Lingering Colonial injustice

 

 

Last Sunday, Kuala Lumpur witnessed the biggest protest rally in the 150-year history of the ethnic Indians settled there. Commercial establishments in the famous twin tower of Malaysia were forced to closed down. The ethnic Indian community mostly comprises Tamils, who braved water canons and teargas shells in the protest rally carrying photographs of Mahatma Gandhi in their hands, defying diktats of the Muslim dominated Malaysian government.

When Malaysia was a colony of Britain, Indian labourers were taken to Malaysia to work in plantations. Now ethnic Indians, who form 8% of the population, are the second largest minority community in Malaysia, next only to the Chinese.

Indians in Malaysia, by and large, feel discriminated against. "In the government and private sectors Tamils are not welcome. Where do we go then?” asks K. Arumugam, coordinator of Concerned Citizens Group, Malaysia, when contacted by TSI. Though Malaysia is a peaceful multi-ethnic country, of late Muslim fundamentalists have been pushing their agenda with the government. Opposition parties, like Patti Islam, are for complete Islamisation of the country. Over the past five years the country has been moving progressively towards Islamisation of governance; Hindu temples have been demolished and even courts have started giving verdicts according to Islamic law.

Cultural and employment discrimination will result in spontaneous retaliation from minorities. This is exactly what is happening in Malaysia. During the run-up to Malaysia's independence Britain formed the Reid Commission to lay the framework for the Malaysian constitution. By the time Tamils submitted a memorandum asking the commission to safeguard their interests in Malay dominated Malaysia. Malays in Malaysia formed 60% of the country’s 27 million population.

The bone of contention now is that the Reid Commision failed to provide safety measures for Indian Malaysians thus blocking the path to prosperity and growth. The affirmative action carried out by the government has benfited only Malays. Even Chinese Malaysians echo this complaint. The Hindu Rights Action Force( HINRAF) on August 30 this year filed a lawsuit in the Royal Court of London asking for compensation from Britain for bringing their ancestors as indentured labourers and exploiting them. They claimed $4 trillion as compensation to 200,000 Indian Malaysians.

Even after Malaysia became independent in 1957, the discrimination continued. Last Sunday HINDRAF wanted to do a peaceful protest in front of the British consulate in Malaysia to reiterate their demands. Malaysian authorities denied permission which pushed the ethnic Indian community to reach the boiling point.

In the first place, it was demolition of a Hindu temple in Klang five years ago in Malayasia that prompted ethnic Indians to group together as a community to find a rightful place in a society they have been born into..