Indians have talked enough, and petitioned enough - but haven't acted enough. "So, let us now act!" This was the position taken by a number of speakers at a meeting of Indian NGOs last night to declare their opposition to the Malay literature textbook 'Interlok'.
Speaker after speaker called for firm action to push the government to remove the book from the Form Five syllabus.The meeting then formed a nine-member Interlok Action Committee to work on the matter.
The meeting of representatives from the Indian NGOs was held at the headquarters of the Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) in Petaling Jaya. Some 70 representatives from more than 50 NGOs attended the meeting which lasted more than two hours.The MHS has been unequivocal on its stand on 'Interlok'.
Speaker after speaker called for firm action to push the government to remove the book from the Form Five syllabus.The meeting then formed a nine-member Interlok Action Committee to work on the matter.
The meeting of representatives from the Indian NGOs was held at the headquarters of the Malaysia Hindu Sangam (MHS) in Petaling Jaya. Some 70 representatives from more than 50 NGOs attended the meeting which lasted more than two hours.The MHS has been unequivocal on its stand on 'Interlok'.
'Book must be withdrawn'
"The book must be withdrawn as it will pollute the minds of the young students and will lead to the emergence of a violent culture," its deputy president Dr Bala Thambilingam declared in his opening speech.
"We are absolutely clear about our stand. But we wish to hear the views of the other Indian NGOs before we declare a common stand on this matter," he said.
He then referred to the meeting MIC nominated representatives held with officials from the education ministry, saying the representatives had unanimously demanded the withdrawal of the book.
However, Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said of the meeting that there was "consensus" among all participants that there was nothing disparaging of the Indian community in the book.
"This is not true," Bala said. He added that since MIC president G. Palanivel had called for the withdrawal of the book and the matter is expected to be discussed again at the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, "we will wait to see what happens before we take the next step".
Some speakers argued that the cabinet would not want to make a decision before the Tenang by-election, and leave the matter to "die a natural death".
Senator S Ramakrishnan said Indian Malaysians must "must hit where it hurts", and called on them to deny the government the votes it needs.
"Arrangements are under way to make police reports against Interlok in Tenang," Ramakrishnan added.
'BN's 2008 disaster will be repeated'
Others pointed out that the government had forgotten the lesson it learnt in 2008 for what it did in 2007. And come the next general election, it will pay for what it is doing now, they said.
"By religion I am a Muslim, by nationality I am a Malaysian and by language I am a Tamil. I will not accept the insults heaped on the Indian community by Interlok," businessman Thaslim Mohd Ibrahim said.
He said he had made strong representations "to some people who are in a position to make the decision to withdraw the book".
Thaslim added: "To me, the government appears to be least bothered about the protests against 'Interlok'. It did the same in 2007 and paid for it in 2008. For what it is doing now in this matter, it will pay for it in 2013."
The president of the Federation of Malaysian Indian Organisations, Dr V Suppiah, castigated Palanivel and other MIC leaders for not doing their duty to the community.
"Our complaint to Palanivel was made on Dec 29. He said he would speak to the prime minister, but nothing has happened since then, and the book is already in the hands of the students!" Suppiah screamed.
Ganapathy Rao, one of the five Hindraf leaders who had been detained under the ISA, explained how the content of 'Interlok' insulted the "entire community", and called on Indians to take measures that would hurt the ruling party.
Other actions, such as going on a hunger strike, instituting legal action and launching signature campaigns are also being considered by the participants.
The suggestion that the issue must not be politicised was rejected as the call itself was political, with many pointing out that "where there is a conflict of interest, there is politics".
Then the call for some immediate action was made, and it was accepted unreservedly.
The Interlok Action Committee comprises Bala, Thaslim, CM Kopalan, Arun Dorasamy (MHS), G Kishore (Malaysian Indian Students Association), Alagash Batumalai (Malaysian Indian Youth Council), A Muraly (Tamilan Uthavum Karangkal), Dr V Suppiah and AP Rajaretnam (Federation of Malaysian Indian Organisations).
Bala said the committee would, by noon today, submit its request to the Prime Minister's Department that 'Interlok' be withdrawn as a school textbook.
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