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• Muhyiddin: Other races have poor too

©New Straits Times (Used by permission)

THE stated cause of the Hindraf rally in Kuala Lumpur yesterday -- a petition to Queen Elizabeth for her assistance in securing reparations of RM28 trillion for Malaysia's two million Indians, ostensibly in recompense for Britain's historical importation of indentured labour to this country -- was so quixotic as to border on the surreal.

That the petition is frivolous and will not succeed is almost a foregone conclusion; yet, the figure touted by Hindraf for each Malaysian Indian of Hindu faith -- US$1 million -- was enticement enough to bring thousands of Indians who felt they had been marginalised to the heart of Kuala Lumpur yesterday. Hindraf's convenor, lawyer P. Uthayakumar, claimed victory after the demonstrations were over. Indeed, Hindraf was victorious in luring people to turn out by promising them riches beyond their imagination -- an impossible dream.

The rally did turn ugly, as predicted, and both policemen and demonstrators suffered injuries. Beyond that, hundreds of thousands of city dwellers and visitors deserted Kuala Lumpur. The normally busy weekend hangout of Ampang saw shops shuttered; even the KLCC, which barely has walking room on weekends, was emptied, with many shops on the first two floors hanging "closed" signs on their doors, shop assistants nervously standing inside.

It was all unnecessary.

However, yesterday's events only reaffirmed the depth of disaffection felt by this sector of the Malaysian Indian community. Inflammatory rhetoric was used to whip up support for the rally but, for many of those who were there, unhappiness with their status in society was a real issue.

In the 37 years of economic restructuring since 1970, key performance indicators for the Indian community have fallen while those of their fellow countrymen have risen. Indians have not gained their population's share of tertiary education, or in the professions beyond. Over-represented among doctors and lawyers, Indians are under-represented in all other sectors. Where Indians predominate over their fellow Malaysians is mostly in prison, crime, suicide and social ills. With these entrenched impediments to their progress and prosperity, it was inevitable that the growing unhappiness over their peripheral standing in the national equation, the disregard of their contributions to national objectives, and the deep distress caused by the recent high-handed demolition of a Hindu temple by Shah Alam officials, albeit illegally built, would reach a critical pass.

The marginalisation of the Indian community, the neglect of their concerns and the alienation of their youth must be urgently addressed.

These grievances are long-standing, and dismiss them as we may by contending that this unrest was stirred by a negligible minority of opportunists, there's no denying the deep vein of discontent tapped by Hindraf for this spectacle. All of which bears due attention from the nation as a whole. However, regardless of whatever legitimacy may have underlain the ill-feeling demonstrated in KL yesterday, it remained a clearly illegal assembly, and the police did what they had to do in the circumstances.

The organisers of the illegal assembly, however, have to live with the untold damage they have wreaked, not only on race and religious relations in our society, but also on the country.

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