa, one of several Indians wards, and are confident that the ruling coalition Mr Palanivel did not win a parliamentary holding leadership posi- will pry away the gains made by the opposition in seat in the 2008 general election, and had to be tions in Pakatan Rakyat’s For an overview of the last election. nominated by Mr Najib as a senator, before being component party Parti Indian representation “The Indians can clearly see what the prime made a minister in the prime minister’s depart- Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), minister has done for the community since he ment. said the Indian community in the next general took over four years ago,” said Mr P Kamalan- For 62-year-old security guard Kalimuthu Ra- will stand to gain the most election, turn to page than, one of four elected MIC lawmakers in the jendren, events such as the February 2 festival in among the country’s various 14 current parliament. Dataran Merdeka highlight the MIC’s misguided ethnic groups from the alli- The party had nine elected MPs before the belief that its deep pockets and the patronage of ance’s race-blind, needs-based 2008 election. Mr Najib can win over the Indian community. economic policy. Mr Najib’s promise to almost triple Indians’ “They think that if they give us free food A joint election manifesto share of national equity to three percent, as and a free (variety) show, we will vote for them. released in February by the opposi- well as plans to fully fund all Tamil schools and The Indians are not stupid, they know the MIC tion alliance—which also includes the provide seed capital for budding entrepreneurs does not have the power to solve our problems Chinese dominated  in the community have caused Indian support to anymore,” Mr Kalimuthu told From the Shadows (DAP) and the Islamist Parti Islam SeMalaysia MIC president G Palanivel at the festival. He took swing back in favour of the BN and MIC, accord- at the festival. (PAS)—pledges to “eliminate racial discrimina- over from veteran politician Samy Vellu in 2010, ing to Mr Kamalanathan. “We will come out and enjoy if it’s free, but tion and the incitement of antagonism between and his performance in the upcoming polls will be “This is precisely what is going to help us win when the election comes we will vote for Paka- community groups”. closely watched by the Indian community. this general election,” said the straight-talking t an .” “The Indians don’t lose anything by put-

Who’s who Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak MIC’s president Mr G Palanivel, Purged and jailed in the late 1990s, Subang MP R Sivarasa was a The charismatic Mr P Waythamoorthy The older brother of Mr Waythamoorthy, has been touted to be Malaysia’s who took over from the party’s former deputy premier Anwar prominent human rights activist is the leader of the main HINDRAF Mr P Uthayakumar was detained for 17 great reformer because of his former strongman Samy Vellu in Ibrahim has staged a remarkable before he entered active politics in group. He fled Malaysia days after the months under the Internal Security Act progressive economic policies 2010, is seen to have little clout comeback to helm an emboldened the late 1990s. Mr Sivarasa is widely November 2007 protest that he helped for his involvement in the 2007 HINDRAF and liberalisation of the country’s within the Indian community. opposition that now has a fighting considered to be a member of the organise, and only returned last year. protest. After he was released, he formed tough preventive detention laws. Since taking over the top post in chance to topple the Barisan cabal of senior advisers close to The lawyer is protesting both the the Human Rights Party, a more radical Well aware of the importance of the BN’s main Indian party, Nasional government. The opposition leader Anwar opposition and the BN’s political wing of the main the Indian vote in the coming Palanivel has had to 65-year-old is seen as Ibrahim. He is also refusal to endorse the HINDRAF group. polls, Mr Najib has at times grapple with infighting crucial in balancing the involved in ongoing group’s blueprint calling bypassed the MIC to reach between those loyal to conflicting interests of negotiations between for radical affirmative the community personally. him and older cadres the three parties in the rights group HINDRAF action to help the who support Mr Pakatan Rakyat alliance. and the opposition Indian poor. Samy Vellu. alliance. 10 11 Soundbite “It was the Indians who gave the other races the courage to vote for the opposition in 2008.”

Mr P Waythamoorthy, HINDRAF leader  ting Pakatan in power because they are getting For Dr Welsh, HINDRAF is overextending A long train of screwed up from all directions. Pakatan can’t itself in terms of its demands, even as it remains a protesters march make it any worse,” said Mr Sivarasa, who is the potent force in the political landscape. from Little India in MP for the Subang constituency in Selangor. “HINDRAF can be an agenda setter and di- Brickfields to attend The Oxford-educated lawyer is one of several rection pointer...and it has that sense of credibil- the Pakatan Rakyat- Indian leaders in the opposition alliance who ity in lower and lower-middle class Tamils,” said backed mega rally at The Hindraf Story, so far have stepped up efforts at the grassroots level to Dr Welsh, who predicts that the Indian vote will Stadium Merdeka. solve Indian-specific problems, such as the dis- be crucial in about 10 percent of the 222 federal The January 12 event placement of former plantation workers, police seats being contested. brought together more hen HINDRAF leader P Waythamoorthy fled Ma- brutality and the demolition of temple structures While the BN remain the favourites to win than 100,000 people. Wlaysia fearing a government reprisal a week after the in privately held land. the general election, the myriad of government- November 2007 street protest, nationwide support for the The alliance, however, is stopping short of linked scandals in recent months may result in  rights group was at its peak. promising affirmative action policies to the the emboldened opposition coming out victori- Pakatan Rakyat The 46-year-old lawyer and his elder brother Uthaya- Indians if it wins the election, which has invoked ous, she added. leader Anwar Ibrahim kumar had achieved what was previously thought impos- the ire of HINDRAF in recent weeks. As the political wrangling intensifies ahead of giving a rally speech sible—rousing the country’s incorrigibly passive Indian Reawakened HINDRAF the landmark polls, Malaysia’s Indian voters are in Petaling Jaya on community into taking to the streets to question their treading carefully, wary not to set their expecta- December 20, 2012. limited political and economic clout. The rights group, newly rejuvenated after its tions too high. He has promised to The group’s prominence on the political stage would, leader P Waythamoorthy returned from exile in “Opposition and BN promise many things. make the resolution however, be short lived. With Mr Waythamoorthy on exile the United Kingdom last year, had mooted an We will know their true colours only after the of Indian issues a in the United Kingdom and Mr Uthayakumar detained alliance with the Pakatan Rakyat in exchange election,” said Karunan Rajagopal, 42, at the side- top priority if the under the internal security act for 17 months, HINDRAF for six key demands, including an allocation of lines of a mammoth rally organised by Pakatan alliance wins the splintered rapidly without a strong leadership, with one RM$4.5 billion annually for the sole purpose of Rakyat in January.  coming election. faction even aligning itself with the BN government. addressing Indian problems. When Mr Uthayakumar was released from prison in Pakatan Rakyat leaders, who say they want 2009, he believed that the diplomatic route had already to turn the page on the BN’s decades-old ethnic run its course. He founded the Human Rights Party policies, emphatically turned this down. (HRP), which he branded as the political wing of HIN- “We are in broad agreement with HINDRAF, DRAF. but we are also trying to drive a non-racial The elder of the two brothers, Mr Uthayakumar’s paradigm in Malaysian politics, where people are confrontational approach and virulent rhetoric against helped on the basis of need than anything else,” both the opposition and the BN government alienated said Mr Sivarasa. HINDRAF’s mainstream Indian supporters. Mr Waythamoorthy, however, said the Indian Sensing that the dwindling public support would opposition MPs see HINDRAF and himself as a sideline HINDRAF as a political force in the upcoming threat to their newfound political power. Instead, elections, Mr Waythamoorthy returned to Malaysia to he is now mulling a potential outreach to Mr retake the reins of the group in August last year, while cut- Najib. ting ties with the HRP. “Pakatan know that they can’t gather the The government, which had cancelled Mr Waytham- grassroots support like us,” Mr Waythamoorthy oorthy’s passport in 2008, allowed him to pass through said in an interview at his Seremban home. after the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore issued Mr Waythamoorthy fled Malaysia days after him a new passport. the 2007 street protest he helped organise, fear- The charismatic leader’s return saw an immediate up- ing a government crackdown. Five other HIN- surge in the popularity of the group. It held a 5,000 strong DRAF leaders, including his brother Uthayaku- rally in Kuala Lumpur to commemorate the fifth anniver- mar, were later detained without trial under the sary of the 2007 protest in November last year. Internal Security Act for 17 months. Mr Uthayakumar continues to helm the HRP, which “It was the Indians who gave the other races has a significantly smaller following than the main HIN- the courage to vote for the opposition in 2008. DRAF group. But now arrogance has set in among some in the opposition,” he added. Unlike Mr Waythamoorthy who has refrained from publicly announcing any interest in running for political The Pakatan Rakyat’s dismissal of HINDRAF office, Mr Uthayakumar has declared his candidacy for a is something that the BN now looks set to capi- parliamentary and state seat in the coming polls. talise on. At press time, HINDRAF announced that Mr Najib had arranged to have a dialogue In separate interviews with From the Shadows, both the  12 with its key leaders on March 25. brothers declined comment on their differences. 13 Where The Indian Vote Is Kota Raja A closer look at the 16 parliamentary seats that will be contested by ethnic State of Penang Indians in the 13th general election.

