This is a battle we will win

 THIS IS A BATTLE WE WILL WIN

With every passing day we see more and more cases of Indian Malaysians being denied their fundamental rights by those in power. Every visit to the HRP website shows us that the objective of bringing the working class Indian to the mainstream development of Malaysia, is not a small or easy undertaking. And these cases are just the tip of the iceberg.

While we go to the field and experience for ourselves the frustration and pain that are the constant companions of the poor Indian Malaysian; there will be times when we will question our ability to achieve what we have set out to do. Our numbers are small, we need to find our own resources and make do, we have no allies to speak off, and we have many enemies, not all of them readily visible.

But we will win this battle.

We have no choice but to succeed in what we have set out to do. And while the challenges may come to us thick and fast while we walk this path, while we may wonder how on God’s green earth we are going to turn around 52 years of government enforced marginalisation, while we experience first hand the racism that has been bred and entrenched into every sphere of Malaysian life, while we lie awake until dawn wondering what to do next, while we see the apathy of even friends and family, let alone strangers; come what may, we will win this battle.

Allow me to state why I know we will succeed. The answer lies in the forgotten pages of history, a history that tells us why our names are Hindu to this day. This has nothing to do with whether our ancestors were great or whatever, but everything to do with the knowledge that we have overcome greater threats before, threats that not only threatened the livelihood of Indians, but their very way of life, nay their very lives itself.

Imagine a force greater and more successful than that of Alexander the Great. A force that did not turn back at the Ganges as Alexander did, but one that was stopped only when it reached the River Krishna.

In modern India, the area south of the River Krishna covers parts of Maharashtra and Andra Pradesh, and all of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and that island we call Sri Lanka today.

When the threat posed by this force became evident to the ancient kingdoms that ruled that part of India in 1336, these ancient kingdoms of Pandiya and Chola pooled their strengths and gave that strength to a minor principality called  Anegundi at the banks of the River Krishna, a dominion that became the empire we know today as Vijayanagar.

The defence of our way of life as we know it today, of our languages, our culture, and the religions we call Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism was a war that lasted not for one or ten years, but one that lasted 250 years.

The attack into India began in 1001 A.D and came to a halt in the year 1344 at Vijayanagar. Islam took over all of India north of the River Krishna, but for ten generations, mothers sent their sons into battle to defend and protect our way of life. And they succeeded, which is why our names are what they are.

The Buddhist kingdoms of Sri Lanka, and the Jains, Jews and atheists were also protected from forced conversion, and this defence allowed Hinduism to spread to the north again in later days. This defence ended in the year 1565. This defence also indirectly protected China from the sword of Islam, as the disappointed invaders at one time decided to change tack and sent 100,000 soldiers to invade China and bring it under Islam, only for this depleted force to lose its numbers to the Himalayas.

Our forefathers had the knowledge of warfare, of politics, of forethought, the capacity to sacrifice for the greater good, of sticking to the mission for generation after generation, and the strength of character to never give up or surrender.

At one point in time their soldiers numbered 1.1 million, and this was 700 years ago, and if we compare that number to the largest standing army today, of 2 million, that China has, we see the magnitude of the resolve that we have running in the blood that we call ours.

We will succeed. Failure in not an option. Easy is not an option.

The needs that brought those 100,000 souls to the streets on the 25th of November, and the countless others that could not be there has not been met yet, and do we have a choice other than to keep on going until those needs are met? You tell me.

Jeevindra Kumar Krishnan
Human Rights Party Malaysia
{You can find the historical work here,  [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/3310]   A Forgotten Empire (Vijayanagar): a contribution to the history of India}

 

 

 

State of Tamil schools

 

State of Tamil schools

 

The first time formal Tamil education was conducted in this country was in 1816, at the Penang Free School. Subsequently the Labour Ordinance of 1912 compelled estate owners to set up ad-hoc schools for the children of the labourers.

 

In 1930, there were 333 Tamil schools in Malaya, increasing to a maximum of 888 Tamil schools with 50,766 students in 1957, the year Malaya gained independence. In 2007, there were 523 Tamil schools with 105,618 students.

 

Under the 6^th Malaysia plan (1990-1995), 2.14% of the total allocation for education was for Tamil schools, the highest ever, amounting to RM 27,042,000, or about RM 45,000 per school. Under the 7^th Malaysia Plan (1996-2000), the budget for Tamil schools was 1.02% of the total allocation for education, or RM 10,902,000. The reason for the increase in allocation under the 6^th Malaysia Plan was because an Indian based party was part of the opposition coalition, which later returned to the ruling coalition after the election in 1995.

 

You are walking in a rural or even an urban area. You see a small, run down school with no facilities to speak of, and then you see a signboard that says Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (T), so you stop reading and continue with your walk, not giving it another thought.

 

Or will you stand there shocked?

 

The Indian government declared Tamil as a classical language on the 7^th of June 2004, making it the first living language of India to gain that status. Even if they did not do so, does that take away from the importance of ensuring that Tamil education must be accorded the same right to funding and support as any other?

 

The politicization of vernacular education must also be stopped. Education, health care, security, means of livelihood and freedom of expression are the fundamental rights of all Malaysians. To politicize the education of children is the mark of an immature country, lacking in common sense, for it is affecting the development of its own human capital.

 

There is a great ignorance of the wealth of learning and culture that Tamil holds. In a recent talk on Tamil history and literature, Tamil school teachers attending the talk owned up to their own ignorance of the scope of the number and quality of Tamil works available in the language. If the teachers themselves are not aware of the richness that lies at their fingertips, how can they impart it to their students? And how will they be aware, if Tamil school teachers have far less training than even the pre-school teachers of Permata?

 

That will be similar to an English teacher who has not heard of Oscar Wilde and James Joyce, let alone Chaucer, though we can suspect that such teachers do exist in our national schools, judging by the decline in the standard of English among Malaysians.

 

When a child walks into school for the first time, he does not know the hardship and the burden that his community has faced to have education available to him. The existing schools, teaching force, infrastructure and student body must be taken as a starting point for improvement, and not merely as reminders of broken promises.

 

Education is too important for us to wait for political will to improve it. But that political will must be brought into play, by hook or by crook.

 

The change in the power balance in the country should have meant that there will be more official support and funds for Tamil schools from the Government, but that is not happening, except in a piecemeal manner.

 

RM 1.5 Million allocation for the 28 Tamil schools in Penang says Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at about RM 50,000.00 per school. From this amount the school intends to build extra classrooms, buy computers, chairs and tables, and organise UPSR seminars. (Tamil Nesan 7/04/2009 at page 14) Why can’t the Penang government invoke Section 76 of the land code, and alienate the land to the 28 Tamil schools so that they can become federally aided schools? That will ensure the quality of education in the 28 Tamil schools in Penang will no longer be limited by funding. The RM 1.5 million can then be used for scholarships and exchange programmes.

 

Selangor government will use it’s power by taking land belonging to individuals and companies and giving it to SKJK C Sin Ming for it’s expansion purposes. Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim says the state government has the powers and would surrender the land to SKJK C Sin Ming. He said this at the opening ceremony of the new school building by PKR adviser Anwar Ibrahim. Also present were Tian Chua, Gobind Singh, Teresa Kok (Utusan Malaysia 23/2/09 at page 5) The MB said he would negotiate with the developer who owns the 400 hectares of land next to this school in Puchong. If the developer wants to develop the land (then) the land for this school has to be reserved for the school hall and school field and a few other uses. The MB also donated RM 50,000.00 for school hall building fund. Why does the Selangor government not use it’s power for the 98 Tamil schools in Selangor as well? Why the double standards?

