Police have summoned PKR vice president N Surendran for questioning after he brought to public attention the plight of stateless Indians despite having lived in Malaysia for decades.
"This is a police crackdown on PKR's mass rally for stateless Malaysians planned for December 12 in Putrajaya. They are also investigating me for the march at Brickfields by stateless Indians that took place on November 24," Surendran told Malaysia Chronicle.
His lawyers, PKR legal affairs director Latheefa Koya and former Bar president Ambiga Sreenevasan, were also present at the IPD at Jalan Travers.
Indeed, with the general election just months away, the votes of the minorities, especially the Indians, have become "very sensitive" to Prime Minister Najib Razak's BN coalition which may lose its stranglehold on power if it continues to fail to stem the flight of votes.
Hence, "heavy handed" interference by the police has been expected but Surendran warns such tactics will only backfire and convince the community to vote for change.
Red IC despite being born in Malaysia!
Surendran and his Pakata Rakyat coalition have claimed there are at least 300,000 Malaysian Indians who have been cut out of the nation's economic, social and educational systems due to "systemic neglect" by the BN federal government and its refusal to issue proper papers and citizenship documents to this group of people.
“These are people living in limbo and its a horrible thing to do to people with the rights to citizenship. The government can’t blame anyone, because they have ruled for 50 over years. I tell you now, concede the next general election, and let Pakatan Rakyat take Putrajaya, then we will it. That is our resolve,” Surendran had said in a previous interview.
The Pakatan Rakyat will hold a sit-in outside the National Registration Department on December 12 to protest at the plight of the stateless Indians in the country.
Surendran, who is also a renowned human rights activist, has been traveling around the country to study the issue and to gather feedback from the community.
“I met a 70-year-old Indian born in Sg Petani, he has been carrying a red IC all these while. He asked me ‘do you know how much I have suffered in my life?’ I feel angered about this the most when I see the utter indifference of BN, the behavior of MIC is totally disgraceful. They have come to betray these people and trying desperately to justify the actions of the BN government,” said Surenrdan.
Malaysia Chronicle
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