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Malaysia Votes 2013 |
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| Anti-Hindraf protest sees burning of Waytha’s effigy |
Waythamoorthy however dismisses claims that he had 'sold himself to the devil', saying that this was false propaganda created by Pakatan leaders.
 KULIM: Former supporters of Hindraf today expressed their displeasure against the movement’s leader P Waythamoorthy by burning his effigy here.
Their anger was over Waythamoorthy’s decision to side with Barisan Nasional following the signing of a deal between Hindraf and BN on April 18.
Under the deal, BN has agreed to implement the majority of the proposals outlined by Hindraf in its five-year blueprint for the Indian community.
Hindraf’s blueprint, among others, highlights issues related to displaced Indian plantation workers, the need for tertiary-level education for Indian students, job opportunities in the government sector, financial loans to Indian entrepreneurs, and the establishment of a Minorities Affairs Ministry.
The separate ministry proposal was however shot down by Najib who had instead agreed to set up a unit under the Prime Minister’s Department to oversee Indian affairs.
During the signing ceremony, Waythamoorthy had also called on the Indian community to ensure BN gets its two-third majority in the May 5 general election.
 While many Hindraf supporters were disappointed over the deal with BN, most were however shocked by Waythamoorthy’s call for the return of two-third majority to the BN.
Today, during the protest against Waythamoorthy at Paya Besar in Kulim, which saw more than 500 people gathered, local Hindraf leaders said Waythamoorthy “had pawned the self-respect and dignity of the Indians for his own interest”.
“Waythamoorthy is now aligned with Umno. The Indians in Malaysia will never forgive Waythamoorthy for betraying the trust of these, marginalised and sidelined Indians,” said Kulim Hindraf spokesperson Asogan.
He also noted that Waythamoorthy had failed to realise that the BN government was known for not keeping its promises.
“Many MoU appeals have been submitted to the BN government by various parties, including MIC and so far, none have been materialised,” he said.
False propaganda
In a related development, Waythamoorthy defended Hindraf’s decision to ink the deal with BN after the opposition failed to deliver its promises to the Indian community.
He said the movement had a series of 24 meetings with Pakatan Rakyat leaders to get an endorsement to implement its five-year comprehensive blueprint for the Indian community since November.
 Waythamoorthy, in expressing disappointment, said for five years it was “played out” by the opposition which was only good at making promises to the Indian community, but never fulfilling them.
“While Pakatan had taken us for a ride and rejected outright Hindraf’s demand, BN came through to endorse its five-year blueprint.
“BN had given us [Hindraf] a window of opportunity to uplift the Indian community, which simply could not be missed,” he told Bernama in an interview after recording the Tamil version of the Hello Malaysia programme over Bernama TV yesterday.
Prior to the agreement, he said Hindraf had invited both BN and Pakatan Rakyat to negotiate, and only BN was serious and began discussions in late March.
To a question whether Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s transformation policies were in line with Hindraf’s blueprint, Waythamoorthy said BN would deliver on its promises as its track record spoke for itself.
“The prime minister has shown his commitment and sincerity, and publicly apologised, and promised to rectify and correct past mistakes of the government’s wrong-doings. Najib was very clear and open that BN wished to address the economic issues affecting the Indian community,” he said.
In dismissing claims by several opposition leaders that he had “sold himself to the devil”, Waythamoorthy said: “It’s a false propaganda created by Pakatan leaders.
“If BN had bought me, why should I be adamant that there should be a blueprint to seek a solution for the Indian community?,” he asked, noting that the Indian community had finally realised that only BN could ensure a brighter future for them.
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| FMT |
Cops prevent PKR-Hindraf violence
The two groups had rallies 500 metres apart in an Indian neighbourhood in Lunas.
 LUNAS: PKR supporters tried to disrupt a Hindraf gathering here today, but police managed to prevent the situation from turning ugly.
The gathering was held about 500 metres away from a PKR rally in the predominantly Indian neighbourhood of Paya Besar. Police presence was heavy.
Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy arrived to speak at the function at 4.45pm, nearly an hour after the start of the PKR rally, where one of the speakers was N Surendran, the party’s candidate for Padang Serai.
Sources said PKR activists decided to organise their rally after learning about Waythamoorthy’s visit.
The PKR crowd jeered as their Hindraf rivals cheered when he arrived.
PKR supporters tried to march to the Hindraf tent but were stopped by police in riot gear.
The commotion attracted scores of onlookers, causing severe traffic congestion in the area.
Both crowds dispersed peacefully after Waythamoorthy had left the place.
Waythamoorthy told reporters he had expected the hostility from PKR supporters because “they are sore losers”.
He was referring to his decision to back Barisan Nasional in the May 5 general election.
This morning, some PKR supporters held mock funeral rites for Waythamoorthy in the nearby residential area of Taman Bayam. They torched his portrait.
Surendran tried to distance himself from the hostility shown against Waythamoorthy in Paya Besar.
In a text message to FMT, he said it was not PKR that organised this afternoon’s rally, but the Kedah chapter of Hindraf, which has rejected the deal Waythamoorthy made with BN.
“As far as we are concerned, this is an internal Hidraf dispute,” he said.
He claimed he had stopped at the gathering as part of his campaign rounds.
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Ex-Hindraf supporters burn Waytha's effigy in Kulim
KEDAH A group of former Hindraf supporters gathered in Kulim today to burn an effigy of the organisation’s leader, P Waythamoorthy, to express their dissatisfaction with his decision to endorse the leadership of caretaker Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
![NONE]() A spokesperson for the group, M Asogan, said that Waythamoorthy had “pawned the self-respect and dignity of the Indians to Umno merely for his own interest”.
He said that in 2007 and 2008, thousands of Indians went to the streets to demonstrate their unhappiness and displeasure towards the BN and Umno-led government.
“But forgetting these historical events, Waythamoorthy has now aligned himself to Umno.
![NONE]() “The Indians in Malaysia will never forgive Waythamoorthy for betraying the trust of these marginalised and sidelined Indians,” he said after the protest held by about 500 people in Paya Besar.
Paya Besar is within the Padang Serai constituency where former Hindraf lawyer and current PKR vice-president N Surendran is contesting the parliamentary seat against incumbent N Gobalakrishnan and BN’s Heng Seai Kie and two other Independents, Hamidi Abu Hassan and Othman Wawi.
![NONE]() Waythamoorthy incurred the wrath of some of his supporters when he signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Najib in April, asking them to return BN’s two-thirds majority in Parliament.
This had prompted his brother Uthayakumar, who leads a faction of the group, to sack him from the movement, saying he has hijacked their struggles.
Asogan said Waythamoorthy had “dramatised” his fast to get sympathy from Indians, but it had failed.
Immediately, he made an about-turn by meeting Najib, saying an MOU had been signed to solve all critical issues faced by the Indians.
![NONE]() “But little did he realise that many MOU appeals have been submitted to the Umno-BN government by various parties in the past, including MIC, and so far, none have materialised,” said Asogan.
“So it is a foolish thing to say that the Umno government has agreed willingly to implement those demands forwarded by Waythamoorthy,” he added.
“We Indians understand well that whatever Waythamoorthy had staged was a good political drama,” he stressed.
Asogan said another person who received much hatred from Indians is Zulkifli Noordin, the former MP for Kulim Bandar Baru.
![NONE]() He had “criticised and condemned” the Hindu religion, saying Malaysia does not belong to the community and they should return to India, Asogan claimed.
This statement from Zulkifli has angered Indians and those in Shah Alam, where he is contesting under the BN banner, want to teach him a lesson.
“Now he is apologising and requesting the Indians in Shah Alam to vote for him but the Indians know his true colours that he is an opportunist and racist,” he said.
“We, the Indians, are showing our displeasure and are condemning his act as seditious which will harm the harmony and peace of this country,” he added.