 

RM 80 Million to build MSRM Parit says the ADUN Blanja Datuk Mohd Zaim Abu Hasan (Utusan Malaysia 23/04/2009 at page 26) A mere ADUN announces RM 80,000,000 for a single Mara school.

 

RM 2 Million for new Bukit Jalil Tamil schools. The condition of the school was shocking but Deputy Prime Minister (and Education Minister) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was most impressed with the teachers and students. ‘I feel sad that they have to put up with this old and rundown school which has been around for 75 years. Despite the (RM 80 Million) aid provided by the government, the infrastructure is not that good. ‘The building could pose a threat to the safety of the students and teachers. It’s stuffy and uncomfortable. I am sympathetic to their plight’, Muhyiddin said after visiting SJKT Ladang Bukit Jalil, near Puchong here. The school does not have a field and it’s classrooms are cramped. Muhyiddin announced an immediate allocation of RM 2 Million for the school’s new building to be built on an adjacent 0.3 ha plot of land belonging to Kuala Lumpur City Hall. He said the new classrooms and amenities would be able to cater for about 200 students when completed next year. (New Straits Times 24/04/2009 at page 6) And the Deputy Prime Minister himself announces a mere RM 2 million for Tamil schools in Bukit Jalil. By the way, 0.3 hectares is less than half a football field Mr DPM. No school field, no room for expansion, no area for a community hall; where the school can gain some income from rental for events. What can be built on 0.3 hectares? How many classrooms? A canteen? A 1Malaysia toilet? A bicycle shed for the teachers?

 

RM 236 million to build campus of UITM, and Polytechnic in Balung Tawau would get a RM 200 million for it’s new UITM branch campus whereas the Polytechnic will be built in Sandakan says Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin (Utusan Malaysia 22/2/09 at page 12) This is great news. The government is serious about education. But how many non-Bumi’s will enjoy these nearly half a billion ringgit worth of education infrastructure? A ‘cakap kosong’ allocation of RM 100 million for 523 Tamil schools which is yet to be seen, but RM 436 million for 2 campuses for the Bumi’s? Will this happen in any other country?

 

Dr. Mahathir in the “Malay Dilemma” at page 74 and 75 says…. “For these students these scholarships are absolutely necessary. They are a means of breaking a vicious cycle. Backwardness in a modern society spells poverty. Poverty leads to poor education. Poor education perpetuates more poverty. Somewhere the cycle has to be broken and a rich country like Malaysia would stand accused of moral irresponsibility if she did not subsidies the education of the poor. They are a means to progress for a back ward community in a progressing nation. They are a means of rectifying racial Inequality.” How will this cycle be broken for the marginalized working class Indian Malaysians? Can the governments of the day be allowed to keep the poor Indian Malaysian in a state of want, by denying them the access to quality education with their peanut allocations and wayang kulits? It is our moral responsibility to force this rightful change. It will be morally irresponsible for us to allow the governments of the day to get away scot free from their duty to their Indian Malaysian citizens.

 

 

Jeevindra Kumar

 

Pro Tem Central Committee Member

Human Rights Party Malaysia

 

 

Are we racists?

Are we racists?

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines racism as such

Noun

1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race

2 : racial prejudice or discrimination

In the Malaysian context, the first definition may also be modified to the following

1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent inferiority of a particular race

This definition gives rise to the racial prejudice and discrimination that we see almost everywhere, in government policies, in the private sector and even in the supposedly egalitarian alternative media.

Let us now look at the speech delivered by YB Lim Kit Siang in Parliament on the 20th of May 2004 in the debate on the Motion of Thanks for the Royal Address, as the Parliamentary Opposition Leader.

The Honourable MP for Ipoh Timor calls for the formation of 10 Select Committees as a start towards making the Malaysian Parliament a ‘First-World Parliament’.

You may read the transcript here, http://www.dapmalaysia.org/all-archive/English/2004/may04/lks/lks3034.htm

The tenth Select Committee was to focus on the ‘Marginalisation of the Indian Community as the underclass’

The Honourable MP says, “During the 2004 general election, the “Group of Concerned Citizens” in its paper “Election 2004: New Politics for Indian Malaysians” had summarized nine long-standing fundamental issues faced by Indian Malaysians:

The number of Indian youth dying in police custody has increased;

The socio-economic inequality between the Indian poor and rich and between other communities has worsened;

The State has not responded effectively in addressing social ills in the community;

The State policies towards and financial allocation for Tamil schools remains pitiful;

The University intake policy has been a source of major distress for the community;

The State has not stepped in to help resolve the MAIKA scandal;

The Kampung Medan racially-motivated killings have not been brought to a closure. No public inquiry was instituted.

Low cost housing needs of the Indian poor have not been adequately addressed;

The negative consequences of the final breakdown of the plantation economy on the Indian rural poor have still not be regulated.

Aggressive displacement of Indian Malaysians is a serious problem. These nine fundamental issues afflicting the Indian community, marginalizing them into the new underclass in Malaysia, should be the terms of reference of a Select Committee on the marginalization of the Indian community in the country.”

A few questions rise in the mind upon reading the above.

First, is YB Lim Kit Siang a racist for raising Indian Malaysian issues in Parliament? If the answer is ‘no’, can we label anyone else as a racist for raising the same issues today, regardless of the name of the person who speaks out?

Why has the Pakatan Government, upon coming to power in several states, not addressed the same issues that was raised by one of its current leaders in the Parliament 5 years ago? A lack of political will, or a lack of moral will?

The third prime duty of the government to its people has been defined as to ensure that every family unit of the nation has space in the nation’s territory for a home and a means of livelihood.

When citizens are given different treatments when it comes to means of livelihood, including in terms of education and worker protection; and space for a home based on race, then we have to accept the fact that we are a racist country and people.

There is a difference between lip service and service to the Rakyat. A difference that is yet to be learned by both the governments of the day. This is compounded by the inability of the supporters from both sides of the divide to discern the primacy of egalitarian service over egalitarian slogans.

 We are racists as far as the Merriam-Webster definition goes, and that will not change with the mere adoption of slogans.

Jeevindra Kumar Krishnan

Pro Tem Committee Member

Human Rights Party Malaysia

2010 Budget proposal by Human Rights Party Malaysia

Yang Amat Berhormat Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak,
Prime Minister of Malaysia,

Block Utama Bangunan Perdana Putra,
Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan, 62502 Putrajaya.
E-Mail : najib@pmo.gov.my
Fax : 03-8888 3444

Dated: October 12 2009

Re: 2010 Budget Proposals By Human Rights Party Malaysia

Dear Datuk Seri Najib,

We are a recently formed political party, the Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRP), which is pending registration.

We refer to your recent request to the Rakyat for proposals to be incorporated in the upcoming Budget for 2010 (The Sun 2/10/09 at page 12). Our humble proposals, not quantified monetarily due to lack of data and time constraints, are as follows:

1. Minimum Wage 1
1.We propose that a minimum wage be set at RM 1,200 per month, and, RM 50 a day (RM 6.25 per hour) for piece rate or daily paid wage earners, for all Malaysian citizens, so as to uplift them from low wages and concomitant poverty. This will, in one sweep move the lowest paid workers’ family above the poverty line of RM 691 under the 9MP. The average minimum wage of RM 325 agreed for oil palm plantation workers from Jan 1 20012 gives those workers a real wage (in constant 2001 RM) of RM 258.55 in Jan 1 20103.

