KUALA LUMPUR, May 4 – Hindraf has appealed to its legal advisor M. Manoharan to stay on as Kota Alam Shah assemblyman, saying it is disappointed Pakatan Rakyat has done nothing much to free the ISA detainee.
The outlawed movement asked the Pakatan Rakyat to file a parliamentary motion to discuss the matter and also appoint others to manage Kota Alam Shah.
“We urge the Pakatan coalition to urgently file a motion to debate the inability of a democratically elected representative to serve his constituents and (at least) stage a walkout should their motion to debate be refused,” Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy said in a statement today.
Manoharan won the seat on a DAP ticket in Election 2008 but said over the weekend he would decide on May 19 whether to remain as assemblyman.
He cited frustration in not being free from the Internal Security Act to serve his constituents and also family financial troubles as his wife has to take care of the seat.
Manoharan is one of three Hindraf leaders still being held for two years at the Kamunting Detention Centre. Two others were freed by new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak last month.
Waythamoorthy, who is in self-exile in London, said the Kota Alam Shah voters knew what they wanted when they gave Manoharan the seat.
“Hindraf is of the opinion that the voters of Kota Alam Shah were ready to deal with and face with an eventuality that their representative may not be able to serve them physically while being imprisoned as a prisoner of conscience.
“Since the voters are 100 per cent behind their representative, Manoharan should not resign and continue to be their state representative,” Waythamoorthy said.
He claimed Hindraf had lobbied in the local and international scene for the release of its five leaders but was disappointed that Pakatan has done nothing constructive beyond press statements or easing his burden to serve Kota Alam Shah.
“Bearing the absence of Manoharan, his wife had been solely burdened with responsibility for the constituency when the Pakatan coalition could have easily appointed responsible elected representatives/ party members on a rotation basis to oversee and manage the constituents’ needs as opposed to burdening his wife who is already overloaded with responsibilities of taking care of his legal firm and their family.
“The Pakatan coalition partners need to display their responsibility seriously to live up to the confidence bestowed to them by taking pro active actions and continuous campaign in unison to seek the release of Manoharan as well as all the other ISA detainees,” he added.
The DAP has said it will decide on Manoharan’s situation in the next three weeks. Its national chairman Karpal Singh will meet Manoharan on May 19 over the issue.
It has called on Najib to release Manoharan and other ISA detainees if the ruling coalition wants to avoid ‘unnecessary and wasteful by-elections’ which the prime minister cited when saying Barisan Nasional might skip the impending Penanti by-election this May 31. The Umno political bureau will meet today to decide on Penanti.
If Manoharan does quit, it will be the seventh by-election since Election 2008. Pakatan Rakyat has won four out of the five held thus far with the sixth by-election being Penanti.
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