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The Hindu American Foundation
(HAF) wrote letters to Malaysian authorities regarding the destruction of Hindu temples and violation of human rights of Malaysian Hindus.
Letter to Malaysian Embassy
Dear Editor,
November 24, 2007
H.E. Dato’ Ghazzali bin Sheikh Abdul Khalid
Embassy of Malaysia
3516 International Court, N.W.
Washington, DC. 20008
United States of America
Telephone: (202) 572-9700
Fax: (202) 572-9882
E-mail: malwash@kln.gov.my
Your Excellency Dato’ Ghazzali bin Sheikh Abdul Khalid:
I write to protest the destruction of Hindu temples by Malaysian state government officials, and your government’s refusal to allow Hindus to protest such temple destruction. These actions by your government targeting the minority Hindu community are an unfortunate reminder to the world of the serious threat to human rights of minorities in Malaysia.
Some of the Hindu/Indian leaders who were spearheading the effort to protest government action have been arrested on the grounds of sedition. Reuters reports that “Malaysian police swooped on Friday (November 23) on organizers of a planned protest by minority ethnic Indians, arresting them for sedition and warning of racial strife if the rally went ahead as planned at the weekend” (http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2007-11-23T104302Z_01_KLR160541_RTRUKOC_0_US-MALAYSIA-PROTEST.xml). Hindu Americans take strong exception to such provocative police action and deem it an assault on the human rights of minorities in Malaysia.
We urge you to allow the gathering of Malaysian Hindus on November 25, 2007 to submit a petition to the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. The petition refers to the class action lawsuit filed by the Malaysian Indian community against the Government of the United Kingdom for its failure to protect the minority Indian community's rights when it drafted the Constitution of Malaysia 50 years ago.
Unfortunately, your government restricts Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association contrary to Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and Article 10 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution. Consequently, the application filed by Malaysian Indians to hold gatherings was arbitrarily rejected by the police.
Your government has also tried to suppress a campaign launched by a Non-Governmental Organization, the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) to obtain 100,000 signatures in support of a civil suit against the Government of the United Kingdom. HINDRAF has accused your officials of intimidating and instilling fear in the Indian community. The intimidating tactics of your officials include the following:
a) Threat of arrest under the draconian Internal Security Act.
b) Threat to demolish temples (if gatherings are held in the temples).
c) Threat of arrest and criminal prosecution of venue owners for aiding in holding events.
d) Sealing of temples and all access roads leading to the temples.
e) Placing hundreds of riot police fully armed near the temple premises, etc.
We urge you to pay heed to the urgent calls of the Hindu minority community. Temple destruction should be stopped forthwith, and a high-level committee should be set up to systematically deal with issues relating to land on which temples stand, and to the rights of Hindus to worship at their temples. The public protest by Malaysian Hindus on Sunday, November 25, 2007 should not be thwarted.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mihir Meghani, M.D.
President, Hindu American Foundation
Letter to Malaysian Inspector General of Police
November 21, 2007
Y.Bhg TAN SERI MUSA BIN HASSAN
Inspector General of Police
d/a Ibu Pejabat Polis DiRaja Malaysia
Jalan Bukit Aman, Kuala Lumpur
FAX: 60-22731326
Dear Mr. Musa Bin Hassan,
On October 30, 2007 the 100-year-old Maha Mariamman Temple in Padang Jawa was demolished by Malaysian authorities. Following that demolition, Works Minister and head of the Malaysian Indian Congress Samy Vellu, who is of Indian origin, said that Hindu temples built on government land were being demolished despite his appeals to the various state chief ministers. According to Mr. Vellu, the Hindu community had no choice in the past but to build their temples on government-owned land as they did not own any land of their own to build the temples. He said that the Malaysian government should not penalize people who merely wished to practice their religion.
According to local newspaper reports, four people were hurt and dozens detained following scuffles between devotees of the Mariamman temple and the city authorities.
Such temple destructions in Malaysia have been reported in the 2006 Hindu Human Rights Report published by the Hindu American Foundation (See: http://hafsite.org/pdf/HHR2006.pdf [6.5M]). We note that the Hindu population has face increased discrimination and intimidation, including the destruction of temples and places of worship in the recent past. The Malaysian government has continued to treat pre-independence era Hindu temples differently than mosques from the same era, and has given preference to mosques in the allocation of public funds and lands.
