Friday 19 October 2012

Letter from Johore NGOs to the Johore people: Unite! People of Johore, Realize 3 Pressing Demands; Smash UMNO Hegemony, Form a Democratic United Front! [Updated: Comic & News]

Letter from Johore NGOs to the Johore people

Unite! People of Johore
Realize 3 Pressing Demands


Smash UMNO Hegemony
Form a Democratic United Front

Comic: BN Belongs to Dustbin of History!Created by: Ah Pei

Representatives from Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF MAKKAL SAKTHI) (Johor) and Friends of SUARAM (FOS) Working Committee (Johor) took a picture together after holding a press conference in Kelab Akhbar Cina Johor Selatan today (19 October 2012).
From left to right (front row - sitting): Stephin Micheal, Y. Mohan, Yong Siew Lee, Chen Xin
From left to right (standing): M. Suba, Kumaradevan a/l Muthusamy, Thirunavukkarasu, Segaran. S, Choo Shinn Chei, Goh Chee Horng


Introduction

The 12th General Election delivered a severe blow to BN. BN lost 5 states (namely, Penang, Kedah, Selangor, Kelantan, and Perak) to the opposition, and also lost its two-thirds majority in Parliament, though still holding on to the federal government. (The Perak State was subsequently snatched back by BN through manipulating the defection of Pakatan turncoats.)

The BN regime under Najib rolled out various political and socio-economic transformation programs with a view to prolonging its hegemonic rule that hinges on institutionalized racism. Under Najib’s BN, the laboring masses continue to be ruthlessly oppressed and exploited, while the ethnic minorities are subject to forced assimilation, or are excluded from enjoying the fruit of development, thereby sending the ethnic minorities to the depths of despair. The Indian community and the minorities in East Malaysia are cases in point.

Over the past 4 years, the broad masses of the people are still suffering under the BN’s hegemonic rule, corruption and abuse of power, ever rising cost of living, and marginalization in culture, education and religion of ethnic minorities.

Only when a general election is looming would the BN regime allocate meager sums as a sweetie, for the development of culture and education of ethnic minorities in order to assuage their widespread discontentment, and at the same time allow MCA, Gerakan, SUPP, MIC and PPP to claim credit for the allocations, in the hope of fishing votes and prolonging their political rule.

From the nasty experience of more than 50 years’ rule by BN, the oppressed ethnic minorities, especially the Indians in the peninsular Malaysia as well as the Dayaks, Kadazan-Dusuns and others in East Malaysia, have finally awakened.

Within the Chinese community, (except for those bigwigs with vested interests in the ruling regime and the upper strata of the community) wide-spread discontent towards UMNO-led hegemonic rule has never been more intense.

The Chinese primary schools and the Chinese independent secondary schools were established and have been maintained with huge sacrifices made by the forefathers of the Chinese community. The broad masses of the Chinese community have witnessed the gradual changes in character of these schools. They have learnt well of the true colours of MCA leaders and their cronies, who would not hesitate to sell out Chinese education for their personal gains and position.

People of all ethnic groups have realized that any democratic reform can only be brought about when various communities of any class, political party or religion do not entertain any illusion about the deceptive transformation programs of the BN/UMNO clique indulging in hegemonic rule. They must not harbour any illusion about the upper echelon of BN component parties’ intention to safeguard the interests of the various communities.

The people of various ethnic groups must unite, regardless of class, political party or religion, and be prepared to consign UMNO and BN (including its main component parties) to the dustbin of history, so that the popular aspirations for any democratic reform will become a reality.

For the coming 13th General Election, NGOs from various sectors have put forward “Civil Society 13GE (20) Demands” following discussions based on equal and democratic principles. These demands represent the common aspirations of people of all ethnic groups as well as their concrete requests in the light of current political, economic, social and cultural situation in Malaysia.

These demands constitute a reform agenda for a fairer and more democratic country, proposed by the non-partisan civil society to all democratic political parties and independent candidates. It is hoped that such demands will be agreed upon by all democratic political parties and independent candidates.

As a member of civil society striving for democracy and human rights, we, Friends of Suaram (FOS) Johor, will spare no effort to promote this reform agenda in the State of Johore. We are of the view that though the 20 demands represent a set of General Election demands, they are more akin to a “working agenda” of civil society for the next 20 to 30 years, as it covers far and wide the various aspects of life.

We feel that it is necessary to apply the spirit of these 20 demands to the concrete conditions of the State of Johore, since the people of Johore will constitute a democratic force in the southern part of Johore, aimed at capturing the stronghold of UMNO which regards Johore as its frontline.

Within the next 5 years or so, from the eve of the coming GE13 to the eve of the next following General Election, we propose to realize at least basically or partially the pressing Johore Demands.