2. Repatriation of Illegal Foreign Workers & Cessation of Intake of Foreign Labour
2.1 Simultaneous to the above minimum wage for Malaysians, we propose that it be accompanied with the repatriation of 500,000 foreign workers4, so as to create and augment employment opportunities for Malaysians.
2.2 The repatriation of foreign workers would largely be confined to the illegal workers who are estimated by sociologists to number 1.5 million5 in the peninsula alone.
2.3 To ensure that the effect of the minimum wage increase is not diluted but enhanced, the repatriation of foreign workers must be simultaneous to setting of minimum wages for Malaysians.
2.4 To bring about a restructuring of Malaysian economy and society there should be a capping6 of the intake of unskilled foreign labour so as to force automation and mechanisation of work to take place.
2.5 Once again this policy would be widespread and could only be a gain to all Malaysians, particularly the marginalised and impoverished bottom strata of Malaysian society.

3 Alienation of one million acres of land for the technologically advanced farming of high yielding grains,vegetables, fruits, livestock and aquaculture
3.1 As in previous schemes like Felda, Felcra, Fama, Risda, KEJORA, KEDA, KESEDAR, KETENGAH, Agropolitan etc., we propose that 1,000,000 acres of land be alienated to Malaysians of all races equitably, for the technologically advanced farming of high yielding grains,vegetables, fruits, livestock and aquaculture.

3.2 We rank 8th, 11th and 12th respectively in terms of per capita import of corn, rice and wheat worldwide7; this is critical considering that global grain reserves are estimated at 40 days as of 2008.8 This will also increase the existing agricultural land from 78,700 sq km to 82,746 sq km.

3.3 The purpose of this scheme is to be increasingly self sufficient in food supply,and if possible for export, as well as to restructure the economy so that no ethnicity is identified with any sector of the economy.
3.4 As previous schemes mostly benefited the Malay community, further entrenching them in agriculture, we propose this scheme be opened to larger and more equitable participation by all Malaysians, particularly the working class Indians, without prejudice.

4. Franchise Schemes
4.1 We propose that PNS should now extend its mission to provide total franchise solutions to all Malaysians. The time has come for Malaysians, especially working class Indians to be allowed in all the mainstream development programmes that are available.
4.2 We also propose that the licensing requirements under the Franchise Act 1998 be relaxed, together with the removal of race based requirements in submissions of Annual Reports for the Franchisors or the Master Franchise.

5. Establishment of an Anti Race Discrimination Commission and an Equal Opportunities Commission
5.1 We note that in the past many proposals and schemes did not filter down to the masses as intended, or were not implemented, or were not equitably distributed, or were hijacked by corrupt parties, and this was the bane of the NEP. As such we propose that an Anti Race Discrimination Commission and an Equal Opportunities Commission be established for the specific purpose of acting as a watchdog and ensuring government policy be implemented as intended, and be distributed equitably, specifically not excluding the working class Indians. This Commission should be similar to the Commission for Racial Equality and the Equality and Human Rights Commission9 of the United Kingdom.
5.2 This Commissions would be set-up with powers to enforce what is already budgetary and government policy, including the following:
5.2.1 Enforcement of Minimum Wage in the private sector
5.2.2 Monitoring of Repatriation of Illegal Foreign Workers
5.2.3 Equitable distribution of land alienated for the purpose of agriculture, livestock and aquaculture (as in Para 3 above).

5.3 To show transparency and sincerity an official Prime Minister’s Circular should not only be issued but made public and specifically also forwarded to us for our follow up in the implementation thereto. This would prove the governments commitment and sincerity. After all Article 8 of the Federal Constitution provides for Equality before the law and equal protection before the law and Article 12 provides for no discrimination on the grounds of race and religion.
5.4 In addition, the Implementation and Coordination Unit (ICU JPM) must be made responsible for the implementation of the Prime Minister’s Circulars and the Budget as a whole, as well as provide monthly updates on their website (when it is up and running again) on the latest status of what has been achieved vis a vis the budget. An example of long overdue implementation will be, the yet to be seen allocation of RM 100 million10 for the re-development of Tamil Schools announced in the last budget, of which not a single cent has filtered down, when the moneys could have been put to use immediately on a lesser number of schools if the initial allocation had been too small, as it has proven to be.
6. All Tamil Schools to be made fully aided
6.1 On this Budget Speech, an announcement should be made by the Prime Minister, reiterating an earlier government announcement, that with effect from Budget Oct 23 2009 all 523 Tamil Schools are to be fully aided government schools with equal budget, facilities, resources and teaching staff. Simultaneously, a policy should be introduced that Tamil and Chinese be taught in all National schools during regular school hours with effect from 2010 onwards.
7. Micro-credit schemes and small business loans extended to non-bumiputras
7.1 We propose that micro-credit schemes such as the Tabung Ekonomi Kumpulan Usaha Niaga (TEKUN) be extended to all Malaysians regardless of race. Right now there is only token assistance to non Bumi small businessmen. A meaningful extension of the policy to favour all Malaysians would ensure the wide spreading and flourishing of small businesses and reduction of loan sharks (Ah Longs) and the attendant crimes.
7.2 Licenses must be issued to entrepreneurs in the scrap yard and recycling industries. It is inconceivable that businesses that play such an invaluable role in managing dwindling resources are persecuted because they are unable to obtain the necessary licenses.

8. Amanah Saham Scheme for Working Class Indians
8.1 The Indian Equity Stake in Malaysia has fallen to 1.1%. We propose that the Government take concrete steps to rectify this dismal state of affairs by launching a brand new Amanah Saham Scheme in Budget 2010 specifically for the Indian Working Class. This scheme is targeted for Indian Malaysians earning less than RM 1200 per month, but will be open to all Indian Malaysians earning less than RM 3000 per month.
8.2 The proposed Amanah Saham Scheme must be launched with an initial annual fund size of RM 2 Billion, and be structured with the availability of a Government backed loan scheme at a preferential interest rate of not more than 2.50% per annum (similar to yield of 3 year Malaysian Government Security). Current outstanding MGS issues stands at RM 229 Billion11.
8.3 All other terms must be kept similar to that of Amanah Saham Wawasan 2020.

9. Reclassify the Plantation Sector from the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities to the Rural and Regional Development Ministry
9.1 We propose this transference of the Plantation Sector from one ministry to another as the plantation population, are better served under the Rural Development Ministry, which are better able to care for the social needs of the rural population. Agencies like Felda, Felcra, Risda, etc., come under this Ministry, and are better able to meet the needs of the rural population, particularly as they get displaced when plantations are phased out. This is nothing more than a reclassification of departments from one Ministry to another.
10. Resettlement of Urban Poor into government Housing Schemes
10.1 Resettlement of all urban poor communities should be carried out on a programmed basis into well planned government housing schemes , rather than in an ad hoc manner, on the occasion of their eviction when private development occurs. This will avoid all the incumbent conflicts and abuses that are currently associated with private development on land occupied by these urban poor communities.
11. Legal aid for Criminal Cases
11.1 In order to serve justice to the poor, we propose a fully funded government legal aid fund for all criminal cases, as a fundamental right for all Malaysians earning RM5,000.00 and below per month. This proposal would be seen, as Malaysia taking the steps to ensure justice is served fairly and equitably. This should be modelled along the United Kingdom Legal Services Commission12.
12. Conclusion
12.1 We request that working class Indians be brought into the National Mainstream Development of Malaysia, rather than on ad hoc race-based specific allocations that do not filter down. Kindly therefore provide and announce the necessary allocations for all our aforesaid proposals that benefit all Malaysians and cannot be faulted on any grounds.
12.2 We hope these proposals merit you kind consideration. We shall be pleased to provide further clarifications if necessary.

Yours sincerely,
Jeevindra Kumar Krishnan Sukumaran Apparu
Protem Central Committee Members
Human Rights Party Malaysia

Is there a bull market in the Yen?

Yes.

