Political tsunami by Malaysian Indian voters in next general election?


There is a political awakening akin to a political “uprising” among the Malaysian Indian community, seeking to shake off their long-standing political, economic, educational, social, cultural and religious marginalization by asserting their political rights as Malaysian citizens.

Can Malaysian Indian voters create a political and electoral tsunami in the next general election expected next March in 50 parliamentary and 133 state assembly seats where they comprise more than 10 per cent of the electorate, or in 21 parliamentary and 73 state assembly seats where they constitute more than 15% of the electorate?

I had said in Ipoh yesterday that there are 62 parliamentary seats and 138 state assembly seats where Indian voters comprise more than 10% of the electorate and that there are 28 parliamentary and 78 state assembly seats where the Indian voters constitute more than 15% of the voters where they can play the role of “kingmaker” in the electoral outcome.

These figures are wrong as they were based on the 2004 general election electoral roll. The latest electoral data gives a different picture as there is a reduction of these constituencies – i.e. 50 parliamentary and 133 state assembly constituencies where Indian voters comprise more than 10% of the electorate and 21 parliamentary and 133 state assembly seats in Peninsular Malaysia where the Indian voters constitute more than 15% of the electorate.

On Thursday night, the MIC President and sole Indian Cabinet Minister for over 28 years, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu did the greatest disservice to the Indian community and Malaysian nation when he appeared on RTM1 programme 60 Minit Bersama Menteri as he continued to mislead the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and the country in denying deep-seated, widespread and most legitimate grievances of the Malaysian Indians at their long-standing marginalization as to become the new underclass in the country.

Let us recognize from the outset that the marginalization and the discontent of the Malaysian Indians is not solely an Indian problem but a Malaysian problem for it represents a Malaysian crisis of identity.

In denying the marginalization of the Indian community, Samy Vellu had again tried to smother the “cry of desperation” of the 30,000 Indians from all over the country who had gathered peacefully in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 25 in support of the Hindraf demonstration and undo the two-hour special meeting between the Prime Minister and Indian NGOs last Friday.

Representatives from Malaysian Hindu Sangam, Malaysian Indian Business Association and Malaysian Indian Youth Council have spoken up loud and clear about the long-standing neglect and discrimination suffered by the Malaysian Indians resulting in their marginalization as the new underclass in Malaysia.

Samy Vellu was present at the dialogue between the Prime Minister and the Indian NGOs although as a silent observer and note-taker. He must make a very bad note-taker for he is singing a completely different tune from what the Indian NGOs have told the Prime Minister in the dialogue.

If Samy Vellu still needs convincing about the legitimate grievances of the Malaysian Indians about their long-standing marginalization, let me just quote from an independent report, which said:

“Malaysian Indians are increasingly being marginalized, economically as well as socially. More than 30% of Indians do not own a house; over 300,000 Indian poor have been evicted from their plantation livelihoods and residences; and there were 21.1 suicides per 100,000 Indians a year 2005, the highest rate amongst all communities. Indians also have the lowest life expectancy at birth amongst the major races.”

This report came out 18 months ago and was by the Centre for Public Policy Studies of the Asian Leadership and Strategy Institute (ASLI).

Why is Samy Vellu denying the undeniable when he should be in the vanguard to demand and ensure the end of such unjust and unfair marginalization of Malaysian Indians, who are entitled to a rightful and equal place under the Malaysian sun?

Samy Vellu should apologise to the Malaysian Indian community and the Malaysian nation for his hour-long RTM1 interview for giving a completely false picture about the long-standing marginalization of the Malaysian Indians.

The Malaysian Indian community must continue to exert legitimate political pressure on all leaders in the MIC and other Barisan Nasional component parties to end their denial syndrome and own up to the injustices suffered by the Malaysian Indians because of the long-standing marginalization in the Malaysian scheme of things.

Today, Gerakan Youth vice chief S. Paranjothy has stepped forward to speak the truth.

Paranjothy criticized Umno leaders for “inciting racial sentiments among their community in a petty attempt to further their political career”, referring specifically to the keris-wielding by Umno Youth chief Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein and the chauvinistic approach of the Umno Youth deputy leader Khairy Jamaluddin when he castigated Indian news vendors for going on a holiday during Deepavali, causing the speech of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as Umno President to be blacked out during the press holiday.

In fact, it is Abdullah and UMNO who should be apologizing for holding the Umno general assembly on Deepavali instead of Khairy berating the Indian news vendors for taking their Hindu “Festival of Light” seriously.

Malaysiakini reported Paranjothy as saying that the 30,000 Indians took part in the Hindraf demonstration to express their “frustration and anger” because the community had been “marginalized, oppressed and ignored”.

It has taken Paranjothy one month from the 30,000-strong Hindraf demonstration on Nov. 25 to find his conscience and voice, but it is better late than never.

When will Samy Vellu and the MIC leaders wake up to the truth and find their conscience and voice?

As Malaysian citizens, Malaysian Indians have the unquestioned democratic and constitutional right to unite and mobilize support for change and justice to end their long-standing marginalization, in particular in a three-point demand:

• Immediate and unconditional release of the Hindraf Five under the Internal Security Act who they should be charged and tried in open court if are guilty of any offences and not put away in detention without trial indefinitely;

• A Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Kampong Medan riot and the 30,000-strong Hindraf demonstration, particularly over the police mishandling of the gathering; and

• A New Deal which should be adopted by the government to end the marginalization of Malaysian Indians and all other marginalized groups in the country, whether Kadazan-Dusun-Murut (KDM) in Sabah, the Ibans, Penans and other minorities in Sarawak, the Orang Asli as well as the marginalized Malays and Chinese.