After some discussions and studies, we together with several civil society groups, consolidate the numerous demands into 3 pressing demands. We hope that candidates of all democratic political parties and independent candidates will endorse them. We also urge the Johore people to vote for the candidates who have committed themselves to the Johore demands.

We firmly believe that people of all ethnic groups will abandon and reject the candidates of UMNO and BN component parties. The population has had enough of the bitter experience of 55 years’ hegemonic rule under the UMNO /BN. The Johore demands are concrete. The democratic political parties and independent candidates must honour their promises after winning the elections, to safeguard the interests of the people. We together with other civil society groups in Johore will oversee the performance of the elected state assemblymen, in order to ensure that they live up to their commitment to the Johore Demands.

1. Eliminate racial oppression and work towards equality for all ethnic groups.


Repeal the unequal provision in Article 153 of the Federal Constitution
Facts have substantiated that Article 153 of the Federal Constitution lays the legal basis for the UMNO-dominant BN ruling clique to practise institutionalized racism. It has created two classes of citizens, namely, Malays and non-Malays, resulting in national inequality and disharmony, thereby impeding and damaging nation-building and social development. Thus, Article 153 of the Federal Constitution has to be repealed in order to achieve unity among all ethnic groups as well as social harmony and prosperity of the country.
Abolish NEP and bumiputera quota system
Since 1970s, NEP and its related policies allow the BN ruling clique and its cronies to enrich themselves, and to create a few super-rich and well-connected Malay capitalists. But the broad masses of the Malay community at large remain poor and live in abject poverty.

The quota system favouring bumiputras is a sweetie for the Malay masses, and a tool to disrupt national unity. NEP and the quota system must therefore be abolished to stop brain drain and outflow of capital, so as to encourage inflow of talents and influx of capital instead.

Repeal s.17(1) of the Education Act 1996 and its related policies
s.17(1) of the current Education Act 1996 has been premised upon the “ultimate objective” of “one nation, one language, and one medium of instruction” (Malay) implemented since the 1950s. The existing Education Act and its related policies have led to confusion and fiasco.

In this era of China and India emerging as big powers, any attempt to eliminate totally the education conducted in Chinese and Tamil language in Malaysia (with a population of 6.96 million ethnic Chinese and 2.07 million ethnic Indian) is wishful thinking, and it is the height of absurdity.

Therefore, s.17(1) of the Education Act should be repealed. More Chinese primary schools must be established immediately in areas densely populated by the Chinese community, and more Tamil primary schools should also be established in Bukit Indah, Mount Austin, Kota Tinggi and other areas in Johore. Application for the revival of the Segamat Chinese Independent Secondary School must be approved, and United Examination Certificate (UEC) and the degree of the Southern College University should be fully recognized. Mother tongue education in Chinese and Tamil must be allocated with sufficient funds under the national Budget.

Respect and protect religious beliefs and custom of ethnic minorities
Although the Federal Constitution safeguards freedom of religion, UMNO-dominated BN government has been imposing unreasonable restrictions on this right. As a result, freedom of religion of ethnic minorities has been curtailed; statues and places of worship of minority groups demolished or the construction thereof prohibited. This has caused anxiety and resentment among the community.

The religious beliefs and custom of ethnic minorities should be respected and safeguarded, only then can racial harmony and unity be achieved. The country will then be able to enjoy stable development.

The Indian (Hindu) cemetery at Masai has hardly any more vacant burial land left. The state government should therefore allocate sufficient land for such purpose. This will go a long way to prevent Indian poor families from falling prey to loan sharks who collect exorbitant interest on loans taken for the purpose of defraying high cost of cremation. These poor families can hardly pay back the loans taken, and they are forced to lead a miserable life.

2. Stop “Project M” and eliminate source of corruption in law enforcement agencies

Stop “Project M” - prejudicial to the rights of our citizens
UMNO-led BN ruling clique has through “Project M” (Mahathir’s Project) legalized illegal immigrants in Sabah. Such project is now extended in its application to the peninsular Malaysia by way of legalizing more than 3 million illegal immigrants (according to conservative official statistics) giving them long-term work permits and even citizens’ identity cards.

This is undoubtedly a political ploy used by the UMNO-led BN ruling clique to inflate their votes in the coming General Election. We resolutely oppose such project being implemented in peninsular Malaysia, as it is highly prejudicial to the rights of our citizens. We demand that thorough investigations into this matter be conducted, removing suspicious votes from the electoral roll.

Root out the source of corruption in law enforcement agencies
Despite high influx of foreign workers, shortage of labour force in small and medium industries and the agricultural sector remains a pressing problem as a result of rent seeking and corruption in law enforcement agencies (such as the immigration department and the police) and profit grabbing by middlemen.

