Poll-winning Pakatan-Hindraf combo
Eyes Wide Open: I personally find this academician terribly insipid, primarily because he still feels that only Indians can represent Indians. Pakatan has good politicians who can serve everyone. Not all are up to the mark, however, but there is a genuine effort in that direction.
It is not about appealing to the Indians for votes but empowering them to make wise choices about the government they wish to elect. Negotiating wisely and getting their demands met.
Hindraf should be about raising the consciousness of the oppressed Indian underclass. Their concerns have still not been attended to.
Maroondah: On it's own, Hindraf's struggle is meaningless, as they represent a minority group . They can only forward their cause if there exists a government that is fair and just. Hindraf must decide as to whether it's BN or Pakatan that is capable of providing that base to operate on.
KayKay: This partnership will never happen. Pakatan and Anwar Ibrahim, in particular, betrayed the Indian community after the last general election. Pakatan will not win the next general election. In fact, they will even lose some of what they have now, but not necessarily to BN.
Paradox: Pakatan shouldn't work with Hindraf just to win Indian votes. If that is their objective, then forget about it. Hindraf is genuine in its struggle and will continue to pressure both BN and Pakatan for the sake of the marginalised poor.
Winning the next election is not the Human Rights Party's (HRP) main agenda. Its agenda is to reach the poor and educate them to rise as a force so as to pressure the corrupted politicians to perform for them at maximum level.
Kleo: I disagree with Hindraf joining Pakatan. People approved of PAS in Pakatan because it has always maintained that it's an Islamic party, not a racial one. But Hindraf is a self- professed race-based party for which modern Malaysia has no room.
Even in its short history, we've witnessed ugly infighting in Hindraf. It has issued threats and blackmailed both BN and Pakatan even though it's not part of either coalition. What will happen when it is married to Pakatan? Having Hindraf in Pakatan will be its death wish.
Blackeye: Don't over-price Hindraf. It may have had a part to play in the last general election with its surprise/shock-the-electorate rallies and so on. But not any more.
Hindraf is slowly disintegrating and the people who started it are the same people now to be blamed. They could have been a power to be reckoned with. Not a lot, but still worth their salt.
Now it is nothing but a name. Even the BN does not need them in their corner as Hindraf has splintered into many pieces. The original leaders have gone in different directions.
Even Pakatan is beyond any help. I predict that at least eight to ten of their MPs will jump to other parties soon and that will finish off the opposition coalition.
Gandhi: To get a landslide victory in the 13th general election, I don't see any other option but for Hindraf and Pakatan join and become a formidable force to capture Putrajaya. Hindraf has become a household name in Malaysia. It eclipsed the 52-year old MIC.
No right-thinking person would trust MIC after it lost the Indian community's respect and its president failed to serve the community honestly. MIC is now in the wilderness and on its way to a natural death.
If it were not for Hindraf no one would have brought out the issues of marginalisation into the open. It is only asking for Indians to be treated equally and for their dignity to be restored. They are fighting for an egalitarian society in which all Malaysians can enjoy a decent life.
Concern Citizen: PKR's Anwar Ibrahim, PAS' Abdul Hadi Awang and DAP's Karpal Singh should work together with the Human Rights Party (HRP) and Hindraf to achieve the goal of taking Putrajaya.
LG: Not only are Hindraf and HRP a clear voice for the Indian poor and marginalised, but they also show the greatest integrity compared with other politicians.
The present leadership cannot be matched on that count. The Indian poor, in particular, as well as the Malaysian polity as a whole, need such leadership.
The fight within both the Umno and Pakatan is about who gets the projects, not about what benefits the people. The country really would do better with truly people-orientated leaders.
Manusia: Consistency is the answer. If you are interrupted, it's just a minor inconvenience but not a disaster because it's easy to get back to where you started. Pakatan Rakyat needs to understand that consistency for the sake of the people, not for one's political agenda, will lead it to be embraced by the people.
Dhan: I have not heard any Indian Pakatan MPs speaking up on Indian issues. Everybody expects Indian MPs to speak up on Malay issues, Chinese issues, church burnings, etc, but not Indian issues. To speak up on Indian issues, such as the Kuala Ketil crematorium issue, land for Tamil schools, or custodial deaths, is considered racist.
Pakatan Indian representatives might just as well not exist as they have no support base of their own. They are only decorations for PKR and DAP to provide a false veneer of multiracialism. Thank god Hindraf is there.
Waythamoorthy: We're not racist
Peter Chen: 'If I am a racist, surely I won't lift even a finger to help others fight for their place in the sun'. But he had earlier said: 'I know that other Malaysians are also being systematically marginalised as well by the system. It's not my business to speak up for them'. So are you lifting a finger to help others or not?
For heaven's sake, Malaysia has enough of race-based politics. Let us struggle as Malaysians, not as Indians or Chinese or Malay or Iban or Orang Asli, etc.
LG: Hindraf arose out of the need for effective representation of marginalised Indians. None of the so-called multiracial parties ever achieved anything for marginaliseed Indians.
BN is overtly racist. DAP is predominantly Chinese. PAS is predominantly Muslim. PKR is a largely Malay-based party with some non-Malay representation at the leadership level.
You can say that they all need the votes of various communities to win but you cannot say that they represent the interests of all the different ethnic groups.
Matahari: If we are to move away from race-based politics, then PAS must drop its Islamic state agenda and DAP must be willing to adopt an Indian or a Malay as chief minister in Penang.
Is that possible? If it is, only then we are moving away from race-based politics. Until then, we are all entangled in race-based politics though we pretend to claim otherwise.
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