Barisan Puchong nasional PAS candidate Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud won 135 seats here in 2008, but looks Pakatan to be involved in a Rakyat three-way fight with MIC’s former youth 77 seats Prominent lawyer and chief SA Vigneswaran Bukit son of DAP chairman and vocal , Mr Gelugor Independent HINDRAF leader P Gobind Singh will Uthayakumar from padang serai defend his seat here 9 seats his independantly after winning it from formed Human Rights an MCA candidate in Party. Independent Vacant 2008. DAP chairman Karpal Singh has held Bukit 1 seat Mr N Gobalakrishnan Gelugor since 2004, Segamat won in 2008 under and led the party’s Kapar the banner of Pakatan strongest performance Rakyat, but became in 2008. an independent after a disagreement with Federal Territories Mr Anwar Ibrahim. of Kuala Lumpur MIC deputy president He will be contesting PKR’s outspoken S S Subramaniam will against Mr N Manickavasagam, be looking to defend Surendran from PKR. who won by 55% in his Segamat seat in 2008, will defend his 2013. Cameron seat here against a Highlands MIC member. Subang Dr Michael Tapah Hulu Batu Kawan Jeyakumar from PSM TelUk Teluk Intan took Sungai Siput selangor Kemang by surprise in 2008 Ipoh Barat against MIC veteran Klang Samy Vellu. Reports Thought to be a indicate MIC will field ‘safe’ seat for MIC, Co-founder of notable Dr P Ramasamy, who its vice-president, MIC’s M Saravanan Cameron Highlands human rights NGO won here by 61.9% in SK Devamany. For will be defending his Mr M Manogaran is to be contested Mr P Kamalanathan Suaram, the outspoken PKR’s Kamarul Abbas 2008, represents the MIC, a crucial win is DAP vice-chairman seat again in 2013. won as a member of by MIC president G won here by 51% R Sivarasa will be likely faces an MIC DAP. He is the second required here to show M Kulasegaran He won by 53% in the DAP in 2008 by Palanivel. But a likely in 2008. The MIC defending his seat for DAP’s Charles candidate. Either deputy chief minister their relevance within will defend his seat the previous election, 50% against Gerakan challenger might member will be Keadilan after winning Santiago will defend MIC’s secretary- of Penang, but reports Barisan Nasional’s here after winning and is one of the candidate Mah Siew appear in the form of defending his seat as here by 55.3%. An his seat here in 2013. general S Murugesan say he might not hold ranks. Mr Vellu has convincingly in 2004 only four remaining Keong, and will likely HINDRAF leader P one of four remaining unnamed MIC He won the seat from or vice-president S 14 on to the position in also voiced interest in and 2008 against MCA MIC members in the defend his seat again Waythamoorthy if MIC members in the member is slated to an MCA candidate by Sothinathan will 15 the election. contesting here again. candidates. . in 2013. speculations are right. Dewan Rakyat. contest here as well. 64% in 2008. contest here. No Land For CountryMen

From Bahru in the south to Georgetown in the north, it is boom time for Malaysia’s real estate market. But for many of the country’s ethnic Indians, a proper home is a distant dream, as the land they used to live and work on is razed, forcing them into slums.

by Ng Jun Sen and Bhavan Jaipragas

 A dairy farm off Jalan Enam in Sentul Timur, set against the construction site of The Capers, 16 an upcoming condominium. 17   [top] Calves crammed [above] Mr Shanmugam washing the farm while into a small crate, his cows feed. He intends to move out from his barely enough for current location to prevent further loss of his them to move about. cattle, but has not yet secured the funds to do so.

