00:00This is like a fight for one nation, one religion.
00:05No, it's true.
00:07How often do you see an Indian Malaysian, a Hindu,
00:10taking to the streets in solidarity with Palestine?
00:14Activist Maitreyar Mutramalingam is one of the few.
00:18And he's not just marching.
00:20This will be the third year in a row
00:22that he's choosing to forego Deepavali celebrations
00:25as an act of empathy for the people of Gaza.
00:30My ideology is only one.
00:32We are one family of Malaysia.
00:34We are Malaysia, a family of one of Malaysia.
00:37That's just my ideology.
00:38So, I see all of the people of the Melayu
00:41come up and say,
00:42Hey, what am I going to do?
00:44I'm not a human.
00:46I'm a human. So, I have to have humanity.
00:48There are still people here in Malaysia.
00:50They say, hey, that's their issue.
00:52Who are they? They are our family.
00:55Maitreyar has travelled all across the country
00:58to participate in protests,
01:00even completing a 200-hour hunger strike at Dataran Merdeka.
01:06They look at me as an Indian.
01:07I'm going to get up.
01:08I'm going to get up.
01:09But they look at me as a surprise.
01:13Wow, that's not an Islam.
01:15Maitreyar's initial motivation to speak up for Palestine
01:18was the Tamil genocide in Sri Lanka, which began in 1956.
01:23He feared the same pattern of violence and oppression
01:26would unfold in Palestine.
01:28Maitreyar has also long championed Malaysian causes.
01:32Once the employee of a legal firm,
01:34a road accident that left him in a coma became a turning point.
01:39Now, based in Tanjung Malim, Perak,
01:42he continues his advocacy work with renewed purpose.
01:46This year, while the rest of his family celebrates Dipavali,
01:50Maitreyar quietly steps back.
01:53Sumbangan sayalah.
01:56That's my part as a human being,
01:59to show that I,
02:01saya tak boleh gembira.
02:02Mereka celebrate,
02:04selepas mereka hapuskan yang kejahatan.
02:08So pandangan saya,
02:09kejahatan masih kat sini depan mata kita.
02:12In the battle between light and darkness,
02:15it may be people like Maitreyar
02:17who keep that light burning
02:19in the spirit of Dipavali.
02:21TV Ragu, FMT
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