MIC fellows stooping low to kiss bigot Zul Noordin. Soon Vel Paari will take his turn
MIC defends the Perkasa leader’s candidacy in Shah Alam.
PETALING JAYA: MIC today blamed PAS for Zulkifli Noordin’s perceived racism.
Defending the character of Barisan Nasional’s direct candidate for the Shah Alam parliament seat, MIC Central Working Committee (CWC) member KP Samy noted that Zulkifli was a member of PAS until 2008, when the party sacked him for contesting in the 2008 election under the PKR ticket.
“Zulkifli made all those racist statements while he was in PAS,” Samy said. “How could he have said all those things without their support and approval?”
Zulkifli, a leader of the Malay interest group Perkasa, is facing PAS’ Khalid Samad in the Shah Alam contest. He joined the group following his sacking from PKR in 2010.
In speaking of “racist statements”, Samy was referring to remarks that Zulkifli made about Hindusim in a lecture that was videotaped and recently uploaded to the Internet. It caused an uproar among Hindus—including MIC members and supporters—prompting Zulkifli to explain that the lecture was delivered in 2003, when he was still in PAS.
Samy did not mention racially sensitive statements that Zulkifli made subsequent to his sacking from PAS.
There been several calls for Zulkifli to apologise to the Hindu community over the videotaped lecture, but Samy said his apology alone would not be sufficient.
“PAS must have encouraged that behaviour,” he said. “If not, I’m sure he wouldn’t dare say things like that.
“So, PAS also has to apologise.”
Samy accused Pakatan Rakyat of attacking Zulkifli’s character out of contempt for his decision to stand for election as a BN candidate, apparently ignoring the many statements Pakatan leaders have made against him in the last couple of years.
The Hindraf deal with BN
Samy also commented on the public reaction to the forging of a deal between BN chief Najib Tun Razak and Hindraf leader P Waythamoorthy.
“There’s nothing wrong with Waythamoorthy showing support for BN,” he said. “He didn’t get what he was fighting for when he took sides with Pakatan Rakyat.”
He was referring to the Hindraf blueprint, a set of demands for policies to help lift Malaysian Indians out of their economic and social misery.
“Waythamoorthy had contacted Pakatan about 23 times and even begged to get the blueprint approved, but he got nothing in the end,” he said.
Referring to the credit that analysts have given to Hindraf for helping Pakatan achieve its unprecedented successes in the 2008 election, Samy said opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had proven to be ungrateful to the Hindu group.
He noted the difference in the ways Anwar had treated Waythamoorthy and Malaysian Hindu Movement leader S Sanjay in their hunger strikes.
Waythamoorthy went on his fast to highlight Hindraf’s insistence on the importance of its blueprint for Indian progress. More recently, Sanjay went on a hunger strike as a protest against Zulkifli’s videotaped remarks. Anwar supported and spoke to Sanjay during his fast, a courtesy he did not extend to Waythamoorthy.
“Anwar clearly doesn’t have his priorities right,” Samy said. “So it’s really up to the rakyat now. He only made use of them before the election and completely disregarded them right after.”
MIBA feels otherwise
The Malaysian Indian Business Association however does not share MIC’s enthusiasm for Zulkifli’s candidacy. Its president, P Sivakumar, said it would be a shame if the Indian community were to vote for Zulkifli.
“Najib should be ashamed of himself to place him as a candidate while going around asking for the Indian community’s trust,” he added.
“It’s not a very bright move by our PM. It looks like he is only digging his own grave. He just made the odds favour the opposition coalition.”