 Sentul Timur, Kuala Lumpur The developer, YTL Corporation Limited, the British to work on rubber plantations in the wants him to permanently relocate his farm 19th century. For Mr S Shanmugam, before the condominium is completed next year, As plantation land was sold off to private living in a “temporary airy farmer S Shanmugam has little but Mr Shanmugam fears that he would not be developers starting from the 1980s, many Indians shelter” means dealing to look forward to when he wakes up Soundbite able to find an alternative livelihood if he moves lost their jobs and the free housing and schooling with squalor, such every morning to the familiar sounds away. that were included. as poor sanitation, of mooing and bleating. “The developers want me to move, but where Smallholder Indian farmers like Mr Shan- unreliable utilities and His ramshackle hut, made of corrugated steel “If Shanmugam’s skin D can I go? Farming is all I know and all my mugam are also put in a spot due to their inabil- the constant threat and scrap wood, is barely holding up, and the customers are here. This is my rice bowl,” the was a shade different, ity to take on indomitable real estate developers of being burgled. lack of proper ventilation is paralyzing. 55-year-old, who has been farming for nearly he would be in a better over disputes on land ownership. Outside, his herd of nearly 50 cows and a four decades, told From the Shadows in an inter- The Centre for Public Policy Studies, an dozen goats is slowly whittling down due to position to receive help view at his farm. independent think-tank based in Kuala Lumpur, overcrowding, after being cramped in a space no His late father had started farming unhin- from the outside.” estimates that there are over 300,000 displaced bigger than two basketball courts for more than dered in the area—just eight kilometres from Indians in the country. a year. downtown Kuala Lumpur—from pre-independ- Critics of the Malay-dominated Barisan Na- In 2011, a major real estate developer sud- Mr K Chandrasegar, ence days. It was marked as railway reserve land sional (BN) government charge that the authori- denly hoarded up his five acre grazing pasture civil society activist before it was sold to YTL Corporation Limited. ties are preoccupied with handling the grievances to start construction on a multi-million dollar Mr Shanmugam’s predicament epitomises the of poor Malays who are considered “sons of the condominium, forcing him to operate at the large-scale displacement faced by a large number soil” or “bumiputera”, neglecting the Indians’ edge of the original farm, on a muddy wasteland of Malaysia’s ethnic Indians, who are mostly mammoth displacement problem. adjacent to busy main roads, a metro line and a 18 descendents of indentured labourers brought by “If Shanmugam’s skin was a shade different, 19 drainage canal. he would be in a better position to receive help from the outside,” said Mr K Chandrasegar, an independent civil society activist who has spent decades working with displaced Indians. Soundbite Unlike the Malays, Mr Chandrasegar said, Mr Shanmugam does not stand a chance to receive “There has been years of land grants from the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA), an agency that grants land mismanagement of land and in for smallholder farms and is the world’s biggest many cases there are questions plantation entity. There are no recent statistics on the ethnic of legality in the deals made.” breakdown of FELDA settlers, but research done by the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Dr Bridget Welsh, expert in Singapore estimate that more than 90 percent of Southeast Asian politics, the agency’s farmers are Malay. Singapore Management University Government officials, including cabinet minister M Saravanan, have tried interceding on behalf of Mr Shanmugam to find an amicable solution to his woes, but their efforts have been futile so far. When From the Shadows visited the long- Academic experts attribute the Indian com- houses in the community in late 2012, occupants munity’s decades-long displacement problem to rushed to point out the squalid conditions they bureaucratic inertia and legal tangles that arise had to endure, including termite infested walls out of questionable land deals. and spoilt sewer systems. “There has been years of mismanagement The chief minister of opposition-controlled of land and in many cases there are questions Selangor, Mr Khalid Ibrahim, vowed intervention of legality in the deals made,” said Dr Bridget in 2011, but little has changed since then. Welsh, an expert in Southeast Asia politics at the Singapore Management University. “The people who make the decisions on top don’t understand what we have gone through “There has not been enough protection for living in longhouses for more than 10 years,” said  the land rights of ordinary Malaysians,” she Mr M Sugumaran, who heads an “action Against the backdrop of the Petronas added. committee” representing the forty twin towers, Mr Shanmugam’s cattle seem Dr Denison Jayasooria, principal research fel- families. out of place in the urban environment. low of the Institute of Ethnic Studies at Universiti Residents had hoped that 80 cows and 30 goats have died since he Kebangsaan Malaysia, said the civil service is the opposition Pakatan Rakyat was forced off the land by developers. also at fault for being reactive, and not meeting state government could end “delivery and implementation standards” set by the impasse when they came For more stories the political leadership. to power in 2008, but this from the longhouse “There is also a case where there is a lack has now diminished into of empathy in the bureaucracy for the Indians community, turn to  frustration. because it is not multi-ethnic enough,” he added. 49-year-old R Chelia milks a “Even with the opposi- page 24 cow. The milk is then sold to Longhouse woes tion, they only start to listen restaurants and shops around Regardless of the reasons, Malaysia’s sluggish to us when we march to their Sentul, though he said approach to dealing with displaced Indians has offices with banners,” said Mr business became poor when translated to a decade of anguish for 40 families Sugumaran. milk yields fell drastically. living in temporary longhouses in Petaling Jaya Crutch mentality Selatan, at the border between Selangor state and BN lawmaker P Kamalanathan acknowledges the federal capital. the scale of the displacement faced by a large Over 200 squatters moved to the longhouses proportion of the country’s Indian population, in 2003 as part of a deal with real estate de- but insists that part of the problem stems from a veloper Peter Brickworks Sdn Bhd, which had crutch mentality among those affected. acquired the land they had been squatting on for “Some Indians want a shortcut to success, residential development. using their non-bumiputera status as a crutch,” The developer promised that the longhouse said Mr Kamalanathan, whose constituency Hulu arrangement was temporary, and that it would Selangor has one of the highest concentrations of build five apartment blocks to permanently ethnic Indians in the country. relocate all affected settlers—most of whom are  “They should know that the estate does not descendents of tin miners. Another of Mr Shanmugam’s last forever. If you did not plan and save to buy a farmhands, SR Krishnamoorthy, But it later reneged on this agreement by house, why must you blame others?” 50, collects grass around building only four blocks, leaving the 40 families A senior leader in the Malaysian Indian Sentul and Ampang to feed stranded in the fast deteriorating longhouses. Congress, Mr Kamalanathan also rubbished the the animals, as they no longer The Petaling Jaya-based company declined to perception that the BN prioritises the interests of have any grazing land. 20 comment on the issue when contacted. Malays over poverty-stricken Indians, branding 21 Who’s who it the work of opposition spin masters. 160 of the plantation’s former workers are the construction of 100,000 homes. “There are special assistance schemes for claiming a four acre plot of land out of the 26 “If you look at strict legal provisions, you will these workers to get houses, and the government acres they currently occupy to build low-cost not find anything that will help the displaced has created an avenue for them to take bank landed homes. workers legally,” said HINDRAF leader P Way- loans.” They have however come up against officials thamoorthy. Mr Samy Vellu helmed the MIC for 31 years before being forced to step down in the who insist that they can only be compensated In 2010, prime minister Najib Abdul Razak “But there are laws in the country that say aftermath of the party’s poor showing in the unveiled several schemes to upgrade the skills with high-rise apartments. that land could be acquired for public purposes, 2008 general election. The 77-year-old remains of former plantation workers and encourage The 1,800 acres plantation was acquired by so why not use it to help the displaced?” a hugely divisive character in the Malaysian them to become entrepreneurs, as part of a larger the government in 1980, and sold off piece by The group has also filed a four trillion dollar Indian community. His supporters speak about policy shift to enhance the country’s economic piece to private developers. The government now lawsuit against Britain for alleged atrocities suf- him with adulation, while others finger him as competitiveness. wants to sell off the 26 acres the former planta- fered by the Indian community during colonial the root cause for the community’s current An housing scheme for estate workers has tion workers occupy as well. rule. problems. also been in place since 1973 to persuade planta- The government’s obstinacy and lackadaisical For Mr Shanmugam, the dairy farmer, such tion owners to provide alternative accommoda- approach during dialogues with the 160 former generous recourse is a distant dream not worth tion for displaced workers. plantation workers has attracted significant me- yearning for right now. MIC vice-president M Saravanan has dealt directly However, it is not legally binding, and civil dia attention in the past two years, as well as the “I have spent my entire life rearing cows, I with the displaced in his role as the deputy society activists have branded it as largely ineffec- ire of others in the Bukit Jalil community. don’t know anything else. All I want is for the minister for the federal territories and urban tual. “The people living here are not asking for government to solve the problem they created affairs. A Samy Vellu loyalist, Mr Saravanan is Rights, not reprieve much, but the government and city council is for us,” he said, while gazing at his makeshift seen as a potential replacement for MIC supremo doing everything to make it seem as if they are,” cowshed, with the Petronas twin towers gleaming G Palanivel if the latter falters in the 13th general For many of the displaced Indians From the said Mr Choong Men Chin, a retiree who is help- in the distant horizon.  election. Shadows spoke to, the government’s arbitrary ap- ing the plantation workers champion their cause. proach of providing aid is particularly irksome. To them, it denotes a fundamental belief The HINDRAF way  among the country’s leaders that displaced Indi- Rights group Hindu Rights Action Force Soundbite A longhouse ans must be treated as squatters, and do not have (HINDRAF), which labelled the Indian displace- Public relations practitioner P Kamalanathan’s community of around a legitimate claim to land and compensation. ment predicament as the “largest single forced “They should know that the famous win against Parti Keadilan Rakyat 40 families in Petaling “Our forefathers and us worked off this land displacement in the region”, is demanding af- heavyweight Zaid Ibrahim in the 2010 Hulu Jaya Selatan. Its for nearly a hundred years and helped build this firmative action as the way forward. estate does not last forever. Selangor by-election has been lauded by the MIC residents have been country. All we are asking for is what is rightfully In a five-year blueprint unveiled last year, If you did not plan and as a critical turning point for the party since its waiting for a decade ours,” said Mr Thilagan, a former estate worker at the group called for 200,000 acres of land to be embarrassing defeat at the 2008 polls. MIC’s president G Palanivel had initially been for their low-cost flats. the erstwhile Bukit Jalil plantation. distributed to the Indian community, along with save to buy a house, why slated to contest the seat, but senior BN must you blame others?” leaders felt Mr Kamalanathan was a safer choice. Mr P Kamalanathan, Barisan Nasional member of parliament for Hulu Selangor