(Speech at the DAP forum on “ISA arrests of Hindraf 5 – Ops Lalang2 coming?” at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on Friday, 21st December 2007 at 10 pm)

  1. #1 by DarkHorse on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 8:57 am

    “Why is Samy Vellu denying the undeniable ….” Kit

    It is his job, Kit! It is his job.

    It is his job to do mental gymnastics. But he is getting a bit too old and he is falling more often now. His ‘students’ are young and when they see him falling off the beam more often than he is standing on it, they ask if he is a bit too old for the job.

    Like the spider busy spinning his web of lies, of half truths and untruths he fails to keep track of it. He is in mortal danger of being caught in his own web of lies and deceit.

    But it is his job! It his job, Kit.

  2. #2 by Chong Zhemin on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 9:10 am

    Should all the Indian voters vote against BN, i doubt the votes will be able to turn into seats for the opposition because most of the Indian majority constituency are safe seats for BN. The mal-apportionment and gerrymandering is still a major issue the oppositions need to deal with. With Bersih labelled as an illegal organisation, it’s hard to send the message across to the public.

    Anwar has got a very very crucial task to do before the next GE. He must let all the Malays know that supporting Hindraf is not giving up their special rights. Should the Malay votes are secured and the Indian and Chinese are not afraid of change, i believe there is still hope to deny BN’s two-third in the next GE.

    If only “something” could happen before the next GE that could “bring” the chinese on street, BN will be really under pressure.

    Everyone needs to work very hard. I personally feels that DAP needs to sort out the coalition between PKR and PAS(especially). Since PKR is still in BA, should DAP co-operate with PKR, MCA and Gerakan would make this an issue to attack DAP.

  3. #3 by Bigjoe on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 9:25 am

    One question that keep bugging me is why is Samy Vellu not pointing out to his UMNO partner that misinformation is being propagated about this issue to the Malays. For example, one of the statistics that is being bandied around is the poverty rate between Indians and Malays. The official government statistics being quoted by UMNOnist are 8.4% for bumiputeras and 2.9% and the income levels. Forget that the official statistic is probably twisted, the bigger slight of hand here is that bumiputera include the natives of Sabah and Sarawak when it comes to this numbers.

    UNDP clearly states that most of the poverty among bumis are grouped into natives of Sabah and Sarawak as well as pockets in Kelantan and Terengganu. Furthermore, the problems of Kelantan and Terengganu is underdevelopment and with some community of non-bumi, the NEP is irrelevant. We know natives of Sabah and Sarawak have been marginalized and continue to be marginalized, NEP or not.

    So this fallacy that the Indians are better off than the Malay is a misinformation that surely Samy Vellu must and can ask its senior partner to stop. Such spreading of lies does not lent any credibility that the UMNOputras even care or want to understand the issue.

  4. #4 by takkan_hilang_india_didunia on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 9:31 am

    Dear Sir (Lim Kit Siang),
    Everytime I read about the way you speak about the Indians conditions in Malaysia, I’m touched deeply as even our Indian leaders are not doing what you’re doing (with the exception of Paranjothy and perhaps other leaders).
    I have a few questions in regards to the election.
    1. Can we get the statistics of the % of potential voters who have still NOT registered yet? Is it true that those who have registered have until the end of this year to register, since the election will be next year?
    2. This blog is a good example of an avenue where we get to know the truth. How can we get this truth to the people who may be still relying on local newspapers to read the truth?
    3. How can DAP translate the discontent among people into votes? I feel this will be crucial for DAP to win more seats and DAP needs so urgently get the word around and convert the unhappiness and discontent into votes.
    4. I believe there so are many potential voters who may not have registered yet and I feel strongly that they want to register and vote this election, more than any other election in our history. If this is true, DAP needs to urgently get the news around to request potential voters to quickly register and be eligible to vote.

    Finally, I personally for the first time feel the urge to vote as I realize how important every vote is to change the direction of a country thats been ruled by the so called ‘sons’ of the land. Every person born in Malaysia is a Bumiputera!.

    May God bless Malaysia.

  5. #5 by TripleM on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 9:36 am

    `When will Samy Vellu and the MIC leaders wake up to the truth and find their conscience and voice?- LKS

    They will `wake up to the truth’ after 2008 GE. But who cares…?

    Sure, there will be a `political tsunami by Malaysian Indian voters’ on an unprecedented scale….. thanks to the H-bomb mega blast on 25 November. The radiation will last for a long time.

  6. #6 by cancan on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 9:39 am

    I will say it again.

    We must compile all the wrongdoings of the Umnoputras into a VCD and distribute it to the people and the world to see and judge for themselves.
    The list of wrongdoings are basically discrimination,injustice,racial threats,marginalization, rampant corruptions,religion intolerance.

    We have to bring this to the world as the mainstream medias are control by them.

    The people of Malaysia must know the truth as the Umnoputras can twist and change the rule of law to suit their taste.

    WE must fight them as true Malaysians and by Malaysians.

