I am of the opinion that the HINDRAF 5 should be released BUT charged in court for sedition. Let them defend their outrageous statements and actions in an open court and let the law take its due course.

However, most people here are completely wrong on the reason why Pak Lah detained the 5 under ISA. The reason for this is that there were fears that this steet protest will invite counter protests from the Malays and turn bloody. In fact before their arrests some HINDRAF folks were planning to demonstrate in Kg Baru.

In fact, things were so heated up that the situation up North in Penang almost turned into another Kg Rawa/Kg Medan incident with open fights between Indians and Malays. Though the original cause was just a traffic accident, the whole matter turned racial with people being killed.

In fact both groups planned to attack each other and mobilising hundreds of people when the police moved in and arrested the key leaders to defuse the situation. There were some reports of this incident but it was downplayed and the severity of the situation was never reported.

As for HINDRAF 5,I was told that the reasons were more to do with the attitude of the detainees. This has been turned into a melodramatic Bollywood musical.

The continued claims of mistreatment by the HINDRAF 5, their attitude toward the wardens in Kamunting Hilton and the rowdy activities of their supporters seemed to have hardened the will of the Home Ministry.

There was a window of opportunity after the 12GE for their release and it would have happened especially after the MIC made an appeal. But then the detainees shot themselves in their foot by making outrageous claims about a lack of medical care and ill-treatment. This was not helped by their supporters’ antics.

The interesting this is that had MIC not been crushed in the 12GE, the chances of the detainees getting released after Samy Vellu’s appeal would have been much better. Now that MIC had been snubbed and the Indian representation reduced to a junior position in the cabinet, I don’t think the appeals by MIC or other Indian groups would matter.

The release is inevitable but the timing would be of AAB’s choosing
to maximize the political mileage.

Anyway Pakatan Rakyat folks should be cautious as the release of HINDRAF 5 would be more damaging to them than BN in a medium and long term.

undergrad2

An interesting footnote to the Operasi Lalang…some of the people who were detained at that time was due to none other than Anwar Ibrahim himself who used the opportunity to settle political scores…

Now the Political Transformer sings a different song…

Well guys, whatever I had said here is in public domain if you cared to read your news and open your mind.

It is your prerogative whether to believe me or otherwise but the comments from people like myself is useful in providing checks and balances and stop this forum from turning into the Land of the Blinds / Land Where The Frogs Live Under A Coconut Shell.

cheng on soo

HINDRAF is an organization led by people who are neither ethical nor truthful, despite their claim to have Gandhi as their spiritual guide.

I can assure you that I know the origins of HINDRAF and their leaders’ history since the late 90s. People like Uthaya are first and foremost are publicity seekers who would not hesitate to lie, cheat or break the law to achieve their aims. Their aim never been to help the Indians since their first entry into the world of NGOs.

I had the unfortunate luck of crossing the path with Uthaya even before the Kg Medan incident. And I had followed his cheap antics ever since that. While many of the NGOs were busy helping the Indian poor, people like Uthaya were busy trying to make some cheap publicities for themselves.

The story behind HINDRAF is not as simple as most people think. Many people will be shocked to hear the real history and origins of HINDRAF. Perhaps one day I might write to Malaysiakini about this.