 Low-cost apartment flats in Kampung Medan. Most squatters From the Shadows spoke to rejected offers to move to such houses as they are usually poorly maintained and located in less 22 accessible areas. 23 Profile Mahendran, The Activist

By day, he typifies the struggles faced by the Indian underclass, growing up and working on land that the government and companies now say belongs to them. At night, he lends his voice to HINDRAF’s rancour for justice. His life is the story of the Malaysian Indian.

by Ng Jun Sen and Bhavan Jaipragas

Petaling Jaya Selatan, Kuala Lumpur  or ten years, Mr MS Mahendran has motorcycles at a cut-down price as compared Crumbling, leaky lived in the embattled longhouse com- to regular workshops. roofs and termite- munity in Petaling Jaya Selatan (PJS1), Life is tough, especially during the weeks infested walls are holding out on a promise that the when he does not have any customers. “We commonplace in a Selangor chief minister made. F don’t ask for much, we make do with what we PJS1 longhouse. It took Like the others in the community, he was have,” he said. several angry visits to promised a low-cost flat in return for vacat- The hard life, however, does not deter Mr the municipal council ing his old home in the Kampung Muniandy Mahendran from being an activist with the by Mr Mahendran squatter settlement. Human Rights Party (HRP) helmed by Mr and his neighbours But till today, not a single brick has been P Uthayakumar. The HINDRAF co-founder before they agreed to laid on the land where the apartment is sup- is contesting for state and federal seats in provide scrap metal posed to be. Selangor. for repairs. The While his neighbours continue to fight for As his right-hand man, Mr Mahendran longhouses were built their promised houses, Mr Mahendran must does everything from selling tickets for charity a decade ago by the think about his livelihood for now. dinners to standing in as its unofficial photog- developer for the 40   The son of a poor tin mine worker, the rapher. families as temporary Mr Mahendran reminisces as he sweeps the dust off old Unlike the other families in the PJS1 settlement, 52-year-old did not stay in school for long. He Mr Mahendran, who was previously from shelters until the photographs, showing scenes of his life in Kampung Mr Mahendran has two lots—the extra one is for spent his youth learning how to repair mo- the main HINDRAF group, made the decision apartment is built. Muniandy, a sprawling squatter settlement adjacent his motorcycle repair workshop, Rajiv Motors. It torcycles in a workshop owned by a Chinese to stand by the firebrand Mr Uthayakumar to a tin mine. He moved to PJS1 after authorities is a tough life, especially when customers are few. businessman in Penang. when he formed the HRP in 2009. acquired the land and promised the squatters low- “We make do with what we have,” he says. The skills he acquired now puts food on the “Mr Uthaya’s hard-hitting and fierce cost homes. But Mr Mahendran never got his. table. Unable to find a satisfactory full-time method is the best way to make our problems job, Mr Mahendran makes a living repairing be heard,” he said. 24 25  When the day is done and his work is finished, Mr Mahendran dons the orange HRP uniform and For more stories on leaves his life of motorbikes and Indian activism, turn leaky roofs behind. He goes to to page 38 wherever the Human Rights Party leader P Uthayakumar needs help.  At Mr Uthayakumar’s campaign office in Sri Andalas, Mr Mahendran contributes by arranging chairs and taking photos of HRP activities. He also participates in any HRP- organised political rally or protest.

