- Malaysian sues Britain over ethnic Indians' woes

The Malaysian government dismisses the case as baseless, but lawyer Waytha Moorthy is determined to pursue it, even vowing to appeal to the Queen to appoint lawyers for the Indian community, which he says is too poor to find its own.

Moorthy wants Britain to pay damages of 1 million pounds to each of Malaysia's 2 million ethnic Indians for rights abuses he traces to colonial-era labour schemes that brought their ancestors to Malaysia as indentured workers.

"We are seeking compensation because we were permanently colonised during British rule, and now, under the government of the ethnic Malays," Moorthy told Reuters.

"We have lost touch with our roots and have been suppressed so far," said Moorthy, who accuses British officials of failing to honour their responsibility to protect ethnic Indians when they granted independence to Malaysia in 1957.

In colonial times, many impoverished Indians and Chinese flocked to work and settle in Malaysia, drawn by government schemes meant to attract cheap labour for the country's then lucrative rubber estates and tin mines, he added.

RUN FOR HIS MONEY

Some might feel that Moorthy, who paid court fees of more than 2,000 pounds to file his case in London's Royal Courts of Justice, has already got a run for his money from the Malaysian newspaper headlines that have trumpeted his story.

But the episode highlights a very real dilemma: after 50 years of independence, ethnic Indians, most of whom are Hindu, own just 1.5 percent of the country's national wealth.

The group, which forms about eight percent of Malaysia's 26 million people, says a decades-old affirmative action plan for the country's Malay Muslim majority has deprived it of opportunities, and the government has done little to improve living standards.

The affirmative action plan, adopted after deadly race riots in 1969, favours politically dominant Malays in housing, education, businesses, jobs and state contracts. Ethnic Indians say the policy is discriminatory.

Poor education further cripples their chances of upward social mobility, forcing them to continue being labourers, although some are now losing out to cheaper foreign workers.

"Indians have suffered under the Muslim-majority Malay government and also during British government rule for the past 200 years," said Moorthy.

His suit also asks the British courts to declare the Malaysian constitution void for not safeguarding the rights of ethnic Indians, and seeks British citizenship for the group.

Moorthy said he was gathering 100,000 signatures for a petition to the Queen to appoint lawyers to represent the Indian community, which was too poor to pay its own legal costs, which he estimated would reach a million pounds.

"We only want justice in the United Kingdom courts," he added. "Whatever justice is given to us we will accept."

(Editing by David Fogarty)

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Rumours rife, Hindraf not amused

Soon Li Tsin
Nov 21, 07 Malaysiakini

If text-messages are to be believed, Queen Elizabeth II will make an appearance at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

This and other rumours are spreading via the short messaging service (SMS) on mobile phones, either to encourage or discourage people from attending a mass rally being organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

When contacted today, Hindraf legal advisor P Uthayakumar said he is getting in more volunteers to deal with calls to his office from those seeking clarification.

“The Queen is not coming. I did not get beaten up and I’m not in the intensive care unit. Other lawyers in Hindraf are not arrested,” he said, responding at one go to the main rumours in circulation.

Incidentally, Queen Elizabeth II is scheduled to open the three-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Kampala, Uganda, which starts on Friday.

Uthayakumar also re-affirmed that Hindraf has not been issued a police permit after Cheras police chief Ahmad Amir Mohd Hashim rejected the application for technical and safety reasons two days ago.

“We have sent an appeal to the Kuala Lumpur police chief (Zulhasnan Najib Baharudin) as well as the prime minister. Even if it is not approved, we will still go on with the peaceful assembly as it is well within our right under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution.”

Uthayakumar also said he has seen other text-messages claiming that hired gangsters will be present to disrupt the peaceful assembly, that police will set up roadblocks around the city and several bus companies have cancelled services to ferry people into Kuala Lumpur for the rally.

The gathering is expected to attract 10,000 people, with Hindraf to hand over a petition addressed to the Queen to support a class-action suit against the British government for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years.

The quantum being sought is US$4 trillion (RM14 trillion) - or US$1 million for every Indian currently residing in Malaysia.

‘Prove it, Samy’

Uthayakumar was also asked to respond to a claim by MIC president S Samy Vellu that Hindraf has not filed a case in London, but had only given notice to file a case.

“We have filed the suit and we have proof [...] complete with the Queen’s stamp, a civil suit number and the receipt of payment,” he said.

“We have never filed a notice. If Samy Vellu (photo) has the evidence of that notice, then we would like to ask him to show it to us. Samy Vellu has nothing to do with this. It is between Hindraf, the British government and the Malaysian government.”

The civil suit against the UK secretary of state for foreign and commonwealth affairs - filed on Aug 30 at the Royal Court of Justice in London - took a month to prepare and was handled by Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy.

The claim for compensation is based on alleged “pain, suffering, humiliation, discrimination and continuous colonialisation” suffered by the Indian community in Malaysia.

Anwar: Let rally proceed

Meanwhile, former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim has urged the police to issue a permit allowing Hindraf to proceed with its rally this Sunday.

"It is the democratic right of all Malaysians to express their views and concerns peacefully. As the recent Bersih rally demonstrated, if the police decide to cooperate, the security and orderliness of any gathering can be guaranteed," said Anwar, who is also de facto leader of the opposition PKR.

"The Indian community has been suffering in silence and the time is most opportune to bring an end to the neglect and marginalisation of the poor of all races.

"I hope this rally will achieve its goal of affirming the interests of the Indian community as Malaysian citizens, and its right for a higher standard of living and quality of life."