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©The Straits Times, Singapore (Used by permission)
by Carolyn Hong, Malaysia Bureau Chief

But this is unlikely to be a long-term swing, says one political analyst

KUALA LUMPUR - LAWYER Amer Hamzah Arshad, a Malay, stood out as one of the few non-Indian faces amid the thousands of Indians who took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur 10 days ago to protest against their plight.

He was there as an observer for the Bar Council, the association of lawyers, and noted the deep sense of frustration among the protesters.

'They told us that they had supported the government for years but are frustrated with their lack of progress,' he said.

His account supports the general view that a good number of the protesters were, in fact, supporters of the ruling Barisan Nasional, in particular the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC).

Traditionally, Indians have been strong supporters of the BN. In the last two general elections, 70 to 80 per cent of the Indian votes went to the BN, partly because there is no credible alternative.

Indians perceive the Chinese and Malay-based opposition parties as being dismissive of them.

Their loyal support hid the fact that frustration has been building up.

Indians comprise 8 per cent of Malaysia's population, but less than one-third of them are well off. The rest, mostly Tamils, are poorly educated with no access to good jobs.

By the time the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) swung into the picture, they were ripe for the picking.

Hindraf, a loose organisation led by five Indian lawyers, successfully tapped into the discontent among Indians, in particular over the issue of temple demolitions.

Many old Hindu temples, built without permission, have been torn down.

Mr Ibrahim Suffian, from the polling organisation Merdeka Centre, said there is always a swing in Indian public opinion when religious controversies flare up.

After the march, Hindraf went from an unknown entity to a household name and, last week, it made further demands, including a meeting with the Prime Minister and the appointment of more high-ranking non-Malay Cabinet ministers.

Hindraf, led by British-trained lawyer P. Uthayakumar, sees itself as the new voice of the Indians.

It has dismissed MIC president Works Minister S. Samy Vellu as irrelevant.

Support for Hindraf cannot be independently verified, although it claims the backing of the majority of the working-class Tamils, who comprise at least 70 per cent of the Indian population.

The government has made it clear that it will not deal with Hindraf.

Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi on Monday described its claims, in particular of ethnic cleansing against the Indians, as 'wild and insane'.

But the government has not dismissed every demand outright.

A political analyst who works closely with the MIC admits that the perception is that Hindraf has become more effective than the MIC, but he does not believe there will be a long-term swing.

'If the government takes the right steps, it can take the wind out of Hindraf's sails,' he says.

Meanwhile, Malaysian prosecutors yesterday charged 26 ethnic Indians with the attempted murder of a police officer, their lawyer N. Ravi said. The case relates to the anti-discrimination protests last month. If found guilty, the accused could face up to 10 years in jail, he said.

Separately, the Bar Council has decided to call off the Human Rights Day March scheduled for Sunday.

Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan said that the decision was made in the interests of the public and the law body itself.

'This event ought not to be embroiled in controversy. Most significantly, it should not be vilified as affecting race relations or be regarded as an anti-government rally,' she said in a statement.

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