Era Najib Altantuya : Badan A/Bangsa Kecam Demo Kepala lembu

Selepas dipertikai penduduk Seksyen 23 Shah Alam sendiri, perhimpunan mengarak kepala lembu 'berdarah' yang didalangi oleh beberapa pemimpin Umno negeri itu menerima kecaman antarabangsa pula iaitu Yayasan Penganut Hindu Amerika (HAF).

Pengerusinya (bahagian Polisi Awam) Ishani Chowdhury dalam satu kenyataannya mendesak pihak polis segera mengenal pasti dan bertindak ke atas kumpulan yang membuat provokasi perkauman dan agama sempit itu.

Jelasnya, lembu merupakan simbol kesucian, kasih sayang dan keamanan (ahimsa) menurut kepercayaan Hindu.

Sambil mendakwa tindakan terbabit berunsur ekstrem, perkauman serta menafikan hak minoriti penganut Hindu di Malaysia, beliau mendakwa Malaysia cuba mendiskriminasikan rakyat minoriti.

Tambahnya lagi, insiden itu mengakibatkan suasana tidak tenteram dalam kalangan penduduk tempatan yang beragama Hindu.

Dalam kenyataannya, Ishani berharap kerajaan Persekutuan memberikan perlindungan ke atas penduduk tempatan beragama Hindu dengan memindah Kuil Sri Mariammam ke tapak yang dicadangkan (Seksyen 23) serta membawa semua yang terbabit ke muka keadilan.

Jumaat lepas, kira-kira 50 orang mengarak kepala lembu berdarah ke pejabat Menteri Besar Selangor, bangunan SUK ekoran cadangan kerajaan negeri membina kuil di kawasan mereka.

Salah seorang jurucakap perhimpunan 'haram' itu mendakwa kepala lembu berdarah itu adalah suatu simbolik pada pemimpin dicucuk hidung; yang ditujukan kepada Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, Ahli Parlimen Shah Alam Khalid Samad, Adun Batu 23 Rodziah Ismail serta pemimpin-pemimpin Melayu dalam kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat di Selangor yang lain.

Pun begitu, kebanyakan daripada mereka dikenal pasti adalah pemimpin-pemimpin Umno tempatan; sekaligus melengkapkan rumus khalayak bahawa insiden tersebut bertujuan menjatuhkan kerajaan Pakatan Rakyat Selangor.

Kekesalan HAF ini merupakan respon balas pertama penganut Hindu antarabangsa, setelah Polis memaklumkan bahawa pihaknya menerima lebih 52 aduan daripada penganut Hindu Malaysia sejak 31 Ogos lepas.

Sebelum ini, Malaysian Hindu Sanggam juga mempertikaikan tindakan ini. Mereka menyokong penuh cadangan kerajaan negeri memindahkan kuil di Seksyen 19 ke Seksyen 23 itu kerana ia tempat yang sesuai dan tidak mengganggu pihak lain. -harakahdaily

Washington, D.C. (August 28, 2009) - The Hindu American Foundation sent the following letter to the Malaysian Ambassador Ilango Karuppannan in response to a Muslim mob's vulgar protest demanding the Malaysian government rescind its orders for relocating a Hindu temple to Section 23 of Shah Alam. A pdf version of the letter can be downloaded by clicking here.

Dear Ambassador Ilango Karuppannan,

We write to protest the vulgar, religiously provocative, and racially incendiary act by a Muslim mob demanding that the government rescind the orders for relocating the Sri Mariamman temple in Section 23 of Shah Alam. According to media reports, this mob, which gathered on August 28, 2009 after Friday prayers, threatened violence and bloodshed, and as if to prove their intent, left the severed head of a cow at the gates of the State Secretariat. As you know, the cow is revered by Hindus as a symbol of purity, motherhood and ahimsa (non-violence). We regret that the police allowed this provocative act to be carried out, and we seek a quick and robust inquiry to identify both the leaders of the Muslim mob and the inaction of the police.

Malaysia has already been a country of particular concern for us in light of the numerous Hindu temple destructions, custodial battles in Shariah courts involving at least one Hindu parent, the arrest and persecution of Hindu-Malaysian leaders, and Bumiputra laws that discriminate against the minority communities. Thus, the countenance by local police of Muslim provocative acts is added cause for alarm in a country that is already facing volatile racial and religious issues. We are gravely concerned about the law and order situation in the country, and the state's unwillingness to firmly clamp down on the religious bigotry of the Muslim majority. Such tensions only bring about a greater sense of insecurity amongst the Hindu residents.

We hope that the Malaysian government will take steps to ensure that Hindus residents will be protected, that the Sri Mariamman temple is relocated in Section 23 of Shah Alam, and the leaders of the mob that carried out this heinous act are brought to justice.
Sincerely,
Ishani Chowdhury
Director of Public Policy