news analysis “Let’s see how makkal sakti (Tamil for ‘people power’) works now,” was Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy’s reaction, just after he and two other key leaders were arrested 48 hours before the rally planned by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

And on Sunday, the people - almost all from the Hindu community - responded impressively by taking part in the rally which attracted an estimated 30,000 from all over the country. 

Waythamoorthy (right) and his brother Uthayakumar (left)are the prime movers behind Hindraf. Apart from often being the first to react with a grassroots presence whenever an incident involves the community, they have also held a successful nationwide roadshow to remind Indians of their rights.

In the process, Hindraf has tapped the anger within the community, and it was shown by those who participated in the rally and the thousands of others who were prevented by the police from entering Kuala Lumpur.

The real heroes, though, were the protesters.

This was a crowd which is angry with the way Indian Malaysians are being treated. They are fed-up with being downtrodden. They are frustrated with being treated as third-class citizens in their own country.

So, they had no hesitation about accepting Hindraf’s invitation to come to Kuala Lumpur to express their anger despite the prior warnings issued by the polic and political leaders - and in defiance of a restraining order that could see them jailed for contempt of court. 

As many told Malaysiakini, the most recent demolition of a Hindu temple in Klang was the catalyst for their presence.

‘Hear our voice’

Many of the protesters were out-of-towners. They have been deprived of a forum and the opportunity to say their piece. Many are also MIC supporters, now with full regret that the only Indian-based party in the Barisan Nasional has been helpless in stopping temple demolitions.

“This is the end. We have come here to protest against how the government treats us. They can beat us today. They can put us in prison. We don’t care. We want to tell the government that we are fed up,” said 52-year-old S Aiyakannu from Old Klang Road.

His son Palani led a three-bus convoy from up north.

“For us, it is like a life or death situation. If our voice is heard today, good. Otherwise, this frustrated community will have to show that we can’t be taken for a ride at all time,” he added.

Others shared his sentiments. Many have not seen Waythamoorthy or his brother Uthayakumar but have heard of their movement to mobilise the community fo the rally.

“We have had enough of this bad treatment. They (government) can’t push us any lower. This is the limit. I am not here to support Hindraf’s suit against the UK government but I want to be here to show my anger,” said K Suresh from Sungai Petani.

The majority of the crowd was well-behaved, showing expected grit in the face of the heavy police presence and eventual use of water cannon and tear gas.

Every time they were sprayed with chemical-laced water and tear gas, they retreated only to come forward, in a bigger number.

Many carried posters of Mahatma Gandhi to symbolise their pacifist stand, and carried none of the banners and posters usually associated with political rallies.

The protesters gathered at about nine locations around Jalan Ampang and the KLCC . Every time they were stopped from marching forward, they would disperse and regroup at another spot. (See map below)

At times, they even managed to disperse and regroup behind the police line, forcing the FRU trucks and street personnel to turn around or alter their positions.

Ready for battle

Eyewitnesses say that reports of protesters hurting the police are exaggerated. In most spots, it was the other way round with the protesters taking the brunt of tear gas and chemical-laced water.

While no one disputes that police response had initially been retrained, the kid gloves came off the moment they started arresting the protesters for breaching the court order that banned the rally. Some were dragged along the road and hurled into waiting police trucks.

Even as they were being arrested, many submitted without resistance or complain. One old man was heard saying that he was proud to be arrested over a cause for his community.

Similar sentiments were heard when the protesters were hit with water and tear gas.

“We are people who work hard to live. We don’t work in air-conditioned offices like the KL people. We work under the sun and rain. We are hardy. Let them hit us with anything. We will stand still,” said Raman, a bus driver from Batang Berjuntai, Selangor.

Comical moments

Although emotions sometimes ran high, there were some light-hearted moments at the expense of the police, which lifted the spirits of the protesters.

On one occasion, police fired rounds of tear gas at their own men, totally missing about 1,000 protesters standing in the vicinity.

Seeing the men-in-blue running helter-skelter brought them joy, as much as seeing a Caucasian jogging in the middle of a stand-off between protesters and the police, oblivious to the tension around him!

The police did their best to disperse the crowd. After realising that tear gas, water cannon and arrests were not doing the job, they started telling the protesters that Hindraf leaders had submitted the memorandum as planned to the British High Commission.

They also said that Hindraf leaders had called for the protesters to disperse.

The protesters however were not buying any of this, telling the police to just let them march to the high commission and disperse from there.

“Never mind about the memorandum. Just let us walk peacefully right up to the high commission,” said a young man who was soon arrested for breaching the court order.

By the end of the six-hour cat-and-mouse game, it was the police who grew tired. Towards the end, they only concentrated on protecting their cordon around the high commission.

Wake-up call

One thing is sure. This was not a political protest. This was a protest against the marginalisation of the Indian community. It was a case of the community hitting the streets because they have no where else to take entrenched problems.

The show of force must surely be a wake-up call, not just for the community but also for MIC and the government.

Government leaders and the police can insist that the gathering was illegal but an overwhelming people power proved on Sunday that sentiments on the ground should not be neglected.

The Hindraf rally was the second mass protest this month - after the Bersih rally on Nov 10 - and the third if we include the lawyers’ ‘Walk for Justice’ in Putrajaya last month. 

The protesters on all three occasions had no fear whatsoever in making their stand - and at each event, the police could not find a definitive tactic to put them off their purpose.

If the momentum continues, the people power as envisaged by Waythamoorthy, could well lead to changes that are long overdue