Such a bloody incident, indicates that there is something wrong with the system. Indeed, it sent a strong message to the government. A few months later, just days before Thaipusam, in the presence of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the Indian community gathered to show their opposition to HINDRAF’s actions. During the assembly, the Prime Minister announced that Thaipusam would be a national holiday.
The claims forwarded by HINDRAF are unfounded due to the fact that ethnic cleansing is never practiced in this country. Such accusations are seditious in nature, and if left unchecked, will sow the seeds of hatred amongst multiracial Malaysians.
HINDRAF was born as a result of some frustrated Indian professionals, particularly lawyers. Their claims are totally baseless and the language of their accusations are very harsh. The United Nations defines ethnic cleansing as “rendering an area ethnically homogeneous by using force or intimidation to remove from a given area persons of another ethnic or religious groups”. Thus, based on this definition, any fool can see that such inhuman treatment has never been inflicted upon any race in Malaysia.
Nevertheless, there is a grain of truth in the issue of Indians lagging behind economically. Yet to claim that Indians are being marginalized and as such condemned to poverty, is a lie. There are other ethnic groups, particularly the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, who are in dire need of ‘boosters’ from the government. Many of the native Sabahans and Sarawakians are still impoverished; perhaps it is time we turn our attention towards our brothers in East Malaysia.
The crux of the issue lies in one’s attitude. The ‘Attitude’ of a person is a powerful tool in deciding the fate of his life. Being rich or poor is not the work of fate, but it is the result of one’s consistent effort. In my residential area, there are three young Indians, each on bicycles carrying pails of water early every morning to clean cars three times a week. They charge RM35 per car for their services. I wonder how much they earn. Let us do a simple calculation. If one person has 10 customers per month and only needs 10 minutes to wash and clean each car, this means that he takes only about two hours a day to finish cleaning those cars. Therefore, if one man gets a minimum of 10 cars and works for 8 hours per month, in total he manages to collect RM350. If we calculate the income of all three boys, the total is RM1050, or RM132 per hour. We see therefore, that this is higher than a 5K salary earned by an officer in the public sector who works 160 hours per month for RM32 per hour. Clearly, wealth may still be generated even though one only has a ‘basikal tua’, and armed with several tattered cloths and a pail of water. All you need is patience, courage and hard work – a set of qualities that no government in this world can offer or take away.
Based on the narrative I have shared above, the economy is there for everyone, but it is only for those who posses good attitudes and strategies. Many people nowadays lack the ability to pelan their lives. Many among us only see life in terms of material gains and quick solutions. The market is created by people like us. In fact, the demonstrators clad in yellow shirts during the BERSIH demonstrations had to each pay RM10 for their yellow uniforms. If there were 20,000 demonstrators as claimed, RM200,000 was easily collected. I wonder who is making this money?
Demonstration are not good for this country. Malaysian history has proved this to be true. Ignorant participants of these illegal demonstrations end up battling the legal system. To them it is a noble struggle but to us they fight alone.
A man just arrived from Kuching and took a taxi to his hotel. It happened that the driver was a young Indian who has just started a family and was bestowed with a 9-month baby boy. The passenger asked him about the incident involving HINDRAF and he immediately said he was against it. The man asked him why he felt so displeased knowing that the group apparently fought for his community. His reply to the man was simple, “who is going to feed my family and what more do I want?”.
The history of Islam has illustrated how non Muslims were treated. The Jews ran away to Muslim lands to escape persecution. The tradition of Islam has recorded a wealth of rules and examples concerning how Muslim rulers in the past justly treated the non-Muslims. Such examples are worth application and study.
Islam is a revealed religion calling for peace. It has never discriminated based on race and religion. Islam recognizes the central principle of ‘no compulsion in religion’ and the precept ‘to you your religion is yours and to me mine’. This understanding must be associated with the principal objectives of human existence and diversity which is ‘to know each other [different races]’. Only by knowing, being sensitive and loving, can mutual respect and cooperation exist within this diversity. This is Islam, the foundation of culture and good governance.
Based on the Rukunegara, we understand that this country was founded on religious guidance and loyalty to the Kings and the law. Islam is the official religion, while the King is the Head of the state. The government is no more than a loyal executor of that which has been entrusted to it. We as citizens are subject to what has been written and interpreted by the wise among us.
In the case of the Indian community, I would say it is as mush an intra-racial matter. The ethnically based party, MIC appears to have failed to engage HINDRAF’s leaders to solve their problems. Due to ignorance and irresponsibility, HINDRAF took matters into their own hands by manipulating the ignorant making unfounded accusations for political purposes. Perhaps, HINDRAF was over confident given to the fact that it successfully filed a class action suit at the Royal Court of Justice in London demanding that the British Government pay compensation amounting US4 trillion. As citizen, I wonder why so much money is being demanded when we know that ‘a fool and is money are soon parted’. Why not collaborate with government agencies instead of going against them?. Why involve foreign governments when those involve are all Malaysian Indian whose protection is given by our nation? HINDRAF has miscalculated. Those lawyers who support their (HINDRAF’s) motives are not as bright as claimed.