  Mr Mahendran drives past the Mr Mahendran speaks to the stalled construction site where outspoken HRP leader as the the apartment he was promised is party prepares to discuss plans supposed to be. It is now wildly about contesting the Kota Raja overrun by a thick growth of parliamentary seat. Of all the plants, and angry PJS1 residents political figures claiming to represent have taken to spraypainting the Indians’ interests, he chose to derogatory messages targeted follow Mr Uthayakumar as he does at the city council for failing not shy away from harsh words to deliver on their promises. or drastic action. “Mr Uthaya’s hard-hitting method is the best way to make our problems heard.”

26 27 Ipoh,

ike many in the Malaysian Indian com- number of stateless people from other ethnicities munity, Mr Ragu Rajamani is trilingual. in Malaysia, the problem plagues the country’s Fluent in English and Tamil, the 37-year- citizen’s ethnic Indian underclass the most. old odd job worker would also probably “The single common denominator among the Lturn heads with his eloquent Malay, spoken Privilege undocumented Indians is poverty and being in a with the thick singsong accent distinct to Perak situation where they are unable to access public natives. sector service,” said Dr Denison Jayasooria, By all accounts, there would be little reason Without proper principal research fellow at the Institute of Ethnic for anyone to doubt that he is a true blue Malay- citizenship Studies in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. sian citizen. Yet, Mr Ragu has spent most of his documents, a Many of the stateless Indians are descendents person living in adult life struggling to prove that he is a legiti- of former rubber plantation workers, and their Malaysia cannot: mate son of the country. ŠŠ Vote poorly educated parents may not have known of Put into a government welfare home as a ŠŠ Access schooling the requirement to register births and apply for toddler because of abusive parents, Mr Ragu services the MyKad when their children turn 12, accord- somehow slipped through administrative crevices ŠŠ Travel ing to Dr Jayasooria. and was not registered as a Malaysian citizen. internationally The issue has become a focal point of public Instead of the blue identity card called ŠŠ Qualify for bickering between Indian leaders in the opposi- ‘MyKad’ Malaysians use as proof of their citizen- national tion Pakatan Rakyat alliance and the govern- ship, Mr Ragu now holds a temporary identifica- healthcare ment-aligned Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) and retirement tion document with the words “bukan wargane- ahead of the impending general election. schemes gara” —non-citizen—emblazoned on it. ŠŠ Work for an Led by Parti Keadilan Rakyat vice-president “Malaysia is my home, but it is very sad that organisation Mr N Surendran, the opposition alliance has the government looks at me like I am a for- sustained a months-long campaign calling for the eigner from Bangladesh or Indonesia,” said Mr Instead, a stateless Barisan Nasional (BN) government to hasten the Ragu, who has visited the National Registration person is subject to: documentation of stateless Indians. Department in Putrajaya more than a hundred ŠŠ discrimination Estimating that there are nearly 300,000 times in the past decade to appeal for citizenship. ŠŠ registration stateless Indians across peninsula Malaysia, Mr problems for He is one of the estimated thousands of Surendran said they were victims of “a deliberate marriages and Malaysian-born ethnic Indians who are deemed births policy to marginalise and push out Indians from stateless, and do not possess the blue identity ŠŠ abuse by mainstream society”. card that is needed for everything from subsi- authorities In December last year, he and other opposi- dised healthcare to housing loans. ŠŠ being classified tion leaders led a crowd of nearly 1,000 Malay- Like Mr Ragu, many who suffer from the as an illegal sian Indians, mostly stateless senior citizens, in a predicament are also unable to register their mar- immigrant sit-in protest in front of the National Registration riages, and their children are considered born Department building in Putrajaya. Source: United Nations High Foreigners at home out of wedlock. Finding a job is near impossible, Commissioner for Refugees “Without any documents, I cannot vote in as employers fear reprisal if they turn out to be elections and I don’t get all the privileges and illegal immigrants. money the government gives to Malaysian Thousands of Malaysian-born ethnic Indians from rural areas lack Experts say that although there are a sizeable citizens,” said former rubber plantation worker identification documents and are considered ‘stateless’. As political leaders bicker over the scale of the problem and the best way to address it, these individuals languish without the rights Malaysian citizens take for granted.  Mr Ragu Rajamani, here with his family, by Bhavan Jaipragas and Ng Jun Sen holds up his green identity card which classifies him as a non-citizen.