The Yen is getting seriously overbought, against the dollar. Is this transferring the risk of the carry trade unwind, when it comes again, into this pair, but in the reverse direction.

The Nikkei and Yen continue to strengthen on worse than expected economic data coming ouy of Japan. The Japanese government has gone as far as claiming a ‘jobless recovery’ which is as logical as owning a blind seeing eye dog.

The markets will have to face the double whammy of a flight to security into the USD, as well as the reverse unwinding of the USD/JPY pair when this bear market in stocks gets back into gear.

Will the SEA currencies, including the RM, get sold off massively in tandem with the JPY? Maybe.

There is a lot more that can be said, but I just want to be on the record as the first to comment on this undue bullishness in the Yen. And to confess that I will laugh at anyone that gets whacked in the face when it gets sold off later…

 

Jeevindra Kumar

Rebuttal to a rebuttal which i did not write, so I dont forget what the hell I was on about

Dear writer,

I ******d ‘racial myopia’ and landed smack dab in the middle of some medical papers relating to short sightedness, and one lone article by a guy who wants to see the world in a single shade of gray…

I have suffered from myopia since I was knee high to a snake, and I take offence with anyone that equates my debilitating condition, which forces me to get really up close before I can decide whether to fix breakfast for whichever girl, whose bed i had drunkenly shared, or sneak out quietly, with narrow mindedness or intolerance.

I read your piece last night, after I had gotten royally pissed off from the report on the Penans a few articles down, so I waited for two reasons. First, to regain the slight sense of humour that I try to keep close while typing, and second to show that your much vaunted fellow Citizens, will give more of a damn about whether anyone has run down their favourite politico, (18 comments), rather than get bothered enough about a bunch of indigenous people who are the sex toys to loggers (9 comments). You should be proud that we have our priorities totally straight. What with not seeing colour, and emphatising with our fellow Citizens and what not, eh?

cont..

” g o o g l e d ” w a s c e n s o r e d . 

I rebut your Malaysians Mudah Lupa video with, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhqlN9GXe-A, or if that is censored as well, the video of Karpal, Rayer and ilk at Buah Pala in y o u t u b e this past January, lying through their teeth and offering hope to people whose land they had already signed off with a stroke of a CM’s pen. ( At least BN makes a one off payment for the vote every five years and forgets about you, but to continue raising hope and making heroic promises after the people have voted for you is just sick…what kind of a person will do that…oh right, smell the coffee right? politicians are scum, eh what?)

My second rebuttal will be Lim Kit Siang, standing in Brickies NUBE office, and calling me and the fellow guests at a DAP talk about Hindraf and something, in December of 2007, about how wrong it is for the police to shoot tear gas at us, ‘the salt of the earth’, when we are trying to demonstrate our right to peaceful assembly while carrying the great gandhi’s pix as a sunshield.. The same Lim who, when asked about Hindraf this year, did not answer the reporters question, but called Hindraf vituperative ( synonyms : calumniating, castigating, censorious, contumelious, defamatory, derisive, disparaging, insolent, insulting, invective, libelous, maligning, obloquious, offensive, opprobrious, reproachful, reviling, rude, sarcastic, scathing, scolding, scurrilous, sharp-tongued, slanderous, traducing, upbraiding, vilifying ) and proceeded to read out from a Chinese vernacular and crack jokes… ohh please search y o u t u b e yourselves for this one.

…cont

feeling a bit lazy, haven’t smelled the coffee yet, so this will be the last for a while.

The 18 point Hindraf manifesto was coined in 2007, while the bulk of the commentors above me were sitting on their fingers while reading MT, and racism was as big a problem as it is now, the only difference being that March 8 has brought out a lot of the cowards from the woodwork, and that, of course dilutes the memory into thinking that they had always been around and were pivotal in making their voice and opinions heard so that others will change the way they vote. Of course the Bersih and Hindraf rallies had absolutely nothing to do with waking the gutless majority up to how important change was… I mean can you believe that two of the biggest rallies ever seen in this country can influence or give hope to anyone?

On the same note, if someone like me was to come out with a 27 point manifesto on what needs to happen so that the Penans will be ok, that will be totally fine right? But if a Penan writes that, then he must be a bleeding racist, correct?

You are right, of course the rest of my fellow Citizens are going to help the poor and marginalised and abused, right after the Teoh Beng Hock inquest and the cow head trials right? And they will fight real hard won’t they?

The poor are only equals to the rest of their fellow citizens in two situations in this country. First, when they travel overseas under a Malaysian passport, and are viewed as Malaysians and not the Bumi/Bintang/Bulan crap…but then again what are they doing travelling overseas when they are supposed to be poor? are they even supposed to afford a passport?

Second, when they cast their VOTE,it still counts as one. And if you and the rest of the upper class drivers of public opinion say that the poor have NO RIGHT to not participate in a system that does nothing for them, regardless of whether that system is labelled BN or PR or IND, I ask you this, how dare you?!?

Kg Buah Pala, HINDRAF and Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia

I like to think simple, but I am also a bleeding heart, so to keep myself from getting confused with the myriad problems that is faced by marginalised Malaysians, and their polycausalities, I work from first principles. Justice, freedom of expression and choice (including the choice of living in the way of their ancestors), the right to fundamental human needs, including but not limited to decent healthcare, security and education, and the right of non participation are among the principles that colour my goggles.

Working from first principles, there are two anak Bangsa Malaysia communities that are marginalised to a greater extent and face more chronically acute (no, not an oxymoron) problems than the rest.

The Orang Asli are the first in this category, regardless of whether they have called the Peninsula or Borneo as their home for the past 50,000 years. http://jeevindra.wordpress.com/2008/03/27/until-the-semangs-are-okay/   and http://jeevindra.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/let-not-the-semang-be-forgotten-lucy-ahmed/ sum up how I see things. If you believe that the Jabatan Orang Asli is there to take care of these tribes, our elder brothers in every sense of the word, you are more wrong than you can imagine. To date, I am yet to see any politician banging the podium on their behalf, and I probably never will.

The second are the poor Indians. And the first thought that will spring in your mind is “HINDRAF”. The second thought will be, “I don’t care, because I am beyond race”. Fair enough.

I believe that the Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia movement will gain traction and become the new rallying call for the alternative media, but this to me will be a populist movement, and I mean that derogatorily as in “pop”. The SABM will champion high profile cases such as Teoh Beng Hock, and other flavour of the month issues such as the cow head incident. They will fight for equality and justice on the basis of petitions, candle light vigils, random protests and by sheer weight of numbers. They will occupy the safe middle ground and attract Malaysians of all backgrounds to believe in their ideals. What they won’t do is raise more than a finger for the Penans, or as in the case of the Kg Buah Pala residents, they will raise the middle finger.

Back to the Indians and Hindraf. Lets look at the cases over the past few days. Husband abducted in front of wife and kids by people claiming to be policemen in Kajang. One death by shooting of a robbery suspect. One murder of a young woman, with body left encased in cement. One murder of a youth in Selayang by unknown assailants. One demolition of an Indian cowherd village, which basically leaves dozens of families robbed of their livelihood. One school shut down, because the roof is just not there. And of course, one cow head. Guess which of this got SABM’s goat? Yes, the cow’s got the goat.

If HINDRAF has become disillusioned with PR and the general Malaysian public, and wants to go at it alone in their fight for the poor Indians, who seem to have only crime as their final fallback when everything else fails, I can’t blame them. At least they embrace their racial cause openly, unlike the MSM which espouses 1Malaysia but is actually UMNO to the core, or the alternative media which only cares about the problems of the middle class and above, and of course Teoh Beng Hock, which to date remains the greatest travesty of justice this country has ever seen.