While bringing in foreign workers helps propel economic growth, any move on the part of the government and the law enforcement agencies must be monitored by the people, civil society and opposition parties. Employers should be allowed to apply direct to the relevant departments for employment of foreign workers, with a view to curbing corruption and exploitation.

3. The Johore people's interests must be protected from wanton land acquisition ("enclosure" operation) in the name of Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) project.

20% of the total profits derived from PIPC project and petrochemicals integrated development project under RAPID, should be used for the purpose of economic development and health care services in the state of Johore.

The government should minimize the environmental pollution in the process of producing petrochemical products. Pengerang residents adversely affected by the development project should be given adequate compensation, and should be appropriately resettled. The issue of relocating Chinese cemetery and Malay cemetery must be dealt with in an appropriate manner.

We are against groups well connected to the powers-that-be making huge profits from land acquisition ("enclosure" operation).
The government should ensure that the acquisition of land from Pengerang residents should be for public purposes only. The government should also prevent any group well-connected to the powers-that-be from making huge profits through resale of land acquired in the name of implementing development projects. The land acquisition process should be open and transparent, and above suspicion, to be monitored by civil society and opposition parties.

The people of Johore, Unite!
Form a Johore democratic united front, and overthrow the UMNO hegemonic rule

It is the highest aspirations of the populace to reject UMNO hegemonic rule - a prerequisite for realising the democratic reform in our country. We call upon all political parties, NGOs and individuals opposed to the UMNO hegemonic rule, to form a democratic united front in the State of Johore.

This democratic united front includes the three parties in Pakatan Rakyat, i.e. Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) and Democratic Action Party (DAP) as well as all parties, including Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM), Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), Human Rights Party (HRP), etc., NGOs and individuals from all walks of life who are opposed to the UMNO-BN rule.

Besides, we also welcome the higher echelon of leaders from BN component parties to pull out from BN, and all grassroots leaders and members from the BN component parties to spurn or reject BN if they are opposed to the corruption and the racist hegemony of UMNO-BN, and join the democratic united front.

We sincerely call upon all Johoreans from all walks of life to unite!
Together we put an end to the UMNO racist hegemonic rule, and form a democratic coalition government in the State of Johore!


This letter was jointly released by Friends of SUARAM (FOS) Working Committee (Johor) and Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF MAKKAL SAKTHI) (Johor) on 19 October 2012.

For any organisation that wishes to endorse, please contact:
Y. Mohan (019-710 2895)
Ang Pei Shan (013-770 8320)


For more information, please visit hindraf.org or sahabatrakyatmy.blogspot.com.




Updated news:
"Johor Demands" was officially handed over to leaders of 3 Pakatan Rakyat parties

Representatives from Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF MAKKAL SAKTHI Johor)("HINDRAF") and Friends of SUARAM (FOS) Working Committee Johor ("FOS") handed the "Letter from Johore NGOs to the Johore people" over to leaders from 3 Pakatan Rakyat parties at the dinner organised by DAP at Sutera Mall, Skudai on 28 October 2012. They accepted the memorandum with pleasure and took a group photo with us.
Front row (from left): Steven Choong [Deputy Secretary General of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR)], Abdul Kadir Sheikh Fadzir (former UMNO Supreme Council and former Cabinet Minister), Boo Cheng Hau (President of Democratic Action Party (DAP) Johore), Er Teck Hwa (DAP Member of the Parliament of Bakri constituency)
Back row (from left) : Liang Peck Kuan (FOS representative), security officer of the program (name is unknown), Yong Siew Lee, Goh Chee Horng (both are FOS representatives), Kumaradevan a/l Muthusamy (HINDRAF representative), Mohammad Sabu [Deputy Chairperson of Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS)] Stephin Micheal (HINDRAF representative), Ang Pei Shan (FOS representative)
Lim Kit Siang, Chairman of the Central Policy and Strategic Planning Commission DAP delivered a speech on the podium in front of the VIP table. After his speech, Kumaradevan a/l Muthusamy and Stephin Micheal (HINDRAF representatives) as well as Yong Siew Lee and Ang Pei Shan (FOS representatives) officially handed over the "Letter from Johore NGOs to the Johore people" to him and Lim Guan Eng (DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister).
On 19 and 20 October 2012, HINDRAF and FOS representatives also handed over the Letter to Steven Choong and Boo Cheng Hau respectively.

2 comments:

Jolly good as long the Hindraf people in the NGO dont do the "Indian this and Indian that Indian dance routine, as surely that has been a turn off and will continue to be.

I sincerely pray that our prayer will be answered. Never before had this call been more urging and profound. It is the best opportunity to siege the chance now and we must not loose it. With the dwelling of global economy and record debts accumulating and growing by the day,another 5 years to BN would certainly bring more hardships and sufferings to Malaysians. Ask yourself,what makes you think another 5 years to BN is going to make any changes when 53years only brought forth miseries and sufferings . Together,let us build a better future for ourselves and that of our generations to come. It is now or never, my plea to all rightful thinking fellow Malaysians. Thank you.

