Kuala Lumpur : The Hindu Rights Action Force’s (Hindraf) class action suit against the British government for negligence against the Indian community in then Malaya is set to begin on March 30 at the London High Court.

Its national adviser, N. Ganesan said the suit which was re-filed on July 2, 2012 took into account the British government for its role in the current marginalised socio-economic status of the Indian community in Malaysia.

“Our detractors in both the coalition political parties should now recall all they had uttered in the interim about this suit and about roles and eat all of that,” Ganesan said in a press conference held today.

Adding that the pro-Indian organisation is committed in bringing about changes of the Indian communities’ poor and marginalised, Ganesan said Hindraf would be represented by one of UK’s leading law firm, Imran Khan & Partners.

He, however, declined to elaborate on the amount the suit cost but stressed that fund was collected through personal efforts by Hindraf members.

The Indian rights movement, through its suit highlighted seven points that the British government through its Reid Constitutional Commission (RCC) had been negligent against the Indian community in then Malaya.

“Our claims are that the British government had failed to appreciate and disregarded the peculiar position of the Indian community.

“They had also failed in protecting and preserving the rights of the Malayan Indians along with failure in giving priority to the constitutional needs of the country by not adopting important recommendations of the RCC,” he said.

Ganesan added that the RCC had also failed to act fairly when it relied upon and agreed to amendments introduced by the working party controlled by the Umno-led Alliance government.

With the RCC failing to keep the original terms of the independent constitutional commission within its framework, Ganesan said the British government had also failed after an amended constitution drastically different than one initially recommended by the RCC was formulated.

“We expect to prevail in this suit in spite of the fact that we are taking on the entire British establishment, as we are calling into question the doings of their great empire over a period of a tleast 180 years,” Ganesan said, declining to speculate should the suit prove to be a success.

Describing it as a major step forward following the first suit which was filed on Aug 30, 2007 lapsed due to lack of resources leading the movement to re-file another suit five years later, Ganesan said he believes the implications are huge for Malaysians with the suit being highly significant.

“Such claims have never been made in British courts before and resources were obtained through intellectual efforts and networks.”

Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy is currently on a month-long trip in London to oversee the suit taking place.