UMNO killing the last few Indian mini markets. The UMNO Temerloh Municipal Council is going for G. Subramaniam’s mini market in Temerloh by charging him for the third time in three weeks after having stopped giving him his due mini market licence with effect from 2005 (The Star 5/12/09 at page N3). This is how racist and religious extremist UMNO can get.

But to the contrary on the ground UMNO gets their Indian Mandore Deputy Minister to say that there are 1,400 trade opportunities available in Malaysia and that Indians should move beyond sari shops and restaurants business (The Star 9/12/09 at page N 47) and as the usual political rhetoric of asking the Indians to “make full use of the opportunities”.

But in reality as seen above UMNO is even killing the existing mini markets business and scores of Indian scrap metal, car wash, food stall and other petty trading business.

Letter to Prime Minister and Minister of Housing and Local Government dated on 1/12/2009

YAB/YB

Re: Indian mini market denied licence. (Tip of iceberg of Indians denied licences).

We refer to the above matter where Mr.G.Subramaniam, a longstanding and dying breed of Indian mini market owner at Jalan Besar, Lanchang, Pahang was denied his right to continue with his 26 year old mini market business, by being denied his license. (The Star 25/11/09 at page N4). Even the Indian MIC ADUN for Sabai meeting the President of the Temerloh Municipal Council did not work (NST 28/11/09 at page N22). The President refuses to take the instructions of this ADUN boss because the boss is an Indian. This is a fact and reality even at the lowest levels of government administration in Malaysia. Even though Mr.G Subramaniam had his license for 25 years because he is a  businessman of old. Almost all the current generation Indians have been denied not only mini market but the various licenses to do business.

Over the years we have received thousands of complaints from the Malaysian Indians who have been denied licenses to do even petty trading vis a vis denied business opportunities. In the 2010 Budget RM 8.8 Billion has been allocated for the small and Medium Scale( SME) Entrepreneurs to benefit 46,000 SMEs,’ and RM 200 Million for Tekun small business loans (NST and Star Headlines 23/10/09).

But let alone these loans even the basic license to do business has been denied. To the contrary thousands of illegal immigrants especially Indonesians  and Rohingya, Muslim Myanmars and Bangladeshis are allowed to trade and do business freely for example  at the Pasar Borong Selayang, Kerinchi food stalls, in numerous fruit and food stalls in pasar malams etc nationwide.

Article 8 of the Federal Constitution provides for equality before the law and the Malaysian Indians in particular should not be excluded from the National mainstream development of Malaysia. We note that there are almost zero Indians owned outlets, for example Petronas , Shell, Esso Stations, KFC, Mc Donalds, A & W outlets, low rentals Highway Rest area food tidbit and fruit stalls and the various Municipal Council Mara, UDA etc food court and other shop lots nationwide.

The mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan reports the creation of 67,533 new (Malay/Muslim) entrepreneurs, 10,618 micro, small and medium sized (Malay/Muslim) industries, upgraded, 24,449 micro businesses (UM 26/6/08 at page 20)

But almost all of the deserving Indians have been excluded. Why exclude the Indians in especially these areas of the national mainstream development of Malaysia?

The crime and gangsterism problem among the Indians can be drastically brought down if only if the Indians are also given the very same business opportunities like the Malay Muslims.

Shooting dead suspected Indian criminals is not the answer. Giving them these business opportunities as given to the Malay Muslims is the answer and certainly the way forward. We are saddened that even after 52 years of independence and Malaysia having developed so well to the point of having the world’s tallest twin towers, and a black Obama being elected the President of the world’s most powerful country, we are still plagued by racism and religious extremism at every level of society.

We hereby urge your good self to direct the Lanchang Municipal Council to issue the yearly renewed Mini Market license to the aforementioned Mr. G. Subramaniam backdated from 2005 to 2009 and continuing indefinitely thereafter.

We urge your good self to issue a directive to especially all the City, Municipal and Local Councils and all other government business regulating authorities to stop their direct and indirect discriminatory practices against in particular the deserving Malaysian Indians but to grant them the necessary licenses and permits and facilitate their businesses accordingly.

Kindly revert to us accordingly.

Thank You,

Your Faithfully,

…………………………….

P.Uthayakumar

Secretary General (pro-tem)

This new Industrial Building System (IBS) technology has been entrusted by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU) to MARA to attract Bumiputra contractors to get IBS status. (Ref: 22/11/09 Mingguan Malaysia page 13)

This UMNO’s racist and religious extremist policies are against Article 8 of the Federal Constitution which provides for Equality before the law.

There are yet again zero Indians that we know of in this IBS Industry.

S.JAYATHAS

HRP Information Chief

Almost zero Indian traders out of 1, 500 at Pudu Market.

(Chinese) Hawkers and Petty Traders Association and Bumiputera Traders Associations’ Presidents Tan Ker Chiang and Abdullah Mohamad said “they did not want hawkers to sub let their stalls to third parties”. (Refer The Star metro 16/11/2009 at page M 9)

Note: By sub letting these stalls at this Pudu market, scores of other markets and food stalls, even at the lucrative highway rest area food shops, restaurants and tid bit stalls, pasar malam, pasar tani and roadside stalls, the poor and working class Indians have been denied hundreds of thousands all of these petty trading opportunities.

The UMNO controlled Malaysians government intends these working class Indians to take up and/or remain unskilled and to do menial jobs, and unskilled like security guards, lorry drivers, taxi drivers, toilet cleaners, general workers and unskilled workers.

This working class Indians would not be given the training, licences loans and opportunities to do business (as is given to almost all the deserving Malay muslims) with the view for them (the Indians) to gain upward mobility opportunities and to be part and parcel of the national mainstream development of Malaysia.

So never mind if the Malay and Chinese traders sub-let their stalls to foreigners. It is “merely the Indians who would lose out” after all. So UMNO does not care! So why should it matter to UMNO! 

Note: Action taken to weed out these foreign petty traders is a rare occasion. There are hundreds of thousands of other such foreign “businessmen” in Malaysia who have actually taken up the jobs petty trading and business opportunities from especially the working class Indians.

P. Uthayakumar

www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com