28 29  Parti Keadilan Rakyat-affiliated lawyer Latheefa Koya pushes against security forces to enter the National Registration Department in Putrajaya. Nearly 1,000 stateless Indians turned up on December 12 last year for the protest, but Barisan Nasional Kamatchi Doraisamy, 73, one of the participants politicians dismissed the event as a farce. in the sit-in protest. The protest, which saw participants chanting slogans against the BN government, eventually forced officials to open up makeshift counters outside the National Registration Department Soundbite building to process citizenship applications im- mediately. When queried on the opposition’s charge “Without any documents, I that the government was not doing enough for cannot vote in elections and stateless Indians, MIC leaders had harsh words to offer. I don’t get all the privileges 300,000 – fact or fiction? and money the government Mr T Mohan, the youth chief of the party, ac- gives to Malaysian citizens.” cused the opposition of championing the cause of stateless Indians issue to bolster faltering support Ms Kamatchi Doraisamy, from the country’s nearly 800,000 Indian voters. 73, a stateless person “The opposition are the biggest liars, I chal- lenge them to prove that there are 300,000 or even 50,000 stateless Indians in this modern country,” Mr Mohan told From the Shadows in an interview. others were turned down, as they did not have Another senior MIC leader and lawmaker P sufficient proof to show that they were born in a database of all unresolved cases and bring Kamalanathan said there could be no way the Malaysia. closure to those facing this predicament,” said Pakatan Rakyat’s “parachuted Indian leaders” A similar drive is expected to be held by the Dr Jayasooria, who previously chaired a high- could have accurate data on the problem to come authorities later this year. level government committee looking into Indian problems in Malaysia. up with the 300,000 number. “We understand there is a problem, it is not “It is the Barisan Nasional with the cawangans as big as Surendran would like to think it is,” said Ms Kalaichelvi Ramaiyah, who travelled (branches) in every corner of Malaysia to assess Mr Kamalanathan. from the northern state of to attend the the situation on the ground,” said the member of Putrajaya protest, said the best way the govern- parliament for the Hulu Selangor constituency. Urgent action needed ment could help stateless Indians like her would The government, Mr Kamalanathan said, had Researcher Dr Jayasooria said the political be to remove the requirement to show proof of been looking into the issue since 2010, when it bickering by Indian leaders from both sides of birth in Malaysia. started conducting road shows in the heartlands the aisle over the scale of the problem has little “It is obvious that I am born and bred in to seek out undocumented Indians. effect in changing the “human tragedy and mis- Malaysia. I cannot prove it but I hope the govern- A week-long registration drive conducted ery” faced by those mired in statelessness. ment can use its common sense and give us our in 2011 saw 9,529 ethnic Indians in the country “The federal government must find the ICs,” said 63-year-old Ms Ramaiyah, a former apply for citizenship, with 6,590 successful. The political will to undertake urgent action to create plantation worker.   Mr N Surendran Who’s who Ethnic studies researcher Dr Denison Mr N Surendran is one of Parti Keadilan MIC youth chief T Mohan is expected to take Dr Xavier Jayakumar is a state executive council (middle), vice- Jayasooria’s academic analysis of the Rakyat’s vice-presidents, but does not on HINDRAF co-founder P Uthayakumar in member from opposition-controlled Selangor. president of Parti Malaysian Indian predicament is augmented hold a parliamentary or state seat. the Sri Andalas state seat in Selangor. The dentist-turned-politician will be Keadilan Rakyat, at by his experience as the director The combative lawyer-activist Mr Mohan has been a vocal involved in an all-Indian three- a protest in support of a government assembled is considered the opposition critic of PKR vice-president corner fight in the Sri Andalas of a stateless family taskforce to look into Indian alliance’s point man for Indian N Surendran, who he state seat, with MIC’s T Mohan in Brickfields on issues. He previously served as branded a “parachuted affairs. He is making his and HINDRAF co-founder P November 24, 2012. the commissioner of Malaysia’s debut in electoral politics Indian leader”. Uthayakumar also contesting human rights body and has by standing for the Padang there. been a vocal lobbyist calling Serai seat in Penang in the for urgent state action to upcoming polls. resolve the issue of stateless Indians. 30 31  Over the Thaipusam weekend, an estimated one million Hindus from all over Malaysia converge at the Sri Subramaniar temple Jostling with in Batu Caves. the gods

The widespread Hindu temple demolitions that triggered the 2007 HINDRAF protest may be a thing of the past, but the rising politicisation of temples and festivals now perturb Malaysia’s Hindu community, who say opportunistic politicians are marring the sanctity of their religion.

by Ng Jun Sen and Bhavan Jaipragas

Batu Caves, Selangor

he annual Thaipusam festival, during opportunity to unveil several election sweeten- which Hindu devotees pierce their bod- ers, including a proposal to make the Thaipusam ies with hooks and skewers as a form public holiday a national one, and not merely of penance, usually attracts more than confined to several states. Ta million to the Batu Caves Not to be outdone, the opposition Pakatan temple in the outskirts of the national capital, set Rakyat alliance set up a mega-booth offering in a spectacular limestone cavern. drinks and food to passing worshippers outside This year, with the general election just the temple premises, after being denied the around the corner, the colourful three-day permit to set it up inside. festival in late January saw political leaders “We may not be invited inside today. But we competing for prominence with the cacophony will win this general election, and next year we of worshippers chanting religious hymns and will make sure we celebrate Thaipusam inside,” swirling heavy ornate kavadis as they walked up said Mr Xavier Jayakumar, a cabinet member in the 272 steps to the temple. the opposition-controlled Selangor state govern- Officiating the festival’s opening ceremony, ment. deputy premier used the

32 33   Kavadi-bearer N A boy’s attention seem to have wandered Dashmen, 25, prepares away from the booths set up by for his journey to the Barisan Nasional, where a lucky draw Batu Caves temple. was taking place for devotees.

The spillover of intense electioneering onto the seventh year at Batu Caves, the increased the opposition are well aware that the Indians  the religious arena has rankled the country’s amount of politicking in the religious festival is don’t want to go back to the pre-2008 days when Mr Chua Tian Chang, Hindu community, who worry that bickering simply unacceptable. temples were arbitrarily being taken down,” said member of parliament politicians mar the sanctity of their religion. Dr Welsh. “This is a holy period for devotees to think for Batu and vice- Over 85 percent of Malaysia’s 1.9 million ethnic and pray about (Lord) Murugan. This is not a Temple demolitions have dramatically president of Parti Indians are Hindus. place for politics and criticising each other,” said decreased after the landmark 2008 election, as Keadilan Rakyat, gives “Religion and politics must stay clear of the 38-year-old. political leaders, urban planners and real estate away refreshments each other if we want to practice Hinduism in Dr Bridget Welsh, a Malaysian politics expert developers are now more mindful of the rami- at Pakatan Rakyat’s the correct way,” said Mr Mohan Shanmugam, at the Singapore Management University, said fications of such action. When they do occur, mega-booth to head of the Malaysian Hindu Sangam, the main politicians from both sides of the aisle might however, political parties have been quick to turn Thaipusam devotees. association of temples in the country. be overzealous in positioning themselves as them into fodder for political one-upmanship. The Indian community, Mr Shanmugam said, champions of Hindu rights, as they are wary of In November last year, municipal council were well aware that politicians were swooping the importance given to religion by the Indian officers from a opposition-controlled constitu- down to Hindu temples and festivals solely to community. ency in Selangor demolished a Hindu altar built shore up support for the polls, where the Indian in the car porch of businessman S Gobikumar’s vote is expected to be crucial. Keeping temples intact home, after complaints by his Muslim neighbours “Before the 2008 general election, Malay The November 2007 protest organised by the that the structure was illegal and made them feel  leaders would not even step into Hindu temples. Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) was uncomfortable. At the Barisan Nasional’s booth, pro-BN material is given Now even the prime minister is coming to Batu triggered by widespread anger over a series of The altar was built to house a black trident out while booth personnel chant their campaign slogan Caves for Thaipusam.” temples demolitions around Selangor during the representing the Hindu deity Shiva, according to premiership of Abdullah Badawi. ‘janji diterpati’ (promises fulfilled). The Malaysian Indian To Mr Kaliswaran Sathamorthy, a devout Mr Gobikumar. 34 Congress had a booth near its headquarters as well. Hindu who was carrying the spiked kavadi for “Both the Barisan Nasional government and Mr Xavier Jayakumar, the de facto Indian 35 a source of pride

