SUMBER MALAYSIAKINI

30,000 Hindraf protesters rally in KL streets

About 30,000 protesters demonstrated under the shadows of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Twin Towers after their efforts to petition the British High Commission was thwarted by the police with tear gas and chemical-laced water cannon. The protesters had attempted to gather outside the high commission early this morning but thousands were pushed back by the riot police to outside a two-kilometre radius of the venue. Crowds quickly grew at various points in the city, and were blocked by police and Federal Reserve Unit officers. At its height, there is an estimated 30,000 people scattered over a number of areas in the vicinty of the high commission. An estimated 10,000 gathered along Jalan Ampang, near Hotel Maya, with a further 5,000 on Jalan P Ramlee just before Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC). Another 10,000 demonstraters were at the Jalan Tun Razak-Jalan Ampang interchange. About 5,000 people were stopped at the Jalan Ampang and Middle-Ring-Road intersection. The protesters – a mix of young and old Indian Malaysians - seemed to have come from all over the country. At about 10am, the crowd along Jalan Ampang, near Hotel Maya, were addressed with loudhailers by Hindraf leaders, including P Uthayakumar. PKR information chief Tian Chua and DAP leader Ronnie Liu also addressed the rally. At 10.30am, the Hindraf leaders ended their speeches. But thousands of protesters continue to mill around the KLCC areas playing a cat-and-mouse game with the police water cannon. However at 11am, the crowd has moved from KLCC to edge closer to the British High Commission. Thousands faced off riot police at the key Jalan Ampang and Jalan Tun Razak intersection near Ampang Park. At 1pm, after negotiations with the police, Uthayakumar arrived to give a short speech and urged the crowd to disperse peacefully. The crowd was seen walking back down towards Jalan Sultan Ismail, away from the British High Commission. 'This is outrageous' Hindraf leader A Sivanesan condemned the police for turning Kuala Lumpur into a war zone. "Things are getting out of hand. We blame the police. They have beaten women and children. This is outrageous," he told Malaysiakini. Lawyer Haris Ibrahim, who led a 10-member Bar Council monitoring team, was stunned by the heavy-handed police action against the protesters. "I'm not happy with the way the police are handling the crowd,' he said. DAP member of parliament M Kulasegaran was also upset with the crackdown. "Over the last 50 years Indian have been marginalised in this country. And we now want the same rights as enjoyed by other communities," he told AFP. "They have no right to stop us from protesting today. This is the will of the people," he added. Petition to Queen Elizabeth II The planned protest is to support a US$4-trillion (RM14-trillion) lawsuit by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) against Malaysia's former colonial power for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years. Furthermore, the suit sought a declaration that the Reid Commission Report 1957 failed to incorporate the rights of the Indian community when independence was granted, resulting in discrimination and marginalisation to this day. The quantum being sought is about US$2 million for every Indian currently residing in Malaysia. Following the filing of the suit, Hindraf held nationwide roadshows explaining to grassroots about the case. Coupled with their work to prevent rampant state-sanctioned demolition of Hindu temples, Hindraf won over a wave of support for their cause. Today's memorandum was to petition Queen Elizabeth II to appoint a Queen's counsel to argue the case on their behalf.

YouTube - lagu baru umno

YouTube - lagu baru umno

PAS kesal Umno guna sekolah untuk kepentingan parti

Salman Hussin Sat | Nov 24, 07 | 1:57:09 pm MYT

MUAR, 24 Nov (Hrkh) - Yang DiPertua (YDP) PAS Muar, Ustaz Abu Bakar Mohd Lajat, kesal dengant indakan Umno Bahagian Muar yang menggunakan premis kerajaan bagi mengadakan kegiatan parti mereka.

Beliau juga kesal dengan sikap pengetua sekolah terbabit yang membenarkan premis sekolah mereka digunakan untuk mengadakan majlis rasmi parti, katanya semasa ditemui di sini.

Beliau berkata demikian sebagai membantah tindakan Umno Bahagian Muar, mengadakan Majlis Sambutan Hari Raya Aidil Fitri di Sekolah Menengah Tengku Mahkota, dekat sini, 21 Oktober lalu.

Difahamkan, Menteri Besar Johor, Dato’ Haji Abdul Ghani Othman, turut hadir pada majlis ini.

Menurut Ustaz Bakar, surat bantahan berhubung perkara tersebut telahpun dihantar kepada Setiausaha Bahagian Sumber Manusia Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia, Pengarah Pelajaran Negeri Johor, Pegawai Pelajaran Daerah Muar dan juga Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR).

Bagaimanapun katanya, sehingga kini pihaknya masih belum menerima apa-apa maklum balas secara rasmi daripada pihak-pihak berkenaan berhubung bantahan ini.

Katanya, sebagai pengetua atau pentadbir sekolah yang termasuk dalam kategori kumpulan A, beliau tidak boleh sama-sekali melibatkan diri dengan mana-mana parti politik.

Perkara ini jelas terkandung di dalam Bahagian II, (Tatakelakuan) bil. 21(1) – bab D (Peraturan-Peraturan Pegawai A – Kelakuan dan Tatatertib 1993), yang mana antara lain menjelaskan, "Pegawai-Pegawai Kumpulan Pengurusan Tertinggi dan Kumpulan Pengurusan dan Profesional adalah dilarang mengambil bahagian dalam aktiviti politik atau memakai mana-mana lambang parti politik".