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工委会议决:将徐袖珉除名

人民之友工委会2020年9月27日常月会议针对徐袖珉(英文名: See Siew Min)半年多以来胡闹的问题,议决如下:

鉴于徐袖珉长期以来顽固推行她的“颜色革命”理念和“舔美仇华”思想,蓄意扰乱人民之友一贯以来的“反对霸权主义,反对种族主义”政治立场,阴谋分化甚至瓦解人民之友推动真正民主改革的思想阵地,人民之友工委会经过长时间的考察和验证,在2020年9月27日会议议决;为了明确人民之友创立以来的政治立场以及贯彻人民之友现阶段以及今后的政治主张,必须将徐袖珉从工委会名单上除名,并在人民之友部落格发出通告,以绝后患。

2020年9月27日发布



[ 漫画新解 ]
新冠病毒疫情下的马来西亚
舔美精神患者的状态

年轻一辈人民之友有感而作


注:这“漫画新解”是反映一名自诩“智慧高人一等”而且“精于民主理论”的老姐又再突发奇想地运用她所学会的一丁点“颜色革命”理论和伎俩来征服人民之友队伍里的学弟学妹们的心理状态——她在10多年前曾在队伍里因时时表现自己是超群精英,事事都要别人服从她的意愿而人人“惊而远之”,她因此而被挤出队伍近10年之久。

她在三年前被一名年长工委推介,重新加入人民之友队伍。可是,就在今年年初她又再故态复萌,尤其是在3月以来,不断利用部落格的贴文,任意扭曲而胡说八道。起初,还以“不同意见者”的姿态出现,以博取一些不明就里的队友对她的同情和支持,后来,她发现了她的欺骗伎俩无法得逞之后,索性撤下了假面具,对人民之友一贯的“反对霸权主义、反对种族主义”的政治立场,发出歇斯底里的叫嚣,而暴露她设想人民之友“改旗易帜”的真面目!

尤其是在新冠病毒疫情(COVID-19)课题上,她公然猖狂跟人民之友的政治立场对着干,指责人民之友服务于中国文宣或大中华,是 “中国海外统治部”、“中华小红卫兵”等等等等。她甚至通过强硬粗暴手段擅自把我们的WhatsApp群组名称“Sahabat Rakyat Malaysia”改为“吐槽美国样衰俱乐部”这样的无耻行动也做得出来。她的这种种露骨的表现足以说明了她是一名赤裸裸的“反中仇华”份子。

其实,在我们年轻队友看来,这名嘲讽我们“浪费了20年青春”[人民之友成立至今近20年(2001-9-9迄今)]并想要“拯救我们年轻工委”的这位“徐大姐”,她的思想依然停留在20年前的上个世纪。她初始或许是不自觉接受了“西方民主”和“颜色革命”思想的培养,而如今却是自觉地为维护美国的全球霸权统治而与反对美国霸权支配全球的中国人民和全世界各国(包括马来西亚)人民为敌。她是那么狂妄自大,却是多么幼稚可笑啊!

她所说的“你们浪费了20年青春”正好送回给她和她的跟班,让他们把她的这句话吞到自己的肚子里去!


[ 漫画新解 ]
新冠病毒疫情下的马来西亚
"公知"及其跟班的精神面貌

注:这“漫画新解”是与<人民之友>4月24日转贴的美国政客叫嚣“围剿中国”煽动颠覆各国民间和组织 >(原标题为<当心!爱国队伍里混进了这些奸细……>)这篇文章有关联的。这篇文章作者沈逸所说的“已被欧美政治认同洗脑的‘精神欧美人’”正是马来西亚“公知”及其跟班的精神面貌的另一种写照!




[ 漫画新解 ]
新冠病毒疫情下的马来西亚
"舔美"狗狗的角色

编辑 / 来源:人民之友 / 网络图库

注:这“漫画新解”是与《察网》4月22日刊林爱玥专栏文章<公知与鲁迅之间 隔着整整一个中国 >这篇文章有关联的,这是由于这篇文章所述说的中国公知,很明显是跟这组漫画所描绘的马来西亚的“舔美”狗狗,有着孪生兄弟姐妹的亲密关系。

欲知其中详情,敬请点击、阅读上述文章内容,再理解、品味以下漫画的含义。这篇文章和漫画贴出后,引起激烈反响,有人竟然对号入座,暴跳如雷且发出恐吓,众多读者纷纷叫好且鼓励加油。编辑部特此接受一名网友建议:在显著的布告栏内贴出,方便网友搜索、浏览,以扩大宣传教育效果。谢谢关注!谢谢鼓励!












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