  7. #7 by sukumaran on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 10:03 am

    Dear Friends,

    Every Malaysian know about Samy velu & his team in goverment.

    His boss is busy with overseas trip showing off his new Jeans .Honey moon with peoples money.just imagine how much it will cost to maintain a jet & operational cost.to bring his team & SIL together.

    Who pays? ofcourse you & me.

    The government just started wayang kulit to get indian voters.

    I will make sure none of my family members vote for them.7 votes in house.My father disagree,coz’ he go thru May 13.He says happen bcoz the ruling party never get majority.

    You can still see the Umno polician playing with sentiments.reminding people this will happebn again if BN lost 2/3 majority.

    MIC in BN only as office boy.pass the message.

    ELECTIONS IS THE TIME IF INDIANS WANT TO SHOW THEIR UNHAPPINESS.VOTE WISELY …DONT VOTE BN.

    HIDUP DAP & KEADILAN.

  8. #8 by Libra2 on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 10:15 am

    Will Sungai Siput do a John Howard on Samy Vellu? This is the question.
    If they do, well, there is future for the Indians. There is hope.
    But if he wins, the Indians deserve what they get. If they prefer a megalomaniac leader above safeguarding their own rights, then be prepared to be damned by him.
    All Indian groups must descend on Sungei Siput and put Samy out to pasture.

  9. #9 by lakshy on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 10:25 am

    Its not the Indian votes that will decide. Its the malay votes. I am sure the bn has some stunt that it will pull at the very last moment to swing the malay votes. To this end, DAP/PKR/PAS have to work hard to reach the rural malays with the truth and let them know that bn will pull this stunt. The education of the rural malays is what will determine the future of this nation.

  10. #10 by DarkHorse on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 10:34 am

    “All Indian groups must descend on Sungei Siput and put Samy out to pasture.” Libra2

    It is unlikely that Sam would go back to attending cows.

  11. #11 by Cinapek on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 10:43 am

    Ha! Ha!

    YB, do I detect an attempt here to goad dear old Samy to put his foot into his mouth in a big way on more time?

    Indian tsunami? I doubt it will happen. With a Govt friendly EC and a grateful chairman whose term will be extended one more year, the odds are your prediction will not happen.

    All these pandering to the Indian demands at the moment are just reactive actions for the GE. The moment the GE is over, it will be business as usual with SIL going on his Indian battering rampage and other UMNO politicians will be demonising the Indians for their own political advancement without fear of losing GE votes. The Indian demands will not only be on the back burner but thrown out the kitchen window with the rest of the BN non UMNO “request” (demands is too strong a word).

    When is S. Paranjothy required to make the apologies as the MP for Cameron had done?

  12. #12 by Cinapek on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 10:45 am

    Correction:

    Para 1 ……” into his mouth in a big way ONE more time.”

  13. #13 by DarkHorse on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 10:47 am

    If every Indian were to vote for DAP/PKR it would not come close to compensating for the number of Malay votes lost as a result of the HINDRAF demonstration.

    I don’t expect Kit to admit to that. After all it is his sworn duty to do his best to win the Indian votes in all constituencies and not only those with a margin of 18% or more.

    It is but an impossible dream. Blame the HINDRAF-5. I hope they would languish in jail for a while during which I hope they’d have time to reflect on what they did to the Opposition.

  14. #14 by TripleM on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 10:51 am

    `Its not the Indian votes that will decide. Its the malay votes.’ – Lakshy

    Its the Malay+Chinese+Indian votes that wil decide.

    `DAP/PKR/PAS have to work hard to reach the rural malays…’ – Lakshy

    DAP, PKR and PAS have to work hard to reach the Malays, Chinese and Indians.

  15. #15 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 10:52 am

    DarkHorse said, “It is his job, Kit! It is his job” – i.e. his job to deny the undeniable (Malaysian Indians’ marginalisation) in order to legitimize his job of leading the party supposedly representing Malaysian Indians’ interest within BN Coalition and government. No less Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting in denying Malaysian Chinese marginalisation.

    Holding the helm positions in their respective parties supposedly representing their respective communal interests, they should be popular amongst their respective communities and win their parliamentary seats where their respective communities were dominant but no, what a farce, Samy’s constituency was Sungai Siput, an area where the Indian voters made about 22.45 percent, and in case of Ka Ting, in Tanjong Piai, Johor, which had 50.68% Malay voters.

    The farce is maintained by reason of the structure of politics since Merdeka that it is based on communal approach and parties (eg UMNO, MCA, MIC being anchor communal parties of which UMNO calls the shots and is in position to toss the crumbs after taking the cake of patronage. Thereafter this coalition absorbed, like an amoeba, other supposedly multiracial parties. To partake in the crumbs of largesse, these secondary parties are willing to lend the communal coalition the gloss and veneer of their multiracial credentials, which of course is a farce because, at the core and kernel, it is all communal with big brother UMNO, wielding power and rubbing everybody the wrong way in its over exuberant approach at shoring up its own communal agenda in denigration of nation building on multi racial premise.

    This is the thrust of what the Youth vice-chief S Paranjothy criticized :

    · “national unity would be elusive as long as political parties and politicians continue their communal approach towards politics”;

    · “Politicians always feel (they) must fight for (their) own party. Since we have mostly ethnic parties, they are fighting for their ethnic group. It is difficult to achieve any kind of consensus.”