"Dalam hal ini pengetua sekolah terbabit dengan jelas telah melanggar peraturan ini dan saya mendesak supaya tindakan tegas diambil terhadap beliau," katanya.

Katanya, selain membenarkan Umno Bahagian Muar mengadakan program di sekolah tersebut, mereka juga membenarkan bendera-bendera Umno dipasang dalam kawasan sekolah, seolah-olah premis ini milik Umno.

Ustaz Bakar yang juga bekas pegawai kerajaan beranggapan, tindakan pengetua sekolah tersebut membenarkan parti politik mengadakan majlis di sekoah mereka sebagai amat bertentangan dengan Peraturan Pegawai Awam – Kelakuan dan Tatatertib 1993.

Sehubungan itu beliau mendesak Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap pengetua sekolah terbabit yang secara jelas telah melanggar peraturan ditetapkan kerajaan. - mns

10,000 Hindraf protesters rally in KLCC

About 10,000 protesters demonstrated under the shadows of Kuala Lumpur’s iconic Twin Towers after their efforts to petition the British High Commission was thwarted by the police with tear gas and chemical-laced water cannon. The protesters had attempted to gather outside the high commission early this morning but thousand were pushed back by the riot police to outside a two-kilometre radius of the venue. However, the protesters later joined the another crowd gathered in Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) which surged to between 10,000 and 15,000 by 9.30am. The protesters – a mix of young and old Indian Malaysians from all parts of the country - were addressed with loudhailers by Hindraf leaders, including P Uttayakumar. Meanwhile, the police are firing tear gas and chemical-laced water into the defiant crowd every 10 minutes. Each time, the crowd retreated and then surged forward. By 10.30am, the demonstration appeared to have ended after Hindraf leaders stopped their speeches. However, thousands of protesters continue to mill around the KLCC areas playing cat-and-mouse game with the police water cannon. 'This is outrageous' Hindraf leader A Sivanesan condemned the police for turning Kuala Lumpur into a war zone. "Things are getting out of hand. We blame the police. They have beaten women and children. This is outrageous," he told Malaysiakini. "But this will not stop us from submitting the memorandum and we will try to find a way to do that." Lawyer Haris Ibrahim, who is leading at 10-member Bar Council monitoring team, was stunned by the heavy-handed police action against the protesters. "I'm not happy with the way the police are handling the crowd." DAP member of parliament M Kulasegaran was also upset with the crackdown. "Over the last 50 years Indian have been marginalised in this country. And we now want the same rights as enjoyed by other communities," he told AFP. "They have no right to stop us from protesting today. This is the will of the people," he added. Petition to Queen Elizabeth II The planned protest is to support a lawsuit by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) against Malaysia's former colonial power for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years. Furthermore, the suit sought a declaration that the Reid Commission Report 1957 failed to incorporate the rights of the Indian community when independence was granted, resulting in discrimination and marginalisation to this day. The quantum being sought is about US$2 million for every Indian currently residing in Malaysia. Following the filing of the suit, Hindraf held nationwide roadshows explaining to grassroots about the case. Coupled with their work to prevent rampant state-sanctioned demolition of Hindu temples, Hindraf won over a wave of support for their cause. Today's memorandum was to petition Queen Elizabeth II to appoint a Queen's counsel to argue the case on their behalf.

Tear gas fired to disperse defiant protesters

Hours before the protest organised by Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) is due to take place, the police have already begun firing tear gas to disperse crowds in three areas in Kuala Lumpur - Jalan Ampang, the KLCC and Batu Caves. The police fired tear gas at Jalan Ampang at about 7.40am today to disperse a large crowd who had gathered there. The area has been declared a curfew zone by the police, who have issued a ‘arrest on sight’ order. Earlier, the police also used tear gas to disperse a crowd at Batu Caves and the KLCC areas. Despite roadblocks and a tight police cordon to seal off the city, thousands of Indians from all around the country have arrived in Kuala Lumpur since last night. Some of the protesters were already at Jalan Ampang near Nikko Hotel early this morning. Despite repeated firing of chemical-laced water against the 2,000-strong crowd, the protestors appeared defiant and refused to budge. Police presence is heavy and a few arrests have been made. Part of Jalan Ampang is already closed but protesters continue to filter in from all sides. March to begin at 10am The rally has been declared illegal by the police, who have also obtained an unprecedented court order to prohibit people from taking part in it. Large groups of people are gathering at various spots around the city centre, all hoping to break the police cordon to march towards the British High Commission in Jalan Ampang at about 10am. Jalan Ampang and three other roads have been closed since 3am to stop the crowd from arriving near the High Commission. The security is also tight at KL Sentral, the hub for public transportation in the city. However inter-city commuter train services and the Putra LRT services are operating as usual as of 7am. The planned protest is to support a lawsuit against the former colonial power to denounce what they say is the continuing discrimination of Indians in Malaysia. The lawsuit filed recently seeks US$4 trillion (RM14 trillion) compensation for the estimated two million ethnic Indians whose ancestors were brought over here as labourers by Britain in the 1800s.