Me, I am for Human Rights Party of Malaysia. Which claims to fight for Human Rights but fights for Indian Rights. And I am not ashamed of it, because in a land of racists, only the fool will call himself a humanist.

 

Jeevindra Kumar

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/36272-protesters-threaten-bloodshed-over-hindu-temple

Protesters threaten bloodshed over Hindu temple

http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/36272-protesters-threaten-bloodshed-over-hindu-temple

 

Now, the question is this….should I get all riled up when a bunch of idiots march down the street carrying the severed and bloody head of a cow?

1. If I support freedom of expression and democracy, I have to say no, on the basis that freedom of expression forms the foundation of democracy. But I am a monarchist.

2. There are hundreds of thousands if not millions of cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens being slaughtered everyday to serve our tastebuds. So regardless of whether the idiots were going to march or not the cow was as good as dead anyway. Lets call the cow “Daisy” and the idiots that carried it as the “Idiots”.

3. What is the purpose of the Idiots? To raise tension between Hindu’s and Muslims? Perhaps. Should I fall for it…..no. Because most of the Muslims I know will balk at this sort of thing, even if its for nothing more than the fact that it has no class at all.

4. What about the threat of bloodshed? This has to be taken seriously. I am as religious as a papaya tree, but I will defend the right of my fellow citizens to follow their respective religious beliefs. Whether it be a mosque, temple, church or vihara whose construction is being blocked, then I will stand with those that the place of worship belongs to.

5. Is there a ‘hidden hand’ behind tha action of the Idiots. Probably, because even stupidity has its limits, but greed is always limitless.

6. Will I care much unless this escalates? No. And even if it escalates, I will rate this as lower than the betrayal of the Kg Buah Pala residents by PR. This is just idiocy, Kg Buah Pala is pure daylight robbery.

7. So what now? Nothing I guess. I never get riled up by Idiots, it takes a genius to piss me off. I will just keep my focus on what happens to Kg Buah Pala’s residents and all of Daisy’s living cousins over there….unless of course…………..

So, Daisy, God Speed i guess. May you be reborn as anything but an Idiot.

 

Jeevindra Kumar

Is HINDRAF irrelevant?

Everyone is whacking HINDRAF now. Including parts of the fractured and defunct leadership of the movement itself.

HINDRAF was a galvanising voice for the majority of Indians in this country. And its spillover effect into the population in general, embodied by the cry MAKKAL SAKTHI, will have to be written down somewhere so that people will always remember to expect the unexpected.

Perhaps the vacuum that  is the Indian leadership in this country, became so insufferable that every temple that was demolished, every death in custody, every slight and every insult against the darker hued denizens of this nation forced this fractured and mute community to coalesce, at least temporarily, to show that there will always come a time; when enough is enough……………………………………………………………………….is not the cliche it’s supposed to be. And it so happened that HINDRAF was at the right place at the right time to become the core of this awakening.

Or maybe I’m wrong and HINDRAF was the raison d’etre by itself. A people grateful for forceful and vocal leadership throwing caution to the tear gas soaked wind to make themselves heard, at least for once, even if the message was not everyone’s cup of tea.

Whatever the reason for HINDRAF’s success, it is clear that it is no longer the force it used to be.

Exhibit A : Kg Buah Pala, turned into a farce with the villagers now branded as greedy fools for life (by most Malaysians). And DAP as a bunch of gutless nitwits (at least in my books). And the rest of PR as having the moral fibre of a card carrying UMNO branch leader (in my books again). And HINDRAF as a what? As a nuisance perhaps?

On top of that we have the usually silent, yellow bellied Malaysians who rarely made a hoot before March 08 (you know who you are,c’mon), become the new movers of alternative opinion, joining the hard core “PR is Malaysia’s saviour” troops as the voice of the majority in the non mainstream trough.

Exhibit B : Gnana Prakasom and R.Gunasegaran. And you go, “who’s that?”. And I say, “same like Kugan but not so famous la”. And you go, “oh, ok. Sorry, don’t really care”. And my inner voice goes, “if HINDRAF, or anyone for that matter from the other side of the river Styx from BN still had their act together, these two will have their names right up there with Altantuya, and Kugan and of course Teoh Beng Hock, but no, no one seems to know what act we are on, hell, I don’t think we are all in the same play for that matter,so I have to hope and pray that Harris Ibrahim can carry the burden by himself”.

Exhibit C: The rape of the Penans, in every sense of the word imaginable. And everyone but the Penan go “what in the name of all that is holy does this have to do with me? Just blame BN. And I thought this was about HINDRAF you rambling idiot!!”.

Precisely.

Until the day comes when the average Mykad carrying, teh tarik drinking, roti canai loving Malaysian learns that justice is an universal concept, and applies equally to all, and learns to fight for any other Malaysian’s right as if we all lived and breathed in the same land and under the same sky, I don’t care who or what becomes irrelevant.

Let HINDRAF become another casualty of this country’s meandering history, a history that has taken it from somewhere to nowhere in no time at all. Let it lie by the highway as another victim of our growth into something meaningful. Let PR and BN become footnotes in the history books of our grandchildren, let them be seen as ancient ogres of inconceivable stupidity and corruption.

Because, ultimately, I see only one force that can save Malaysia, and that is the child that runs chasing its friends with snot running down its nose and laughter spilling on every side, along every street and jalan and lorong of this beautiful country.

I just hope that we don’t fuck it up too much before that child grows up, and has no choice but to look us in the eye, and punch us in the face while kneeing us in the groin for being such bigoted, selfish and myopic pricks.

Jeevindra Kumar

Gnana Prakasom and R. Gunasegaran, died in police custody, why have your life’s been made so cheap my brothers?

My brothers,

 

While we living have been keeping a close and watchful eye on the unfolding of the Teoh Beng Hock saga, you were dying while in police custody.

 

No, I do not expect any calls to be made for a Royal Commission to investigate your deaths, we are yet to get any answers on Kugan, months after his passing. God knows how many more have died in the meantime.

My question is this, though you can no longer answer them, what has made your lifes’ so cheap that it could be taken away with so little fuss.

Are you not Malaysians? Are you not human? Were your life’s made worth less because you were born an Indian, ergo, you must be a criminal? Were you Gunasegaran, sent to meet Yama because you worked in a toddy shop?

No my brothers. You came from a culture so old, it’s descendents have forgotten most of its history. You spoke a language so ancient, and so rich, that few today can fathom it’s mysteries. But all that means nothing, not in this time, not in this place. Right here and right now, the deaths of anyone that looks and talks like you is a mere statistic, just another number to be written down and forgotten.

And I am to blame for it as much as anyone else. My apathy, my ignorance, my lack of action did not raise the fists that struck you, or the boots that kicked you, but neither did they stop them. My silence accompanied the moans of pain you would have uttered, my eyes sat blind while you begged for mercy.

I am ashamed. And with shame I make you this promise, my brothers. My hands will write, and if the words have no effect, I will drop the pen and curl my fingers into a fist. My feet will walk for you and everyone else that have none to walk for them, and if my steps take me nowhere, I will shod them in boots, and stand firm.

I have lived my life, now I will start dying, and I will die remembering the purpose that was robbed from you. I will die with the dignity that befits my ancestors, and you, my brothers.

REST IN PEACE MY BROTHERS

 

Jeevindra Kumar

Let’s not give DAP another chance.

It’s easy to be taken for granted. We, humans, take the planet and the environment for granted everyday and we are still around.

But what the DAP and it’s majority of Chinese supporters have shown in the Kg Buah Pala issue is not something I will condone.

