DESPITE serving as an air steward at Malaysia Airlines for nearly two decades, little did S. Shashi Kumar know that one day he would form a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to take on religious extremists later in his life.
In an interview recently, the president of Global Human Rights Federation told FocusM about his early life and struggles in trying to get hate preachers hauled up in court for attempting to cause disunity among Malaysians:
FocusM: Tell us more about yourself
SK: I was born and raised in Ampang Jaya. I got my early education at the St. John’s Institution, Bukit Nanas and later went to Tunku Abdul Rahman (TAR) College after my SPM.
I later went about doing my Degree in Business Administration at ATC College and graduated in 1994.
My first job was at an event management company where I served as an executive. Later on, I moved to Citibank.
I also took up job as a part time lecturer at Stamford College and in 1997, I landed a job at MAS as an air steward. I spent 20 years at the national carrier before getting retrenched in 2016 following the MH360 and MH17 tragedies.
FocusM: So, what turned a career air steward into a champion against extremists and hate preachers in Malaysia?
SK: As an air steward, I had the opportunity to travel to many countries worldwide, especially Western nations.
In the West, I noticed their minorities are well-taken care off by their respective countries. Now, I’m not saying there are no racism there but there is difference to them and Malaysia.
In those countries, while there is racism, the people get equal treatment under the law irrespective of your race and religion but in Malaysia, you do not get the same treatment if you are of a different race. This is made worse with religious indoctrination going around.
Just to let you know, I have always been outspoken even during my time in MAS. I was involved with the National Union of Flight Attendants Malaysia (NUFAM) and I used to question the airliner over workers’ rights issues which is probably why I got retrenched!
FocusM: Tell us more of your early activism days and how you came about forming the Global Human Rights Federation.
SK: My involvement in NGOs started when I joined Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) rally in 2007. To me, it was wake up call for the minorities to stand up and be counted as citizens of the country.
In fact, I’m well acquainted with one of their early leaders, P Waytha Morthy, after meeting him in Hounslow, UK in 2009. After he quit as a deputy minister during the Barisan Nasional administration, I joined the organisation upon his invitation and became its central working committee member, serving there for two years.
But I quit the organisation in 2020 after Waytha Moorthy went to form the Malaysia Advancement Party (MAP).
One thing I realised in my course of working with the minister was that as a politician, you are restricted on what you can say and don’t. That is why I’m disinterested in politics as I do not like sugar-coating things.
I prefer to speak my mind and who cares what comes after that? Besides, politicians like to pick and choose issues which is not my way of doing things.
FocusM: So, how did hate preachers and religious fanatics come under your radar?
SK: During my Hindraf days, I lodged several police reports against preachers Zamri Vinoth Kalimuthu and Firdaus Wong for their inflammatory speeches against the non-Muslims but no action was taken.
During the short-lived Pakatan Harapan administration, we sent seven memoranda to seven ministers with no results.
The thing is, Malaysians must understand that our country have enough laws in place to deal with hate preachers and zealots. Article 8 of the Federal Constitution clearly grants all Malaysians equality before the law but the enforcement is lacking.
For example, in October 2018, I sent the memoranda even to Bukit Aman. In February 2019, the police said they were probing the hate preachers under Sedition Act but nothing transpired.
In the same year, I lodged another report against Zamri but no action was taken. So, in January 2020, I decided to approach the court to invoke Section 133 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) which would allow private prosecution but I can see the prosecution is trying to thwart it.
Honestly speaking, the Pakatan Government has been a total disappointment. Nevertheless, the Shah Alam High Court will decide on our application on April 25. Let us see what happens. – April 10, 2022.
