Hindraf Chair Waytha Moorthy's rep
to speak at the Forum
to speak at the Forum
co-organised by 3 Johor NGOs
The 2nd Media Statement
12th March 2012
 |
| Photo of Fang Pei Fen (right), representative of the Organising Committee, with Waytha Moorthy after a discussion in Strand Hotel, Singapore. |
The 3 NGOs, namely, Friends of Suaram (FOS) Working Committee Johor, Hindraf Johor and Persahabatan Semparuthi Johor will hold a forum on 18 March 2012 (Sunday) from 2:00pm to 6:00pm at Jotic Auditorium, Johor Bahru, on the issues of "Article 153 of the Federal Constitution and the equality of ethnic communities", and also a book launch regarding a new book written by Dr. Kua Kia Soong and translated by Mr. Yang Pei Keng: Patriots and Pretenders - The Malayan Peoples' Independence Struggle.
Dr Kua and Dr Azmi Sharom have agreed to be the speakers at the Forum. Their papers will be made available at the Forum.
Mr. Waytha Moorthy, Hindraf's Chairman, acceded to the joint request of FOS representative Ms Fang and Hindraf Johor chairman, Mr. Y.Mohan, that Hindraf National Advisor Mr. N. Ganesan would deliver a speech on his behalf. Apart from that, Waytha Moorthy will present a short paper, to be read by his another appointed representative at the forum.
Mr. Waytha Moorthy is now in exile because of his playing a leading role in Hindraf, an organization of the Indian community in putting up resistance against BN/UMNO government.
After receiving the invitation from the co-organisers of the forum, and seizing the opportunity of being present in Singapore via India, he made an appointment to meet the organising committee of the forum at 8:00pm on 3 March 2012 in Strand Hotel, Singapore. They had a cordial and friendly conversation.
When the Organising Committee requested Waytha Moorthy through email on 9 March 2012, to have a direct dialogue with the audience via the internet video, he expressed his gratitude for such invitation. He felt that it would be better for him to speak directly to the audience when he returns to Malaysia on the 5th anniversary of Hindraf rally on 25 November this year.
Ganesan, Azmi Sharom, and Kua Kia Soong as speakers
The main theme of the forum is: Article 153 of the Federal Constitution and the equality of all ethnic communities. Although various scholars and social workers have offered incisive opinions and appropriate solutions, their opinions and proposals have never been accorded fair treatment by those in power.
Ever since Hindraf raised in recent time their core demands both at home and abroad, and openly waged an unyielding struggle against the UMNO-dominated Barisan government, a number of issues have come to the fore.
Whether Article 153 is the root cause of the institutional racism in our country; how to deal with such root cause, which has brought about untold sufferings among the various communities and other related issues, have become serious problems that cannot be ignored or circumvented by the various strata of all ethnic groups. Such problems or issues must be given top priority and due consideration.
We have invited three renowned scholars and experts to present their views on the relevant issues from different perspectives. They are:
| • | National Adviser Ganesan. The title of his speech is "Institutionalised Racism". |
| • | Associate Professor of Law studies of Universiti Malaya Dr. Azmi Sharom. The title of his speech is "Article 153 Myth and Reality". |
| • | Director of SUARAM Dr Kua Kia Soong. The title of his speech is "Malaysian Patriots and Pretenders". |
The forum will be conducted in both Chinese and English. In view of the fact that the audience is from different language groups, and for ease of comprehension among the audience, a short summary in Chinese, Tamil or English will be provided if a speaker uses a different language.
Chinese Rendition of Kua's Book by Yang Pei Keng;
Book Launch by Lee Ban Chen
FOS Working Committee Johor will also hold a book launch of the Chinese rendition by Mr. Yang Pei Keng of Dr. Kua's book Patriots and Pretenders - The Malayan Peoples' Independence Struggle. The book launch will be by the renowned bi-lingual columnist Mr. Lee Ban Chen.
In addition, FOS Johor has also invited a new-generation columnist Yong Sun Yong to write 2 reviews (in Chinese) on Kua's new book translated into Chinese. The first review: Authoring history of the national independence by a patriot, and the second review: History of the patriots as a mirror will be made available on 11 March 2012 and 17 March 2012 respectively, in sahabatrakyatmy.blogspot.com (FOS Working Committee Johor's blog).
We sincerely invite members of all ethnic communities from all walks of life, who are concerned with the democracy and human rights in our country to attend the forum. Admission is free. For further details, please contact:
1. FOS Johor / Ms Fang Pei Fen (016-7782707);
2. HINDRAF Johor / Mr Y. Mohan (019-7102895);
3. Persahabatan Semparuthi Johor / Mr E.Silvarajah (016-7334469).
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