I believe in fairplay, i believe in justice for the sake of justice, i believe in taking the harder road because it is right. Sometimes there are no gray areas, and the choice has to be made between what is right and what is wrong.Hesitation is wrong, the fear of punishment is cowardly, and the usual rules of politics have to be thrown out.

The Penang government has let the residents of Kg Buah Pala down by it’s slow response and lack of moral will. The Penang government has behaved like a coward, and a coward deserves no respect or support from me, regardless of what the coward has achieved in the past

The only pity is that the residents of Kg Buah Pala have nowhere to turn to except their own race for any kind of support at all, which makes the cowardice of the Penang government even more apparent and painful.

Open Letter to HINDRAF and Opposition Political Parties, Round 2

The following is a letter that was sent to MT and published sometime around Dec 13 2007.
 

I am publishing it again so that we can see that the negative perception of HINDRAF and the Kg Buah Pala issue is something that could have been prevented.

It now seems that matters have moved on to a watershed, similar to the watershed that was March 8th, and the blame falls squarely and equally on the shoulders of HINDRAF and the opposition parties for sacrificing right planning for political expediency.

———————————————————————
Letter to Hindraf and Opposition political parties.
CTT (Citizen’s Think Tank) is going to form a Shadow
Government (what this entails is still unclear) soon.

When are we going to see a proper Shadow Cabinet by
the opposition parties and a move beyond calling for
Electoral reforms via BERSIH, to a common manifesto by
the Opposition to take on BN in the next GE??

Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall hosted a forum on Post
Hindraf Malaysia two days ago, with KeADILan and PSM
being represented, and the PAS speakers unable to
attend because of the BERSIH arrests at the Parliament
the same morning .

Yesterday, DAP hosted a talk  ” A New Deal For
Marginalised Indians ” at NUBE in Brickfields.

The message delivered by all the speakers is for
Malaysian Indians to spread the news and to vote for
the opposition candidates in the next GE, as well as
an open invitation for them to join the respective
parties.

It will be a crying shame if the next GE sees a
reduction in the popular vote to BN to below the 50%
mark, and yet BN still forms the government because
the Opposition parties can’t unite and work together
in a more concrete manner.

When this question was raised to the speakers, not a
single one of them said they will speak to the other
leaders to get the ball rolling, all we get is more
rhetoric about the raw deal the Indians have had, how
UMNO is bad, and the same old sob stories.

Time for rhetoric is over.

PAS, KeADILan, DAP, PSM and whoever else, put your
heads together and show us that you can unite beyond
individual ideologies to come with a blueprint for a
better Malaysia.

Decide on which is more important. Your individual
ideologies or a better future for Malaysia and
Malaysians?

For Hindraf, take this opportunity to push all the
parties that are ‘courting’ you for your support to
force them to come together in a more visible and
viable manner. By this you will be doing all
Malaysians a favour, not just the Indians. Do not
allow your supporters votes to be in vain.

All I ask is that you defend the constitution and
ensure that the poor are given help regardless of
ethnicity.

Jeevindra Kumar
Dec 13 2007
——————————————————————————-

If HINDRAF is being vilified right now, it is because it allowed its momentum and message to be exploited (for want of a better word) by the Opposition Parties to achieve a common purpose (winning the 8th GE) without getting a quid pro quo. Not a quid pro quo for Indians or Hindus alone, mind you, but clout to fight for the downtrodden regardless of race, religion or language.

This is what you get when you trust the rhetoric that spills from the mouth of Political Parties, regardless of which side of the divide they are on. When push comes to shove they will pass the blame elsewhere and just let the cards fall where they may.

As for the general racism exhibited in the Kg Buah Pala issus as far as MT commentors are concerned, it should not come as a surprise to anyone. If you thought you were living in the land of racial equality and social justice, it’s time to get your head checked. This is Malaysia, and we take our race divides seriously.

Jeevindra Kumar
July 14th 2009

In Praise of Land

The doom sayers have been recommending Gold and Oil and Silver. They have all missed land, the ultimate hard asset.

We will probably see most nations adopt a Gold/Silver backed currency in the next two decades. The chances of Governments then making private ownership of these metals illegal or heavily taxed is pretty probable if we look at history.

Land is probably the only asset that they can’t touch with impunity. It’s a finite resource, nearly impossible to steal, it has the greatest number of uses and forms the basis for all wealth.

Get smart, buy Land. This recession /depression has a long way to go yet, we are still screwed fundamentally, and in this scenario, the best defense is a good offense. Keeping part of your wealth in land is good offense.

History of Malaysian Indians 2

History of Malaysian Indians 2

In the first article we had a brief look at the ancient connections that Indians have had with this region. This connection was strong enough for historians to call this region Greater India or The Indianised States of South East Asia. But this ancient relationship plays no role when it comes to the general state of the Indian community in this country today, as we have to draw our immediate history from more recent events.

The Indian influence began to penetrate the Malay region very early in time. “An Indian Era of Malay history” existed in Malaya until about the beginning of sixteenth century. Most of the south Indians who migrated to Malay Peninsula during the early years went in connection with trade and commercial activities. The early migrants were basically drawn from the traditional trading communities of south India like the Chettis and Komatis; whereas those south Indians who emigrated to Malaya during the nineteenth century when the plantation economy emerged were chiefly “illiterate, cheap docile” labourers. (K. S. Sandhu, “Indians in Malaya: Immigration and Settlement, 1786-1957″, Cambridge, 1969)

Indians have been synonymous with the estate economy from the 1870’s until the 1940’s. The growth and the distribution of the South Indian population in Malaysia were closely related to the growth of rubber, palm oil and sugar estates. Plantation of rubber for example, grew from 350 acres in 1877 to two million acres by 1940. As early as 1918, rubber exports from Malaysia supplied half of the global consumption for that commodity. This rubber ‘boom’ created massive demand for manual labour. As the indigenous population did not come forward to supply the energy and strength needed to fuel this growth, the plantation owners had to look towards South India for labourers who would work for fixed hours daily.

South Indians were also valued as the best ‘metal breakers’ and specially adapted for road construction, so they found employment on all such road and railway projects. The labour that these early Indian migrants, our forefathers, provided to this country cannot be measured, and must never be forgotten.

Labourers were recruited mainly using the ‘Kangany’ or ‘Maistry’ system. Estate, factory and mill owners rarely hired the labourers they needed directly, this was contracted out to the Kangany. The Kangany will then have to ensure an adequate and regular supply of labour to mills and plantations, and was paid a premium for each person that was recruited.

Since these middlemen were from the same local society as the labourers they recruited, they had the power to engage, discipline, control as well as educate those they hired on behalf of the owners. The middlemen frequently visited the rural areas and lured the economically and socially vulnerable villagers by painting plantation life in bright colours and offered them travel and other expenses as an additional inducement. By their personal approach and standing in the local society they could and did influence the decisions of the prospective emigrants.

The power to offer employment made the relationship unequal, turning into a pattern of patronage and exploitation between the Kangany and the labourer. A system of salary advances, initial indebtedness, the subordination of labour to the middlemen, illegal deduction from the wages of workers under employment, compulsory contribution of free labour were the main features of the Kangany recruitment process.

P.E. Baak, “About Enslaved Ex-Slaves, Uncaptured Contract Coolies and Unfreed Freedmen” in Modern Asian Studies, Vol.33, No.1, 1999, p.124.

H. Tinker “A New System of Slavery: The Export of Indian Labour Overseas, 1830-1920″, London, 1974

These two titles say what must be said. That the exploitation of Indian labour by the colonial powers and its middlemen was a form of slavery, where unfreedom, for want of a better word, was the state of its sufferers. Before we look further into this chapter of history, let’s take a brief look at the life of one of the emigrants.