    · “the 14 BN component parties must consolidate into a single party in order to end the racial manipulation in politics”.

    On Oct 6 Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon took centrestage at the Gerakan national delegates’ conference as the acting president and mooted to the PM the idea that all parties within BN merged to end the communal approach, and the response from UMNO (I think Hishammuddin) was, well, an idea worth exploring but not now. Perhaps never.

    The coalition based on communal lines (each party representing their respective communal interest) does not work; for 50 over years has not worked; far from ameliorating communal divisions, it has exacerbated them, and the proof of the pudding is in the eating : coming into vogue are street demonstrations beginning with lawyers walk of justice to Bersih, Hindraf and today the proposed assembly by Abolish the ISA Movement (GMI) at Dataran Merdeka.

    One can say that street demonstration is not a Malaysian culture; that we believe within the umbrella of BN, dialogue and negotiation are always on-going and judgment delivered via ballot box – all within the parameters of the law.

    But the law also includes sedition and ISA, both of them invoked, with Hindraf’s leaders sent to Kamuntings and yet in the aftermath, organizers of the Abolish the ISA Movement (GMI) at Dataran Merdeka evinced an intent to defy it and proceed without police permit under the Police Act.

    Don’t know about whether there will be a “political tsunami” of Indian voting tide against – or just a riple – but it does show that the stage is reached that some of the more vociferous and action-orientated of the marginalized of all communities, hoping to effect change to alleviate the oppressed conditions, no more believe in the sanctity of the law, when the law is perceived an icon of injustice and breaking it becomes a sacred duty demanding sacrifice to bring change for the good of all. It is also the stage where further repression might, far from quelling these overt expression of dissent, actually aggravate its momentum, something the powers-that-be fiercely protecting their vested interests, have to weigh.

    For Paranjothy, if you have found your voice and conscience, please ask and lobby for your party members to take Gerakan out of the coalition if you think that the time has come when the party’s very espousal of multi-racial approach will not be heeded within the coalition and your presence is in a contradiction to your core party values.

    You can’t have your principles, complain about the farce of communal politics and yet partake to eat your cake of power.

  16. #16 by madmix on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 11:11 am

    Will Indians vote for the opposition in large numbers? I doubt so. Near election, small peanut projects like repairing Tamil schools, re-surfacing roads in Indian areas just like in Ijok, some street lights, etc. will translate into BN votes.

  17. #17 by Bigjoe on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 11:12 am

    There is something that should be said here. In politics, being too cynical is just as unproductive as being naive. Politics at its foundation must be about belief, otherwise how do you think UMNO/BN have been able to get away with the crap that they have been for so long?

    For this election, its not necessary for the Indians to swing many seats or even any one of them for that matter.

    What is important is to deliver a moral victory by just making themselves heard. Sure winning would make that message loud and clear but its not neccessary.

    The moral victory is this – UMNO/BN legitimacy is based on the fact that they offer a solution that is acceptable to every group not just who has the most votes. If the message is sent that its not acceptable to just one group, a big one, then UMNO/BN legitimacy is lost because one group can lead to another and eventually that group is big enough even majority vote don’t count.

    I have no doubt Sdr. Lim is trying to spin this larger than real in order swing the Indian vote as far as he can but in principle, he is right that their votes as change agent is unprecedented in the coming election. The important thing is to make them understand that its important and that its the only choice if they want change.

  18. #18 by Jong on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 11:32 am

    “It is unlikely that Sam would go back to attending cows.” – Darkhorse

    I just login, and I’m so amused! :D
    Btw, what about horses then?

  19. #19 by k1980 on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 11:43 am

    It’s definitely not the Indian votes that will decide. It’s the postal votes. And sam would be holidaying away in switzerland laughing till he cried while weighing his gold bullion in the bank

  20. #20 by DarkHorse on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 11:50 am

    Jong, you mean selling kacang kuda?? You don’t want to take limkamput’s job away from him, do you? How could you be that cruel?

  21. #21 by cheng on soo on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 11:50 am

    Yes, do not ignore POSTAL votes n PHANTOM votes!

  22. #22 by Jong on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 11:54 am

    Postal votes, that’s the culprit. That’s the reason why EC Rashid is put to do a job, to make sure things don’t change and remember he’s an umno man.

  23. #23 by Count Dracula on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 12:02 pm

    Postal votes??

    I sent an e-mail to the Malaysian High Commission in London asking how I could register for the postal voting. Why am I not surprised that there has been no answer for weeks now??

  24. #24 by Count Dracula on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 12:08 pm

    “He must let all the Malays know that supporting Hindraf is not giving up their special rights.” Chong Zemin

    Yeah sure. Anwar can talk until he foams at the mouth, until the cows come home, he is not going to convince anybody! The Hindraf demonstration destroyed in one day what it took years to build up.

  25. #25 by undergrad2 on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 12:12 pm

    “Can Malaysian Indian voters create a political and electoral tsunami ..KIT

    It is more likely to be a ripple in the ocean.

  26. #26 by lakshy on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 12:14 pm

    See, the only way would be to swing the malay votes to the opposition. The way to beat umno and bn is in the malay heartland. Then the postal votes vont be able to do much damage.