Following the latest temple destruction, we urge you, as the Chief of Police, to allow the gathering of Malay Hindus on November 25, 2007 to submit a petition to the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. The petition refers to the class action suit filed by the Malaysian Indian community against the Government of the United Kingdom for its failure to protect the minority Indian community rights when it drafted the Constitution of Malaysia 50 years ago.
The Malay Hindu petition points out that the Malaysian government restricts Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association contrary to Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and Article 10 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution, and that the application filed by Malay Indians to hold gatherings has been arbitrarily rejected by the police.
Following what seems to be government instructions, the police has also tried to suppress a campaign launched by a Non-Government Organization, the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) to obtain 100,000 signatures in support of a civil suit against the Government of the United Kingdom. HINDRAF has accused police officials of intimidating and instilling fear in the Indian community, and the police tactics have included the following:
a) Threat of arrest under the draconian Internal Security Act.
b) Threat to demolish temples (if gatherings are held in the temples).
c) Threat of arrest and criminal prosecution of venue owners for aiding in holding events.
d) Sealing of temples and all access roads leading to the temples.
e) Placing hundreds of riot police fully armed near the temple premises, etc.
We urge you to stop the campaign of intimidation and threat against Malaysian Hindus. We have urged your Prime Minister to issue orders to stop temple destruction forthwith and that a high-level committee should set up to systematically deal with issues relating to land on which temples stand, and to the rights of Hindus to worship at their temples.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mihir Meghani, M.D.
President, Hindu American Foundation
Letter to Malaysian Prime Minister
November 21, 2007
RT. HON. DATO’ SERI ABDULLAH AHMAD BADAWI
Prime Minister of Malaysia And Minister of Internal Security
Block Utama, Bangunan Perdana Putra, Pusat Pentadbiran Kerajaan Persekutuan,
62502 Putrajaya, Malaysia
Fax 03-88883444
Email: ppm@pmo.gov.my, abdullah@kdn.gov.my
Dear Hon. Prime Minister,
On October 30, 2007 the 100-year-old Maha Mariamman Temple in Padang Jawa was demolished by Malaysian authorities. Following that demolition, Works Minister and head of the Malaysian Indian Congress Samy Vellu, who is of Indian origin, said that Hindu temples built on government land were being demolished despite his appeals to the various state chief ministers. According to Mr. Vellu, the Hindu community had no choice in the past but to build their temples on government-owned land as they did not own any land of their own to build the temples. He said that the Malaysian government should not penalize people who merely wished to practice their religion.
According to local newspaper reports, four people were hurt and dozens detained following scuffles between devotees of the Mariamman temple and the city authorities.
Such temple destructions in Malaysia have been reported in the 2006 Hindu Human Rights Report published by the Hindu American Foundation (see: http://hafsite.org/pdf/HHR2006.pdf [6.5M]). We note that the Hindu population face increased discrimination and intimidation, including the destruction of temples and places of worship. Your government has continued to treat pre-independence era Hindu temples differently than mosques from the same era, and your government has given preference to mosques in the allocation of public funds and lands.
Following the latest temple destruction, we urge you to allow the gathering of Malay Hindus on November 25, 2007 to submit a petition to the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. The petition refers to the class action suit filed by the Malaysian Indian community against the Government of the United Kingdom for its failure to protect the minority Indian community rights when it drafted the Constitution of Malaysia 50 years ago.
The Malay Hindu petition points out that your government restricts Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association contrary to Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) and Article 10 of the Malaysian Federal Constitution, and that the application filed by Malay Indians to hold gatherings has been arbitrarily rejected by the police.
Your government has also tried to suppress a campaign launched by a Non-Government Organization, the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) to obtain 100,000 signatures in support of a civil suit against the Government of United Kingdom. HINDRAF has accused your officials of intimidating and instilling fear in the Indian community, and the official tactics of the government include the following:
a) Threat of arrest under the draconian Internal Security Act.
b) Threat to demolish temples (if gatherings are held in the temples).
c) Threat of arrest and criminal prosecution of venue owners for aiding in holding events.
d) Sealing of temples and all access roads leading to the temples.
e) Placing hundreds of riot police fully armed near the temple premises, etc.
We urge you to stop the conservative slant of policies on religious and cultural issues, and pay heed to the urgent calls of the Hindu minority community. Temple destruction should be stopped forthwith and a high-level committee should set up to systematically deal with issues relating to land on which temples stand, and to the rights of Hindus to worship at their temples.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mihir Meghani, M.D.
President, Hindu American Foundation
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