He had to stop schooling at a young age because of poverty. Having no choice, he began working at that young age in the village where he was born. He earned enough to support his elderly parents and send his siblings to school. When the time was right, he married the girl chosen for him and was blessed with two beautiful children.

One day, an agent came to his village and spoke to the young men there. The agent was looking for workers to work in Malaysia. The agent said he will take care of all the details of travel and permits for anyone that was willing to go abroad and work hard for two years. The agent would even loan the money to those that were interested but could not afford the sum, about twenty five times the average monthly income in the village, needed for travel and the necessary papers. He promised a job with an initial salary twice what the young men could earn in the village. There would be two increments every year, a day off every week, and accommodation and food provided for the entire two years.

The agent also promised better jobs with even higher salary for those that did well in their first year. Taken in with the promises of the agent, and hoping to provide a better life for his children than he had, the young man bade a tearful goodbye to wife and family, and left for Malaysia with high hopes.

The reality in Malaysia was different. He had to work twelve to fourteen hours everyday, seven days a week. There were only three days holiday for the entire year, when the owner shut the doors of the business to celebrate Deepavali. Food was cooked communally, and was simpler than the fare he had grown up on in the village, and was never enough.

His lodging was a cramped room shared with 4 other workers, and his bed was a cloth on the cement floor. His identification papers were kept by the owner, making it impossible for him to go anywhere apart from work and home. But the worst fact was that he and his fellow workers have not been paid a single cent for the past six months.

If they asked for money to send some home to their family in the village, they are beaten up by the owner and his men. They can not inform those back home of their situation, as they are afraid that their wives and family would not be able to take the news, and might do something rash. They can only wonder how their family was meeting the monthly loan payments.

Unfreedom, indebtedness, forced free labour, inhuman living conditions, cruel heartless masters, and no help from anyone.

The year is 2008, the place is some of the businesses in Brickfields of Kuala Lumpur, the victims are the poor emigrants from the villages of South India, and they are exploited by agents from their village. The only difference is that their masters are no longer from the colonial class, but are Malaysian Indians.

This is modern day slavery, a reincarnation of colonial practises, in our midst. As long as we allow this to continue, we have no reason to complain of being a disenfranchised people, for we turn a blind eye to those that suffer as our forefathers did.

© Jeevindra Kumar 2008

History of Malaysian Indians 1

HISTORY OF MALAYSIAN INDIANS

Long Live! Year of Siyaka 822, month of Waisaka, according to astronomy. The fourth day of the waning moon, Monday. On this occasion, Lady Angkatan, and her brother whose name is Buka, the children of the Honourable Namwaran, were awarded a document of complete pardon from the Commander in Chief of Tundun, represented by the Lord Minister of Pailah, Jayadewa.

By this order, through the scribe, the Honourable Namwaran has been forgiven of all and is released from his debts and arrears of 1 katî and 8 suwarna before the Honourable Lord Minister of Puliran, Ka Sumuran by the authority of the Lord Minister of Pailah.

Because of his faithful service as a subject of the Chief, the Honourable and widely renowned Lord Minister of Binwangan recognized all the living relatives of Namwaran who were claimed by the Chief of Dewata, represented by the Chief of Medang.

Yes, therefore the living descendants of the Honourable Namwaran are forgiven, indeed, of any and all debts of the Honourable Namwaran to the Chief of Dewata.

This, in any case, shall declare to whomever henceforth that on some future day should there be a man who claims that no release from the debt of the Honourable…

The above is a translation from a plate found in the Philippines, written in the Kavi script, dating back to 1100 CE (Common Era),one of the examples of our long history here ;

“The Dravidian influence on the ancient Filipino scripts was obviously of Tamil origin,” wrote V.A. Makarenko, in advancing another view on the origin of Philippine scripts. Based primarily on the work of H. Otiey Beyer, this theory argues that these scripts reached the Philippines via the last of the “six waves of migration that passed through the Philippine archipelago from the Asian continent . . . about . . . 200 B.C.E (2200 years ago) . . . .,” constituting the Malayans and Dravidians, “primarily the Tamil from Malaya and the adjacent territories and from Indonesia and South India as well.”

When does our history in this land begin? Should we begin with the migration of our immediate forefathers 200 years ago or with the founding of Malacca by a Prince called Parameswara 600 years ago, or should we start with the physical evidence of an ancient Hindu Kingdom in Lembah Bujang 1600 years ago? Or can we go even further back, viewing the influence of Indians in South East Asia, which made historians call it “Greater India” or as the “Indianised States of South East Asia”.

If we view ourselves as a poor migrant community, then we should only look at our history over the past 200 years or so. If we consider ourselves as the descendents and the guardians of the great culture that ruled this part of the world for more than a thousand years, then our history here begins when our ancestors gave this land its name.

Until at least 23 years ago, our school history books said that the name Malaya, comes from a combination of the words “Malai” and “Ur”, given to it by the Indian seafarers. Though this is probably no longer what is taught to our children, along with other omissions, it does not change the fact that the Indian community living in Malaysia today, are of the same stock as the Indians that provided the foundations of civilisation to this country. Should we then continue to view ourselves as third class citizens?

 

But the reality remains that when we returned to the very shores that our ancestors had civilized, we returned as indentured labourers. And today we find ourselves in the increasingly difficult position of being left behind, despite having contributed so much. We must take upon ourselves the burden of rediscovering and remembering our true history, for our history in this country in not just our legacy, but the true story of how this nation came into being.

To lay the groundwork and approach our history here with the correct perspective, we can look at certain aspects of the national culture to gain an idea of how much it has been influenced by our own.

 

It is impossible to treat the story of Sang Sapurba, the first Malay King, as strictly historical, for it seems more mythological. Three young men descend from the heavens of Indra upon the mountain Maha-Meru, on the slopes of which they meet two women who support themselves by planting hill-padi. Supernatural incidents mark the appearance of the strangers. The very corn in the ground puts forth ears of gold, while its leaves become silver and its stalks copper. One of the new-comers rides on a white bull, and carries a sword called Chora samandang-kini. They are received by the natives of the district (Palembang) and made Rajas. He who rides the bull becomes king of Minangkabau, and the other two receive minor kingdoms.

 

The white bull of Sang Sapurba is evidently the vehicle of Siva, and the name of the sword bears a close resemblance to manda-kini, the name given in heaven to the sacred Ganges, which springs from the head of Siva. The title given to the queen, Permaisuri, is in turn derived from the word Parameswari, the wife of Siva, as logic and custom dictates.

 

Study a Keris carefully, and you will see a small protuberance in the shape of a tapering and sinuous hook at the base of the Keris, just after the hilt. It is called “Belalai Gajah” and it signifies the proper obeisance that has to be paid to Ganesha, before the start of any venture, in this case, the business end of the Keris. It is taboo to point the Keris straight up to the sky, or straight down to the ground, as pointing it up signifies “murka” and down shows great disrespect, as the Keris is also a symbol of the Siva Linga.

There are numerous examples such as the ones above, which makes it difficult to answer exactly where Indian history ends and South East Asian history begins. If we embrace the distant past, we deny the hardship and the struggle of the present, if we only look at the recent history, we will be guilty of selective perception, which is a sin that we cannot commit, because we have not earned the right to do so.

We can ask ourselves why a great portion of this region’s history is denied by a great portion of its own people, and is replaced by an increasing emphasis to history from elsewhere, but that is beyond the scope of our responsibility at the moment. What we must do, is rediscover and remember the full history of “Greater India” for that is our debt to our ancestors, our responsibility as patriots and our duty to our children.