    Take details of the excesses of bn to the kampungs. Show them what teya re being deprived off by bn in the name of defending malay rights. See how backward and a farce the country has become in international eyes. What is the future for the nation if such excesses continue? And what are we leaving for our children and grandchildren? I am sure we will all be cursed upon by future generations for not having done enough.

    Show the rural malays how the umnoputras live. How the use of AP’s have enriched many select malays while the rural malays pay for these excesses.

    How contracts are marked up and all of us end up paying huge amounts in toll to repay these excesses.

    How under table deals are done and then the translators are killed.

    How the police force (right to the top) works with criminal elements and gets rich, but when peaceful rakyat raise their voice for subjugation of their rights, they are sprayed with chemicals and tear-gassed. These news should be taken to the rakyat.

    Animal farm indeed. I read this as a kid. Little did I expect it to happen here in malaysia!

  27. #27 by lakshy on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 12:21 pm

    YB, For the Tsunami to happen, the message put forth by the Indian presence in KL on 25th Nov should reach the kampungs. They must be made to see how the police and bn treated innocent rakyat with an excessive use of force.

    Remember, what they have seen so far, is what has been reported by the MSM. They dont have access to alternative media. Now if the message can be brought to them from the many u-tube videos, pictures and Al Jazeera reports etc, on wide screen in the Kampungs, then you would be able to create a Political Tsunami. Need to let them see that theya re being misled by bu/umno. Once you can open their eyes to the fact that they are being misled by the MSM, half the battle would be won!

    To topple bn/umno, you need the malays to swing their votes. And the 25th Nov Rally can be the trigger that causes this Tsunami, if the opposition uses this event wisely!

  28. #28 by HJ Angus on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 12:31 pm

    Maybe we can learn something about the marketing of political parties from Thaksin from Thailand.

    The idea of using VCDs to reach the kampung folks is good if the program is interesting enough….

    So has to include elements of American Idol, Sex and the City and Adventures of the Malaysian Air Hostess plus the famous Lingam tapes.

  29. #29 by cheng on soo on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 12:53 pm

    Such VCD must have other titles, academic or story, reports, etc, eg “Advance Learners’ English”, “Kisah Rahim dan Rohani”, “Rahsia Untuk Kesihatan”,”Ternakan Lembu dan Kambing”, “Niaga Perkebun”, “Penyakit Ayam dan Itik”, “Financial Report for M/S. ABC, Year 2007”, etc, otherwise VCD will all be confiscated by Gomen people.

  30. #30 by ReformMalaysia on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 1:28 pm

    “When will Samy Vellu and the MIC leaders wake up to the truth and find their conscience and voice?”” -uncle kit

    Probably the only way to wake up them is by SENDING A VERY CLEAR SIGNAL TO THEM in the coming election..

    By continue voting for Barisan Nasional, the rakyat are sending wrong signal to them that everything is acceptable, everything is alright….even the corruption and marginalisation of certain ethnic group is acceptable, incompetency/mediocrity is tolerated…..

    So the only way is ….sending a right message -loud and clear to BARISAN NASIONAL -in the coming election

    Perhaps Opposition parties should campaign to the voter to use ICT/internet to get message from the ‘alternative 2008 government candidate’ to improve the message penetration rate..

    Opposition parties in Malaysia have the difficulty to have their message / truth heard by rakyat as the mainstream mass media are controlled by the government – to keep them in power…

    The logistic and financial aspect also become obstacles to the opposition candidates to get their messages through….

    It seems that only ICT can remove the barriers for the message /truth to reach the people…. So start to campaign for the use of ICT/website of opposition parties/blog sites….. perhaps by advertise the website/blogsite address in newspaper or campaign banners…

  31. #31 by toyolbuster on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 1:33 pm

    Leave it to the Indians, they will still end up voting BN. Thats why Samy is so cocky and arrogant. Look at Pandithan, Kayveas, Nalla, Subramaniam, they get kicked about and still insist that their masters have not kicked hard enough. Thats why the Hindraf 5 are being locked up. They are not like those up there, the grassroots need such people like the H5 to lead them out of BN.

  32. #32 by ENDANGERED HORNBILL on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 2:00 pm

    “Political tsunami by Malaysian Indian voters in next general election?”

    This is a sure case of ‘you cannot fool all the people all of the time”. This time for Samy Vellu, the cock has come home to roost. No amount of cock-a-doodle-do and all the poppycock Samy and his henchmen have been dishing out all these years will be able to appease the Indian electorate.

    To all Indians of Malaysian descent, 2008 will be your year to gain recognition by the Opposition Coalition. You must give PKR/DAP a chance to prove their worth and ability to represent your interests fairly and promote your welfare vigorously both innside and outside Parliament.

    Together with the other races – the Malays who are fed-up with UMNO’s hypocrisy, the Chinese who are disgusted with MCA and Gerakan’s pallid performance personal agendas – 2008 will, hopefully, mark the demise of BN.

    And for Malaysia, a fresh beginning of genuine hope and a prosperous future for all!

  33. #33 by Jong on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 2:01 pm

    Count Dracula,
    Postal voting is not meant for you and I. It’s only
    meant for Malaysians overseas – defence personnel and civil servants working in ambassies and consulates. I know that’s very unfair but haven’t we allowed this administration to decide as it pleases the past 50 years? That’s why we have to go for change. It’s NOW or never.