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| Parliament seats: 222 |
| State Seats: 505 |
| Registered Voters: 13,268,002 |
| Indian Votes: 950,000 |
| Absentee Voters: 2,954 |
| Military Voters: 161,251 |
| Police Voters: 111,136 |
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| Part 3 - BN and Hindraf MOU |
Hindraf Economic Unit
There are not many occasions where the average Malaysian voter will take the time to consider his fellow citizen who comes from a Low Income Indian Household, aka the people whose interests Hindraf represents. This is simply because the Indian poor does not work where the average Malaysian works, or eats where the average voter eats, or shops with him or lives in the same neighbourhood.
Even though the Indian poor who has been displaced to the urban areas goes about his life amongst the more affluent Malaysians, he is usually invisible, except when the two worlds collide. The collisions are sometimes violent when crime is involved, and at other times are of the benign sort, like when the Alam Flora trucks come trundling along. For example, how many middle class voters would have noticed that 90% of Alam Flora workers are from the ranks of the Indian poor, in stark contrast to the usual 0% that the Indian poor occupy in most other industries and businesses?
On the same note, the problems that afflict the Indian poor are also vastly different to those that concern the average Malaysian voter. That is why, come election, one of the few times where the Indian poor cannot be ignored because they will actually be there queuing up at the voting centres amongst the rest of the voters, no one seemed to know how to get them to vote one way or another beyond the usual rice packet and instant noodles, tray of eggs and RM 50 in an ang pao packet.
It will not be wrong to say that for the current elections, both coalitions would have not enjoyed having to talk to Hindraf in order to ensure that they will get the lion’s share of the support from the Indian poor. The only difference among the two coalitions is that BN was willing to commit itself in writing and actually have the decency to offer an apology to the Indian poor along the way, while Pakatan at times seemed unable to tell its arse from its elbow.
But signing an MOU with anyone does not mean that the problems of the Indian poor will disappear. The only way the problems of the Indian poor will ever go away is if the rest of society does what is needed to ensure that marginalisation becomes a thing of the past for all Malaysians.
Foremost amongst those who can make a difference in the lives of the Indian poor are the other Indian voters, who are actually the main targets of these articles. But what has become evident over the days and weeks since the signing of the MOU is that a significant portion of the Indian middle and upper classes have as poor an understanding of the problems of the Indian poor as the rest of Malaysia does.
Perhaps it is time to spell things out so that the Indian voters out there, regardless of who they vote for, will have an idea on how to help their less fortunate brethren improve their lot.
First of all, there is no Malaysian Malaysia (PR) or Satu Malaysia that makes an iota of difference in the lives of the Indian poor. Slogans do not create jobs or opportunities, only targeted policies do. As long as jobs are advertised as Chinese only or Malay only, that is the real Malaysia for the rest of the country.
Secondly, while the chances are that BN will hold on to Putrajaya, there is always an outside possibility that Pakatan will do the impossible and march into Putrajaya. If this does happen, it is up to the pro Pakatan Indian voter, to ensure that Pakatan implements the policies that will uplift the Indian poor. Do not worry about figuring out what to do and how, just take the 5 year Hindraf blueprint as well as the steps outlined in the BN-Hindraf MOU and run with it.
Third, and this is the most probable outcome, Pakatan will continue to form the State governments in a few states. If the pro Pakatan Indian voter does not want a repeat of what has transpired in GE 13, then get your respective state governments to implement policies that will actually target and reach the Indian poor in your respective states.
A word to the wise, it may seem like Hindraf has become the favourite target of the pro Pakatan cyber supporters of late, but that is not the case. Hindraf has always been one of the favourite targets of the pro Pakatan cyber troopers, the only difference being that most of the attacks of yesterday came from the Chinese Pakatan supporter. Now, it is the Indian Pakatan supporter who carries the ball.
The attacks against Hindraf are at best a nuisance to us, and all we can say is that you will be better off spending your time actually doing something useful. Anyone that thinks that ad hominem attacks or allegations of being bought will do anything but get Hindraf and subsequently BN even more support from the Indian poor, has got another think coming.
Hindraf Economic Unit |
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