Hindraf H-bomb blasted veneer off opposition multiracial mask

What was and has been amazing about the Hindraf rally on 25 November 2007?

What was amazing?

… the response of 30,000 uncles, aunties, aneh’s, aka’s, tambi’s and tangachee’s to the call by Hindraf to march to the British High Commission to hand over a petition. Such numbers in the response by a minority group despite police road blocks and other obstacles couldn't be anything but just amazing!

The frustration, pain and anger (at the arrogant and wanton destruction of a 100 year old temple on Divali’s eve) provided the plutonium, deuterium and tritium for its historic march of 25 November 2007.

Hindraf got its socio-economic-political H-bomb all primed up!

The unnecessary brutal actions by the Police to prevent the march provided the trigger that brought about the fusion, a mega thermonuclear blast felt around the world, and most certainly across the Indian Ocean. Locally, the radiation effect continues in devastating fashion ... I will discuss the unpleasant effect of the Hindraf H-radiation shortly.

The results of the Hindraf march exceeded the organisers’ expectation by a zillion times, thanks to the over-the-top heavy-handed treatment by the AAB government, a regrettable but predictable response.

The incompetent advisors have unwittingly magnified the government ethnocentric marginalisation of the Indian Malaysians instead of neutralising it – see Police helps Hindraf gain local & international attention.

Allowing Hindraf to conduct the march would have made it into nothing more than a peaceful ‘protest campaign organised by ‘fringe elements’ supposedly for a minority group in democratic tolerant Malaysia’ – alas, that was not to be, no, not in Boleh Land where clowns wear the crowns.

As for those ‘fringe elements’ who did a magnificent job marshalling supporters from the ranks of ‘mums and dads’, note that there was no high profile flamboyant personality involved or indeed required at all, not one who would only arrive when the arduous march through the intimidating phalanx of frowning FRU had concluded, so as to grab the spotlight and grandstand for political gains.

What has been amazing?

… I mentioned earlier that the Hindraf socio-economic-political H-bomb continues its devastating radiation effect locally.

I have to admit that what happened just before and after the Hindraf march had been totally unexpected.

Firstly, Malaysiakini reported that Anwar Ibrahim “… urged the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) to direct its grievances towards the ‘corrupt’ Umno-led Barisan Nasional government” but not Article 153 of the Constitution.

He also told Hindraf “to consider a more balanced and responsible approach to address its grievances”.

How would Hindraf be not balanced and not responsible in its approach of campaigning against Article 153?

Puzzled and annoyed by what I saw as his apparent protection of the ethnocentric marginalizing apartheid-ish Article 153, I question his sincerity in his recent (PKR) policy on the NEP.

Please see Anwar Ibrahim, Article 153 & Hindraf and Is Anwar Ibrahim backtracking on his policy on NEP?

Then I saw just prior to the march some so-called activists and staunch supporters of the Bersih rally just two weeks earlier, criticizing the Hindraf march as ‘chauvinistic’.

The kindest I can say of these so-called activists would be they couldn’t see the woods for the trees – yes, they couldn’t see the cruel poverty, unjust marginalization and intolerant and contemptuous* treatment of the Hindu religion suffered by a segment of Malaysians, for their silly selfish pedantic criticism of Hindraf being not ethnic-inclusive in its campaign against poverty. See Hindraf stabbed in back!

*even the top MIC Minister, mind you, a cabinet minister was given a contemptuous 'flick' by mere city hall enforcers

Then Norman Fernandez wrote a letter to Malaysiakini showing the hypocrisy of ABIM. What Fernandez said of the Islamic Youth NGO’s double standards was “...Dalam menuding jari terhadap Hindraf, Abim seolah-olah sengaja melupa perhimpunan agung Umno 2006” meaning ... ABIM pointing a finger at Hindraf [for racist seditious statements] but (as if deliberately) forgetting such racist seditious utterances at the UMNO General Assembly in 2006.

ABIM uttered not a word about the UMNO racist comments during the political party's 2006 general assembly.

Read Fernandez letter to Malaysiakini titled Abim tegur Hindraf, tapi tidak perwakilan Umno

Kaytee also did a wee canvassing on my own re the Berish-Hindraf dichotomy, and was shocked by one response which actually laid the blame for the violence on the Indians.

I have read yet another blogger condemning the Indians’ so-called violence in the Hindraf march while he had condemned the police violence in the Bersih rally.

I don’t know whether it’s appropriate to compare the police treatment of Bersih against that of Hindraf, but dear readers, you work it out yourself.

My conclusion is that Hindraf has achieved many things, one of which was to strip the veneer off the ‘face’ of opposition/NGO so-called multiracial fraternity.

The Hindraf H-mega-blast has shown that it was a wafer-thin veneer where beneath, all the old prejudices probably still lurk in silence, waiting eagerly to re-emerge.

While I still support the declared aims of Bersih, namely for a fair and clean election process, I now believe it was hijacked by certain politicians for their own interests, and in that, the Hindraf rally was a more sincere campaign, and because it was untainted, more to be supported.

See what I wrote in 25 November 2007 where its last paragraph reads:

The explosion of our H-synergy
Tore away masks of hypocrisy
Ripping to shreds the snow white
Fleece of ethnic wolves, howling
At black sheep not cukup Bersih
Not even of de facto human status
To merit the march in messianic
Footsteps to the Arc de Triomphe

As a blogger friend said in despair of Bersih: “Many in the opposition are just as rotten as the BN people.”