  34. #35 by chiakchua on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 4:56 pm

    I fully agreed with cancan’s idea of a properly documented VCD for distribution to all Malaysian of all races. It must shows categorically the wrong doings of UMNO; corruption, white elephant, lavish spending, cronism, what is BA’s alternative economic policy for the poor, etc.. The VCD must be of single version for all Malaysian! This is the real challenge, otherwise UMNOputra could turn it into an issue to their advantage.

  35. #36 by benny on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 5:31 pm

    Uncle kit,
    i am just wondering how you can tolerate this BN MPs in the parliment,I SALUTE YOU FOR THAT-YOU ARE THE ROCK.I hope all the people out there will make the wind of change during this 12th GE.Everybody need a change ,enough of this sungai siput,jasin,jerai,gading and etc.They dont work for the people,they are working for their pockets.

  36. #37 by oknyua on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 6:10 pm

    YB Lim, on the other hand, I doubt this. I may not understand much of our friends, the Indians’ mind but I have very close family friends who are Indians. They never have nice words for uncle Sam, yet each election, MIC delivers.

    In my undergrad days, I spent 3 months studying socio-econ of the Estate Indians in Rawang area. They are simple folks then, believing anything their leaders said. They received things with gratitude. Maybe time had changed them.

    On the surface, uncle Sam is on a defensive now, which means he would offer whatever he could give to pacify the rural folks.

    The UMNO guys know this too and for now, whatever uncle Sam wants, they’d accede. Right now Sam is still an asset – he knows too much. Just an hour ago I was siting at the barber shop and read the Berita Harian. Hisham gave an advice to Sam, meaning UMNO cared for Sam’s and MIC’s fate.

    Just an opinion, YB Lim.

  37. #38 by sec on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 6:43 pm

    Everybody agree that it is not easy to topple BN. If diesel price shot up US120/barrel B4 GE; then everyboy regardless of races will notice and realise where our nation money gone to. Short pain is better than long pain

  38. #39 by k1980 on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 7:24 pm

    Uncle Samm, have you sent a cheque, money order or bank draft payable to Sanjeev Rao to the MIC Social Welfare Bureau, 12, Jalan PBP 5, Taman Industri, Pusat Bandar Puchong, 47100 Selangor yet? Or are you expecting others to do so?

    http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/National/2115532/Article/index_html

  39. #40 by raven77 on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 7:28 pm

    Samy Velu is to the Indians what the Saudi Royalty is to ordinary Saudis….out of touch….just waiting for a bunch of “Hindraf terrorists” to crash into some tower……

  40. #41 by k1980 on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 9:26 pm

    The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is one of the most impressive centers of the world’s air traffic today. Its transit and departure terminal is a mini city by itself.

    However, anybody who is familiar with the multicultural fabric of Malaysia may wonder how the Tamil community that consists of nearly nine percent of the nation’s population is not duly represented among the modern and dazzling lineup of ethnic food, curios and international chic.

    Other than a single bookshop, there seem to be no other business establishments run by Tamils. Even the bookshop, which displays books on world’s languages, doesn’t have one book on Tamil. At the same, one would be surprised to see that all the numerous toilets in the Airport are invariably maintained by Tamils.

    http://the-malaysian.blogspot.com/2007/12/tamil-youth-of-malaysia-question-of.html

  41. #42 by Putra-Malaysia on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 9:30 pm

    Minority group.
    Jangan mencabar kebolehan kumpulan minoriti.
    Mereka tak suka tepuk dada sambil berkata, “kami pantang dicabar”, tetapi pergerakan sendi tangan mereka boleh mengubah nasib orang dan kuncu-kuncunya yang suka mengunakan ayat seperti ‘Saya pantang dicabar’, ‘Jangan menguji kesabaran kami’ dsb.
    An ant can kill an elephant!

  42. #43 by lhteoh on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 10:14 pm

    I hope Indians will support oppositions in the coming GE & I also hope all Chinese to support oppositions. Remember if you vote for MCA, MIC or GERAKAN, you are indeed vote for UMNO. It is the umno who rule the country, not barisan nasional. MCA, MIC & GERAKAN has no say in the barisan nasional. If we want good future in this country for our children in the next 10, 15, 20 years. Deny BN 2/3 majority.

  43. #44 by cheng on Saturday, 22 December 2007 - 11:33 pm

    I do not have any Indian Malaysian friends who told me they are with MIC. All of them are against MIC. They will tell you everything bad about MIC, how useless Semi Value is, gangsterism, Maika cheated of their money, the authorities (police, etc.) are bias, Indians being marginalized economically, and so on..
    On the other side of the coin, there are even more Indians who will continue to be supporters of Barang Naik. “Someone” told me, the way they campaigned was different from one “area” to another. For example, some areas could be settled by resurfacing the road. Some areas were settled by providing the residents with “free entertainment and refreshment”. Don’t deny this. Until we root caused this, I don’t believe Indian Malaysians will be the kingmakers in this coming General Election. Let’s help each other by all means in the coming GE as one race, bangsa Malaysia and make Barang Naik irrelevant.