 

© Jeevindra Kumar

Obama, good enough for USA, but not for Malaysia

When John Kerry lost the last time around, it was almost as heartbreaking as watching Liverpool lose to ManUre. But Obama’s victory more than compensates for the wait, it’s not merely a rejection of Bush, but a rejection so strong it has crossed racial lines, in a manner that will write itself into history. Well done the people of USA, well done Barack Obama, all de best.

Back to Malaysia. The prime time news last night had clips of people being interviewed on who should be elected president. The answer was invariably Obama, and the respondents were mostly the sons of the soil.

There is a limit to everything, even hypocrisy. How can any red blooded Malaysian, holding the concept of Ketuanan Melayu close to his heart, a firm believer in the importance of the contract of which we may not speak of, in any way or form, condone the acceptance of a mixed blood like Obama, or congratulate him and his fellow citizens, when they have so clearly ignored the rights of the indigenous people of that country, regardless of whether they are the first indigenous or 7th indigenous people to arrive.

This is an outrage of the highest order, and God forbid that something similar should happen within our sacred shores. I, for one will defend this country against such blind acceptance of a man on his worth alone, when a smidgen of intelligence should make it clear that it is his race and religion that is of utmost importance.

Barack Obama, the people of USA might be able to accept you, but you sir, should not even dream of running a country as great as mine, for you are the wrong race, the wrong colour and of the wrong religion, you pendatang.

Jeevindra Kumar

What’s wrong with Malaysia?

When Prometheus, bound by chains to have his liver devoured by an eagle everyday, undying, in eternal pain, was asked to place a gift to mankind, whom he loved so much he gave them the gift of fire knowing the punishment he will face, he in his wisdom placed in that box a gift so precious, so valuable, that his single gift offset each curse and burden placed in that box by all the other gods, jealous of mankinds success.

Pandora opened that box, and out flew war and disease, famine and gluttony, and all the myriad ills that still plague us today, but the last to leave that fateful box was Prometheus’s gift, not as well known as his earlier gift of fire but infinitely more precious. It was the gift of Hope.

What hope is there for Malaysia?

1. The so called Pakatan Rakyat governments can’t even form a shadow cabinet, 7 months after winning 5 states and after countless promises made and broken on forming the next federal government.

2. They cant even have a website that says “This is PakatanRakyat.com”. They are either lazy, stupid, divided or they just can’t give a damn, whichever it is, it’s not good for all of us that voted for them.

3. Barisan Nasional is dying from within and they still have their heads so far up Media Prima’s butt that they don’t know their left foot is already in the grave up to the neck.

4. The global economy is doing what it’s supposed to, which is go ‘thunk’. ‘thunk’ as it tumbles against the walls on its way down, but our economic ‘brains’ are still repeating the mantra ‘ Om.. Malaysia is fine.. Om’ taught to them by their grandfathers back when Keynes was still boinking his mates in the gentleman’s club.

5. The fourth estate which probably has a few thousand journalists. reporters, subeditors, editors and other creatures has to make do with a sum total of 7 brains between them, 3 of which are in citizen Nades’s suitcase. 

6. I am starting to get mildly irritated with what’s happening, which means that the rest of you should have started panicking about 3 years ago.

God save Malaysia, but if even You can’t do it, please make it quick and unexpected, let us all just wake up one day and find out that we have been annexed by Bukit Timah, because the rest of  Singapore did not want us.

Jeevindra Kumar

Economic meltdown? I told you so!!

Economic meltdown? I told you so!!

 

Worried about the headlines? You should be.

 

I quit my job on the 31^st of December 2005, because I wanted to protect my kith and kin from what I thought then, will be a recession of major proportions. Have I succeeded? Not yet. Am I in despair? Not yet. But enough about me, let’s talk about you.

 

Banks, hedge funds, insurance firms, brokerages, and stock markets (even entire countries i.e. Iceland), are collapsing left right and centre. Did you ever think this would happen? Why not? Far better minds than me have been warning of the fragility of the global economy for years. They have been getting more strident and detailed in their prophecy of doom for the past half decade, but most people paid them little or no heed at all. I’m sure there are some that are still clueless.

 

There is no single cause for this crisis, so there is no point in pointing fingers. It’s all of our faults. This is a calamity that is the fault of the entire human species. We chose fiat currencies over gold and silver, we chose bigger and better SUV’s to move our butts from A to B, we chose to eat and live like kings.

 

How bad will it get?

 

Grain reserves (food) are at levels so low globally, it’s not even funny. The central banks seem to be choosing to go down the road that Japan has already gone through, by setting things up for a deflationary depression, which will be very painful whichever way you look at it. The climate, sea levels and plate tectonics are continuing to change according to their cycles, which are beyond our ability to predict, except to say that the surface of this planet is becoming a tad more dangerous. The man on the street, whichever city that may be, is losing faith in his government and the experts, and rightly so, but this will also mean a concomitant and continuous rise in crime and anarchy. A lot of jobs will enter the endangered species list, especially if the job has nothing to do with the production, transportation, refining and retailing of food, energy, water, security, weapons, alcohol, drugs, and other things (like bicycles) that we cannot survive without. I could go on and on.

 

Should we panic?

 

No. Let’s look at the US of A. It’s about 20% of the global economy, and Obama notwithstanding; it’s up the proverbial creek. Guess which nation was 20% of the global economy 200 years ago? If you guessed China, you are close, now go a bit south and west. If your finger lands in India, you are right. So the US of A should bounce back, in a couple of hundred years or so. We have been through depressions and worse calamities before. What is at risk is not our lives, but our lifestyles.

 

How to survive this relatively unscathed?

 

You will need brains and balls. Brains to identify the opportunities and changes that you will have to make, and the balls to do them. Learn…

 

1. How to trade the global markets
2. How to hoard gold and silver
3. How to buy the right stocks when they are getting cheap, like now
4. How not to buy the home you live in and the car you drive by installments
5. How to grow your own food (just in case)
6. How to survive on different diets (insects can be yummy, with the right sauce, I hope) Vegetarianism helps as well.
7. Improve your immune system (very important, if you can’t drink tap water without falling ill, stick to beer)
8. How to ride a bicycle (in case oil goes to 200 bucks a barrel, which it still might)
9. How to watch less TV
10. How to read more non fiction (knowledge has the habit of being useful)
11. How to be nice to your neighbours ( just be nice to everyone, might safe your life someday)
12. How not to follow the herd (if everyone is selling, you must be buying, unless it’s LV bags and Armani coats they are selling, then I hope you had sold yours before they did)
13. How not to be superstitious
14. How to keep the faith.

 

There are tremendous opportunities now; I hope you can see them. Anyway, the winter we are in right now, won’t last, and spring will be here soon enough.  Good luck and God Bless.

 

Regards

Jeevindra Kumar

 

p.s. I am shooting this e mail out to everyone in my address book, so don’t reply unless you want to heap praise on me, or give me money.

Who decides for Malaysia?

Malaysian’s have a short memory.

They have forgotten that they hold the future of the country in their hands. They have forgotten that it is their actions, whether great or small, that has placed this country  on a new path.

Thay have forgotten this, and are now following the day to day developments of Anwar vs Badawi, as if the future of the country depends on this two.

This country deserves better than a politician, it deserves the everyday heroes, it’s citizens, to decide what will come to be tomorrow.

Malaysian’s must wake up to the fact that they are masters of this country, that the government and its various arms are mere extensions of the citizen’s will.

Malaysian’s must be able and willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that this country will achieve everything that it is capable of. They must watch closely and be willing to step in when their servants in the government step out of line and ignore the will of the people.

They must become worthy of this great land. They must make their will known. They must keep forcing the change that this country needs. They must not give up. They must not despair.