n Malaysia’s grandiose administrative capital Iof Putrajaya, a fittingly awe-inspiring Hindu temple is slowly taking shape, with the con- struction cost ballooning above RM10 million. When completed in 2015, the Sri Lalitham- bikai temple promises a unique worshipping experience and will prominently feature a dozen ancient pillars dug up from a lost temple in Tamil Nadu. But while its pomp may soon impress visit- ing tourists, the temple has come under fire from naysayers, who scoff at its exorbitant cost and have labelled it a “white elephant”. When asked by From the Shadows for his views of the temple, Malaysia Hindu Sangam president Mohan Shanmugam said such os- tentatious temples are unnecessary, especially in this case, where there are only a few Hindus residing in Putrajaya. The temple, however, is not alone in its extravagance. In Batu Caves, the most important Hindu site in Malaysia, a gold-coated towering statue of Lord Murugan stands guard at the foot of the 272 steps leading to the Sri Subramaniar cave temple. It was completed in 2006 at the cost of RM2.5 million, and is the tallest  representation of the Hindu god of victory in Prime minister Najib affairs official in the Selangor state govern- “That is an opportunity for temples to show the world. Abdul Razak visits ment, issued a statement saying that the officers what Hinduism is about, and is also another way High profile critics like Kota Alam Shah temples and churches acted unilaterally without consulting the state to share some of the problems our temples are state assemblyman M Manoharan have during an inter-faith leadership. But the damage was done, and the going through,” he added. lambasted the practicality of these structures, harmony walk on Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) moved in to When prime minister Najib Abdul Razak adding to the cacophony of views online that February 2. Before capitalise on the issue. visited the temple as part of an inter-faith  the money could have been spent on the many the 2008 elections, “It is totally unacceptable, the opposition harmony event in February, Mr Gunasegaran Campaign material distributed by Barisan Nasional issues afflicting the Indian community. few Malay politicians have failed in their election promise not to used the chance to ask him for help in resolving supporters litter the streets during Thaipusam. More Nonetheless, the majority of the Indian were willing to do demolish any place of worship in the states they a longstanding issue surrounding the lease of the than 80 percent of Hindus are Indians, making Hindu community welcome these developments and so, citing a Syariah control,” MIC youth chief T Mohan told From temple grounds. festivals an ideal platform for electioneering. celebrate them as icons of Hindu pride amid rule forbidding their the Shadows in an interview at Mr Gobikumar’s A senior official from the prime minister’s the ever-rising tide of Islamisation in Malaysia. participation in affairs home. office approached him to follow up on the issue More temples, it seems, is always a good thing. of other faiths. The 36-year-old was there to lead a collabora- soon after. These wealthy temples must do more to give tive effort by MIC cadres to rebuild the altar for “Thanks to (the official’s) help, I have man- Who’s who back to society, according to Mr Shanmugam. Mr Gobikumar days after it was demolished. aged to get the proper documents to secure the A temple typically spends a paltry ten to “It is true that the MIC lost heavily in 2008 lease,” he said. “We’re now one step closer to fifteen percent of the donations it receives on because of the temples, but the people know that solving this problem.” Mr Mohan Shanmugam heads the In 2010, deputy prime minister Malaysian Hindu Sangam, the main Muhyiddin Yassin attracted the ire community activities, while the rest are used now we are the ones who can protect the temples, For Malaysian Hindu Sangam’s Mr Shan- representative body for Hindus in the of minority groups in Malaysia when to pay for the temple’s maintenance and to not destroy them like the opposition,” said Mr mugam, the increasing encroachment of politi- country. In a candid interview with he described himself as “Malay first, upgrade its facilities. Mohan, who is preparing to run for a state seat in cians into the religious sphere is an inevitability From the Shadows, Mr Shanmugam Malaysian second”. The 65-year-old Mr G Gunasegaran, the secretary of the Sri the coming election. that devotees in the country will have to deal voiced his frustration dealing with Johor native may nudge out Mr Najib Sakthi Karpaga Vinayagar temple, believes that Double-edged sword with as the election approaches. Malaysia’s wealthier temples, which as the leader of the BN if the coalition the limited contribution to community service “To reach out to the Indians, one can either he said do not focus enough fairs poorly While a majority of the Malaysian Indians is a consequence of the lack of grant money go to the temples or go to Indian schools, as these on alleviating Indian in the coming From the Shadows spoke to voiced concerns over from the government to help temples in its are the only places where you will find Indians en problems. election. politicians’ footprint on the Hindu faith, some daily upkeep. masse,” said Mr Shanmugam. saw the increased attention as a boon. “We give back to the community by organ- “We can only hope that the politicians use “When the politicians come, so does the me- ising religious classes and donating to Tamil their influence to safeguard Hinduism, and not dia attention,” said Mr G Gunasegaran, secretary schools to buy textbooks. But we can definitely advance their personal interests.”  of the Sri Sakthi Karpaga Vinayagar temple in do more if we get funding from the govern-  Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. ment,” he said. 36 37 Beacons of Hope

YouTube sensation KS Bawani is among a growing number of vocal and energetic Indian youth activists championing the cause of the less privileged and giving hope that there is a better age for Malaysian Indians in the future.

by Bhavan Jaipragas and Ng Jun Sen

Padang Jawa, Selangor

27-year-old Indian law student from the far-flung northern border town of Sintok in Kedah has become an icon of the increasing zeal among Indian youths, after a video of her being publicly chastised by a Agovernment leader went viral earlier this year. Student activist KS Bawani had risen to rebut criticism of the opposition’s proposal to institute free education at a political forum in her university last December. Instead of responding directly, the forum’s moderator, a senior official from a Barisan Nasional-backed NGO, belittled her educational qualifica- tions and implored her to ‘listen’, repeating the word 11 times consecutively. A video of the incident was put on YouTube in January, and the petite Ms Bawani, who stood resolutely as the moderator Ms Sharifah Zohra berated her, immediately became a symbol of defiance against the establishment’s culture of talking down to the country’s youth.  Slingshotted to fame thanks to a YouTube video, Ms KS Bawani is now an icon of student activism and regularly speaks in university forums about free education, such as this one here in Universiti Industri Selangor.