  44. #45 by mickey01 on Sunday, 23 December 2007 - 1:38 am

    “HINDRAF or Hindu Rights Action Force is a coalition of 30 Hindu Non-Governmental organizations committed to the preservation of Hindu community rights and heritage in secular Malaysia. The group has led agitations against what they see as an “unofficial policy of temple demolition” and concerns about the steady encroachment of sharia-based” as defined in wikipedia. How about starting Hindchinraf – Hindu Chinese Rights Action Force to redress all the injustices, grieves, sufferings, hardships, abuses, inequalities, discriminations, racial threats, corruptions, extremism, cronysim, money politics etc endured and caused to the people in Msia.

  45. #46 by DarkHorse on Sunday, 23 December 2007 - 2:10 am

    “At the same, one would be surprised to see that all the numerous toilets in the Airport are invariably maintained by Tamils.” k1980

    Don’t forget the jaga kereta boys!

    They too provide services which if allowed to go ‘unacknowledged’ would result in your car having a less than unmarked appearance!

  46. #47 by lakshy on Sunday, 23 December 2007 - 2:44 am

    The following is taken from pg 155-156 of Syed Akbar Ali’s “Malaysia and the Club of Doom”. I quote:-

    After reading, researching and also observing myself the repeated failure of Muslims throughout history, until now and also going into the future I have come to realize that this failure is simply because they ignore the simple, pure and unadulterated teachings of the Quran. Contrary to what the Western media says about the Quran and contrary to the fanatics hoisting aloft the Quran in their battle cries, the Quran has led me in the exact opposite direction from the fanatics. All the wrong things that they do in the name of religion – I just cannot find them anywhere in the Quran.

    Every verse in the Quran should be made a pearl of wisdom for the Muslims which will easily make them successful in this life and the next. Here is just a simple example. The Quran says,

    “O you who believe! When it is said to you, Make room in (your) assemblies, then make ample room. Allah will give you room. And when it is said: Rise up, then rise up. Allah will exalt those of you who believe, and those who are given knowledge, in high degrees: and Allah is Aware of what you do” – Surah 58:11

    This is a simple verse from the Quran. No need for rocket science here to understand the meaning of this verse. It is also social etiquette. If you are in a crowded place, make room for everyone. Meaning everyone deserves a space to park himself. If you are in a country and you have a place to park yourself, then make sure everyone else has a place too. Be fair and make a space for everyone. Do not take things all for yourself and deny others their spot. This applies to all human beings.

    But the reality is the Islamic countries are the furthest from implementing this simple injunction even among Muslims. At the macro level, denial of public rights, denial of personal freedom, consumer rights made non-existent by Government granted monopolies, economic opportunities controlled through restrictive licensing and other such wonderfully oppressive ideas are the hallmark of the Islamic countries.

    Unquote.

    So now then where does it say in Islam that the Malays or Muslims should have 30% Bumi equity? Is this Islam Hadhari? If we don’t follow the Quran, can we claim to be an Islamic nation? Islam does not allow preferential treatment for a group of people.

  47. #48 by lakshy on Sunday, 23 December 2007 - 2:47 am

    Knowledge of our roots will benefit us

    IN very recent times, the starting date for the study of Malaysian history in the schools has been conveniently fixed around 1400 C.E. It probably coincides with the founding of the Sultanate of Malacca by Parameswara.

    Today, Malaysian school children only learn a little bit about the early Proto Malays and then are conveniently taken on a historical quantum leap to the founding of Malacca.

    Early Indian works speak of a fantastically wealthy place called Savarnadvipa, which meant ”land of gold.” This mystical place was said to lie far away, and legend holds that this was probably the most valid reason why the first Indians ventured across the Bay of Bengal and arrived in Kedah around 100 B.C.

    Apart from trade, the early Indians brought a pervasive culture, with Hinduism and Buddhism sweeping through the Indo-Chinese and Malay archipelago lands bringing temples and Indian cultural traditions. The local chiefs began to refer to themselves as ”rajahs” and also integrated what they considered the best of Indian governmental traditions with the existing structure.

    I learnt Malayan history in the 1950s and taught it in the 1960s and 1970s in secondary schools. All the history textbooks at the time had the early Indian connection specifically mentioned in them. Teachers of that period taught about the early Indianised kingdoms of Langkasuka, Sri Vijaya and Majapahit that existed from as early as 100 C.E.

    Anyone can see that Parameswara, the founder of Malacca, has a clearly give-away name that points to the Indian/Hindu influence. No one can deny this, and all our children need to know about this. They have the fundamental right to learn about this aspect of our history too.

    Why don’t our children learn about these early Indian connections today? It needs mention here that this early Indian connection has nothing to do with the much later cheap Indian ”coolie” labour influx that the British brought over to man the railways and plantations of Malaya from the late 19th century onwards.

    The Malay language as we know it today is already fully impregnated and enriched with many foreign words. This is good. Malay, therefore, has been a bahasa rojak from early times itself.

    Rojak itself (and also cendul) is a Malaysian food developed by an Indian Malayalee Muslim community known as the Malabaris who hailed from Kerala. They were also referred to as kakas. We now wrongly credit the Penang mamaks for this great food.

    The only other bahasa rojak that can beat the Malay language in the matter of foreign word assimilation is the English language because it has ”polluted” itself with words from just about every civilisation that exists or existed in this world.

    The very word ”Melayu” itself is most probably of Indian origin from the words ”Malai Ur,” which means land of mountains in Tamil. Singapur, Nagapur and Indrapur are very common Indian names that have similar backgrounds.

