SUHAKAM
Malaysia’s Human Rights OMISSION.
(especially for the ethnic minority Indians)
· SUHAKAM irresponsible and serves as a tool of Government
· Evidence of cover up and collusion to do damage control with Government
· Serious Human Rights violations affecting the Minority ethnic Indian community conveniently overlooked
· Indian commissioners used by SUHAKAM to “probe” Indian issues – only to mislead the community.
We call upon participants of the Asia Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institutions to ponder into these facts and politely enquire from SUHAKAM what is their real role.
What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?
-Mahatma Gandhi-
HINDRAF
135-3 JALAN TOMAN 7
KEMAYAN SQUARE 70200
SEREMBAN
06-7672995/6
+44-7939355981
HINDRAF
135-3 JALAN TOMAN 7
KEMAYAN SQUARE 70200
SEREMBAN
06-7672995/6
+44-7939355981
29th July 2008.
- From 8th March 2001 to 22 March 2001 five(5) ethnic Indians were killed in cold blood and about 100 others were injured in Kg. Medan most seriously in what we believe to be an UMNO controlled state sponsored operation by the previous premier Mahathir for a political purpose in the then prevailing political circumstances. Despite being on record – at the worst case scenario of a human rights tragedy in Malaysia this was a blatant omission by Suhakam and the Malaysian authorities.
- For fifteen days in a row a group of Malay Muslims from outside Kg Medan were slashing and killing any and every Indian they see in and around Kg Medan. Despite writing an SOS letter to the Prime Minister and Suhakam, they turned a blind eye. The Malaysian Police refused to offer protection to these Indians and allowed the violence, killings and slashing to go on in a very small working class neighbourhood of merely 10sq. kilometres. The state authorities official version is that it was “racial clashes” but our finding was that it was a state sponsored mysterious racial attacks where almost all of the victims were Indians. Despite Police Watch and Human Rights Committee having written about fifty (50)letters, full scale memorandums and three meetings with Suhakam, Suhakam and the other Malaysian authorities omitted to :-
1) Suhakam refused to hold an Inquiry. After one year of persuasion, we filed a civil suit against Suhakam to compel them to hold an Inquiry. Suhakam engaged the premier Legal Firm in the country and succeeded in striking out our application without even having to reply to the very serious allegations of murder and previous bodily harm in what appeared to be a state sponsored operation. Thus was the decision of the High Court of Malaya at Kuala Lumpur. Suhakam now changes its position and says that as the matter is pending in court they cannot hold an Inquiry. But when we offered to withdraw the suit to enable Suhakam to hold an Inquiry it was ignored.
2) The Attorney General refused to hold an Inquest into the killings of the five Indians and neither was anyone successfully prosecuted and convicted for these five murders and the one hundred cases of previous bodily harm.
3) The Malaysian Courts too refused to hold an Inquest into these killings.
4) The UMNO controlled Malaysian Government refused to hold a Royal Commission of Inquiry despite numerous calls to do so.
5) A Government White Paper was promised but which never saw the light of the day. This Kg Medan tragedy alone qualifies to be a form of “ethnic cleansing” more so when the Malaysian government have refused to investigate or reply. Then when this allegation gets international attention they arrest the Hindraf lawyer under the ISA without trial.
- Suhakam in particular has never spoken nor raised but has chosen to ignore and abandon even the worst cases of human rights violation concerning the Indians as per our 18 point demands submitted to the Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi vide a memorandum dated 12/08/07, the gist of which are enclosed as appendix 1
- Suhakam in fact bent backwards and even did damage control for the Kemta prison authorities who denied medication to Hindraf legal adviser P. Uthayakumar who has since 13/12/07 been detained without trial under the draconian ISA leading Mr Utayakumar to be hospitalised. Suhakam again played its “ racial card” by using their Indian Commissioner Datuk’ Siva Subramaniam to hold secret and close door inquiry within the confines of Kemta Prison under the direction of three member’s of Malaysia’s Police Special Branch, were present. Others present were three Suhakam officers, four doctors who treated Mr P. Uthayakumar, the Prison’s Director General, Kemta Prison Director and about everybody else except Mr P. Uthayakumar. This Suhakam Commissioner did not even bother to or ask to hear about or meet Mr P.Uthayakumar but immediately after the said “Inquiry” spoke to the press and Malaysia’s NTV7 saying that Mr P.Uthayakumar was healthy and happy with his medication. The said Suhakam commissioner there after cleared the Kemta prison authorities of any wrong doing and to “close the file”, thus Suhakam Human Rights Omission.
- Please refer to appendix 2
- SUHAKAM failed to enquire into the gross abuse of powers by the Attorney General who had trumped up Criminal Charges of attempted murder on 31 peaceful worshippers at Batu Caves temple who were accused to be participants of the illegal assembly of November 25th 2007 rally organised by HINDRAF.
- SUHAKAM failed to make a stand on the Indian participants of the November 25th 2007 demonstration as participants of peaceful assembly who were legitimately voicing their grievances.
- SUHAKAM failed to condemn the excessive use of force by the riot police on Indian participants at the November 25th Demonstrations.
- SUHAKAM Chairman deliberately refused to take up the challenge of a 5 year old young girl who politely invited him to join her to promote Human Rights and did not even bother to reply to her hand written letter.
- Enclosed a typed version of the letter by Vwaishhnnavi enclosed as appendix 3
P. Waytha Moorthy
Chairman
HINDRAF
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