38 39 “There is nothing to fear, what is important is that you stand up and speak up for what you believe in,” said Ms Bawani in an interview with From the Shadows. A member of the student-led National Movement for Free Education, Ms Bawani said an increasing stream of Indian youths like her Editorial are stepping forward as activists, emboldened by social media and the changing political climate in Malaysia. “It may not be as many as the Malays and Chinese, but definitely young Indians are coming What is next for out to...speak out and help the community,” she said, at the sidelines of a student forum in Uni- versiti Industri Selangor where she was a guest speaker. Malaysia’s Indians? Ms Bawani, who is doing law as a second de- gree after completing a first degree in psychology, by Bhavan Jaipragas and Ng Jun Sen has also been an active member of the Malaysian Socialist Party since 2005. Ethnic studies researcher Denison Jayasooria he image of thousands of Malaysian In- basic rights because of the lack of proper docu- said the activism of the Pakatan Rakyat’s Indian dians fighting running battles with riot mentation. lawyers and Bersih’s leader Ambiga Sreenevasan police during the HINDRAF protest The temple demolitions that enraged the large- “They are making use of the Internet very well have be vital in encouraging young Indians to  on 25 November 2007 has become the ly Hindu–Indian community in the pre-2008 days to connect with the community on the ground,” challenge the status quo. A screen capture of icon of the community’s emergence from a deep may have ceased, but as we explored in “Jostling said Mr Mahaganapathy. T “These individuals...serve as role models for the YouTube video slumber of acquiescence with Barisan Nasional with the Gods”, many devotees now worry about “From helping those suffering from urban other bright young Indians to come forward that became viral. (BN) rule. the impact the country’s increasingly contested displacement to poverty, there are many ways and find solutions to the problems the Indian Ms KS Bawani Many political observers had predicted that political landscape will have on their religion. the youth can contribute, and that is what we community and others in Malaysia are facing,” (left) is confronted the subsequent drubbing faced by the Malaysian Whichever way the chips fall in the coming encourage them to do,” he added. said Dr Jayasooria from Universiti Kebangsaan by the moderator Indian Congress (MIC) at the 2008 general elec- 13th general election, it is obvious that these deep- Strident Indian rights group Hindu Rights Malaysia. of a December 8, tion would finally usher in a sea change in the seated problems will not go away overnight. Action Force (HINDRAF), which was founded Young and vocal activists like Ms Bawani 2012 forum entitled destiny of Malaysia’s 1.9 million Indians, whose Malaysia’s 800,000 Indian voters must however by middle-aged Indian lawyers, is also hoping have the ability to act as a conduit between politi- “Are University longstanding woes have received little attention use this momentous election to send a strong that vocal youths will step forward to advance cal decision makers and low-income Indians who Students in Line with since independence. signal that the status quo is unacceptable. The its cause and take up leadership positions in the are not able to articulate their concerns, added Politics” in Universiti Five years on, however, the continued inertia community should not commit to be either side’s future. Dr Jayasooria. Utara Malaysia. in the amelioration of their problems has bred “fixed deposit”. Instead, support must be given “We are getting very successful young a strong sense of political disaffection on the to the side that acknowledges the scale of Indian individuals coming to us and saying they want to Overwhelming support ground, as we have observed from our reportage problems and is sincere in its actions to rectify help us advance the HINDRAF cause,” said Mr N Ms Bawani’s activism and courage at the in Malaysia from September 2012 to March 2013. them. Ganesan, the group’s national adviser. December forum has earned her plaudits from The BN federal government and opposition As analysts have pointed out, the Indian vote “Many just want to remain anonymous and the Malaysian Indian Congress as well, despite state governments have instituted policies specifi- may be the decisive factor in several tightly con- work behind the scenes for now.” her pro-opposition bias. cally targeted at the Indians, but their effects, for tested constituencies. As such, there may well be Senior leaders in the party including secre- Ms Bawani, who is touring Malaysia every various reasons, have been marginal at best. a situation where the critical 112 seats needed to tary-general S Murugasen and strategic director weekend to lobby support for the National Move- What makes their purported solutions worse form the federal government is attained as a direct Vell Paari praised Ms Bawani for her interest in ment for Free Education, believes Indian youth is the entrenched culture of laziness plaguing an result of the Indian vote. must think about serving all Malaysians, even as politics, which they said shed the perception that administration that takes action only when the Putting forth a long-term plan to end the woes they work to alleviate the lives of the country’s Indian youths are apathetic about the future of issue is politicised by the other party, splashed of the marginalised Indian community will require Indians. Malaysia. across the front pages of the media or when a large substantive resources, time and political will. “We are after all a multiracial country. Mr Mahaganapathy Dass, the head of MIC’s crowd of angry men and women are knocking on As a starting point, however, it would bode Another race’s problem is also our problem. We Higher Education Bureau said the party is trying their ministry doors. well for the next government elected into Putra- cannot keep thinking in racial terms when it to breed its own corps of energetic youth activists One of our interviewees aptly put it: “Keep jaya to realise that throwing billions of dollars comes to activism,” she said.  like Ms Bawani. prodding them, otherwise don’t expect anything to through an Indian emissary organisation like be done.” the MIC—as the current Najib administration In “No Land for Countrymen”, we told the has done—is not the way to alleviate the lives of Who’s who Ms Ambiga Sreenevasan is the world-renowned leader Mr N Ganesan holds the title of “national story of how thousands of displaced Indian planta- marginalised Indians. of Malaysian electoral reform group adviser” in HINDRAF and can be tion workers and their descendents remain mired For Malaysia to take the next step forward, it is Bersih. Her leadership of the group, said to be the de-facto number in distressful conditions in their urban slums; time for the problems of any minority group to be which has organised three highly two in the rights group behind Mr while in “Foreigners at Home”, others are denied treated as a national one.  controversial street protests in the past Waythamoorthy. He spearheaded five years, has invited death threats the drafting of the group’s and even a suggestion by former five-year blueprint, which premier that calls for the next government her citizenship should be revoked. to institute affirmative action for 40 the Indian community. 41