    The early Indians were probably inspired by the main mountain range that looks like a backbone for the Malay peninsula and thus named it Malaiur. The word ”malai” is undoubtedly Indian in origin as is the case with the word Himalayas and we all know where it is situated.

    The English word ”Malaya” is a further corruption of the word by the British who themselves are very good at corrupting the pronunciation and spelling of and changing the names of indigenous places worldwide to suit their tongue’s capability. The Malay word ”Melayu” with the missing ”r ” is closer to the original name ”Malaiur”.

    To my knowledge, the hundreds of Malay words of Indian origin have not been catalogued by anyone except perhaps the noted Malay scholar Zaaba. Even if such an effort has been made, it is definitely not widely known or ever published.

    Many Malay words, from describing Malay royalty (Raja, Putera, Puteri, Maha, Mulia, Seri, etc) and common everyday terms (bakti, suami, cuma, dunia, bumi, jendela, serpu, kerana), all have Indian connections. The undeniable Indian connection in the word ”Indonesia” is also reflected in the name itself.

    The Indian factor that influences even the prevailing Malay culture in terms of music, food, dress and certain other everyday practices like betel chewing and bersanding is another thing over which a loud hush prevails. Why?

    Such knowledge of the roots of this great country, be they Indian, Chinese, Arab or whatever, can indeed very strongly facilitate the ongoing efforts of the Government to make our children think of themselves as Bangsa Malaysia more easily and more readily.

    JOHAMI ABDULLAH,

    Seremban, Negri Sembilan

  48. #49 by segar steve on Sunday, 23 December 2007 - 3:02 am

    NAJIS what happen to all our contripution n donation for TSUNAMI.no account till today?did u use to buy submarime or sweep the account under your new persian carpet.what kind of hp6 goverment n management.what the audit doing about all the funds we donated.i personally donated RM1000.00.to help our malaysian people. [deleted]

  49. #50 by 2ndClassCitizen on Sunday, 23 December 2007 - 9:25 am

    `DAP/PKR/PAS have to work hard to reach the rural malays…’ – Lakshy
    DAP/PKR/PAS need to unite, intergrate and become one big opposition party. Their must agree to a set of common and agreed party principles. Too many different factions of the opposition will only split the votes.

  50. #51 by Jong on Sunday, 23 December 2007 - 10:57 am

    50 years on and we are still talking “race”. It’s sad indeed and a great shame!

    Malaysians, as we embrace this feeling of hoplessness, we must not and do not have to worry anymore of fear of failing. Aren’t we all at our lowest ebb? Together let’s stay united send the message and GO FOR CHANGE! Kick the band of BN thieves out. Send them packing. 50 years is ENOUGH!

    Vote for DAP, PKR or even PAS!

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

  51. #52 by Jong on Sunday, 23 December 2007 - 11:09 am

    Someone writing from overseas, sent this in another blog and I want to share with YB Lim and friends here, read on….

    “Few years back I heard opposition leader Lim Kit Siang (and others too) calling for the rakyat to vote opposition so that BN can be denied 2/3rds majority in Parliament. We have all been reduced to such a pathetic state that we now have to vote opposition not necessarily because they are a better alternative to the Government but just because we need some sort of a body to check on the Government that rules with no regard to the rule of law and public opinion. At least then, Parliament would have the teeth to act as a watchdog on our behalf. I think at the moment, this is the only realistic strategy that we have, unfortunately.

    Thanks for reading. I just wanted to share a thought.

    Regards,
    -Skeptic- ”

    Do we have to “unfortunately”? Malaysians, vote in DAP, PKR or PAS. Send the tremors!

  52. #53 by ktteokt on Wednesday, 26 December 2007 - 11:10 am

    Jong, they are not only talking race after 50 years, they are talking “KETUANAN MELAYU” and pulling out krises

  53. #54 by csl on Wednesday, 26 December 2007 - 2:05 pm

    Who are keeping ‘race’ in their mind here?

    I had been posted in other forum before. Same thing needed to put here to wake people up. When you wanna say people ugly, do you look at the mirror 1st? What I meant is not on the surface. But in your heart. Look at all posts, one by one. How many complains are not base on emotion? How many can see the big picture?

    A simple question as RM10 million to donate to the disable people or invest for creating more job opportunities, can see how far you can go. (this is direct to certain MP).

  54. #55 by ktteokt on Thursday, 27 December 2007 - 10:18 am

    Charles Darwin’s “Origin of Species” has laid down that evolution of the human species required time. This is not only in relation to physical evolution but also the mental factor.

    The Chinese and Indian civilizations have been around for some 6,000 years and the brains we inherited are similarly that old. Think what these “gfn’s” (good for nothings) were doing when these great civilizations were flourishing. They were probably swinging from tree to tree, naked! With their civilization only around 600 years old, it is absurd to claim that they are “more superior” in Malaysia.

    The only factor which made them “more superior” is perhaps only their barbaric deeds of suppressing the other races so that they can stand out.

  55. #56 by ktteokt on Sunday, 30 December 2007 - 9:03 am

    The year comes to a close tomorrow at 12 MN. Lets send all these unpleasant memories away with “Auld Lang Syne” and pray for a better and brighter year in 2008! Happy New Year everyone!

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