The Conference of Rulers has assured all Malaysians a rightful place under the Malaysian sun. Therefore, it is only right and proper that the Hindraf case be now referred to them because the government sees their arguments and actions as against the integrity of the nation.

They remain non-integrated with integrity. Whereas, most Malaysians see their case as that of their rights and privileges as ordinary Malaysians being unprotected under the very same constitution and the historic social contract which the rulers too are seeking to uphold.

Therefore, the minister of home affair’s pleadings are really getting to me with their flawed logic and irrational and unreasonable arguments. The New Straits Times headlined the rulers’ statement as \”a call to reason\”. The minister’s was a call to no reason. Let me explain.

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First, he protested that Hindraf members were improperly dressed for the Hari Raya open house.

Subsequently his ministry declared Hindraf an illegal organisation, when they are not even a registered one, with all kinds of preposterous charges.

My psychology professor used to say, \”Usually absence is greater than presence\”. Actually, by making them illegal, they are now legitimately more existent and prominent in everyone’s minds than when they were earlier.

My hope and prayer is that these forced measures will not encourage Hindraf to make their operations clandestine, as they may now have no other options. Therefore, my appeal to the rulers is to hear their legitimate pleadings since the government appears to have no intention to do so.

In this column my five concerns related to the flawed logic of this lawyer-cum-minister are:

1. Who really was the host for the Hari Raya open house?

2. Is there a pre-defined dress code for the open house?

3. Are there any rules that say ordinary people cannot dress in any way they want?

4. How can Hindraf become illegal if they are not legal in the first place?

5. How can a grassroots movement, out to protect and preserve the democratic rights and interests of citizens be illegal?

I am convinced that the minister needs his head examined for his flawed logic and irrationality. Although he is a lawyer, it appears that he cannot differentiate between his private interpretation of the law and the rights of freedom of speech and association by ordinary Malaysians.

The land of convoluted logic

Is the minister actually saying that the Hindraf supporters’ co-ordinated dress code meant they were violating some legal definition of a crowd, simply because they came with a common objective?

Does it then mean that anyone in Malaysia wearing an orange t-shirt can be deemed to be part of this non-legal organisation? What kind of convoluted logic is this?

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Frankly, if civil society in Malaysia was better organised for the Hari Raya open house, we could have sold thousands of \”Free RPK\” T-shirts, just outside the Putra World Trade Centre and asked all those who support RPK to wear the t-shirts to the Hari Raya open house.

Why not? But maybe then, the RPK movement too would have been banned. Maybe the former foreign minister is learning tricks from the regime in Mynnmar.

Do we, the citizens of Malaysia, not have the right to express ourselves? Is it wrong for us to feel that the Hindraf 5 and RPK were immorally and illegitimately arrested under the ISA, based simply on political motives?

Therefore, please take notice Mr Minister, that civil society groups will not rest until RPK and the Hindraf 5 are released and the ISA is abolished. May I propose that the royals too may have some unease about one of their family members being jailed under the ISA. Please do take notice.

March 8 was not simply about an Anwar Ibrahim election victory. It was in fact 10 years after the original reformasi spirit which had failed to kick start a real people’s movement.

March 8 instead, was a civil society election victory which gained full momentum after Anwar gave informal leadership to provide a clear, credible and alternative party that the people could vote for.

It was civil society which mobilised and argued that we can say ‘No’ to all forms of wrong-doing by Umno. Permatang Pauh was a clear indication of the amount of support Anwar enjoys in the country. Please also be aware and take note that more Umno members voted for him instead of their own Umno candidate. Please do not be in denial.

Why then do we bother to fuss about the dressing of some guests and not others? Are you saying that the host will send away some guests because he/she does not like the way they are dressed?

Guests must always to be treated with kindness and courtesy, regardless of their attire or the colour of their skin. Is that not what our open house culture is all about? Is that also not part and parcel of traditional Malay culture and kampung- style hospitality?

Listen, don’t ban

I have a great amount of respect for the relatively well-behaved Hindraf and RPK teams who attended the PM’s Hari Raya open house. As they said, they did not come for the food and many did not even eat a morsel at the function. They came to deliver a message to the PM. Which they did, successfully too!

The prime minister must realise that all these people are asking for is the release of men many believe are under forced incarceration under the draconian ISA. So, Mr PM, please release all of them. Is that too much to ask, in keeping with the tradition of forgiveness during Hari Raya Aidilfitri?

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I did not join in this time because I did not want to celebrate in any public way, in protest of the incarceration of my dear friend RPK. I also feel like I am in jail with RPK and the Hindraf 5. The last time I felt like this was in 1989 after Operasi Lalang.

Then, I counted 12 friends in jail under the ISA. One of them even sits in Parliament now, but on the wrong side of the fence! He strangely seems to have forgotten the experience of his own incarceration for very political motives.

Dear Minister of Home Affairs, after my last column asking you to resign, I received much feedback, with many people agreeing with my thesis that you should resign. But they also want the whole Umno government to go.

Do you hear me, Mr Minister? Unless you let RPK and Hindraf 5 out soon, your days of managing \”the affairs of our home\” may be limited. You see, RPK and Hindraf have now become household names and whether you like it or not, soon Malaysians will all stand up for them.

Makaal Sakthi has already become a battle cry of Pakatan. Are you now going to ban this word too?

When you say the Malays are getting angry with Hindraf, which Malays do you speak for? For those in Umno Permatang Pauh who voted for Anwar?

Come on Mr Minister, please wake up and realise that power-based systems are collapsing all over the world. Would it not be easier to listen and talk to these Hindraf leaders?

Mr Minister, I disagree with your irrational actions and suggest that the unintended consequences of this action are going to be worse than you think or imagine.

I pray that Malaysia will not go the route of beleaguered nations where discriminated religious minorities take to arms.