Pakatan and DAP members feel that the omission was not a mistake, but a deliberate attempt by Pakatan leadership to show that only Malays and Chinese counted in the coalition.
GEORGE TOWN: There was no Indian face in the Pakatan Rakyat banner displayed at its national convention in Alor Setar last Saturday .
And this has riled up Pakatan and DAP Indian members. They feel that the omission was not a mistake, but a deliberate attempt by Pakatan leadership to show that only Malays and Chinese counted in the coalition.
The DAP Indian members are angry that their party supremo Karpal Singh pictorial montage was not included in the banner.
It was Karpal, as a lead counsel, who fought and got Anwar Ibrahim acquitted from the Sodomy II charge last Monday.
“How could Pakatan leadership forget Karpal?” they asked.
Human Rights Party secretary-general P Uthayakumar said that Barisan Nasional, for all its shortcomings, at least showcased Indian faces.
But by omitting an Indian face altogether from its official banner, he said Pakatan had indicated of things to come if it were to capture Putrajaya.
He claimed it was reflective of Pakatan future policies to undermine and sidestep Indian representation at the highest level of its decision-making hierarchy.
“Pakatan Malay and Chinese leaders demonstrated that they will make do without constructive Indian representations if they have federal powers,” alleged Uthayakumar.
He said Pakatan may have omitted Indian face because its leaders thought they can make do with only Malay and Chinese votes.
He reasoned that it was maybe because Indian community does not form a majority in the country’s 222 parliamentary constituencies despite having 715,099 registered voters as of general election 2008 electoral roll.
Since 1957, he alleged that Umno had has gerrymandered constituencies, with sizeable Indian population, to politically paralyse the community.
Sungai Petani, Padang Serai, Batu Kawan, Ipoh Barat, Bagan Datoh, Teluk Intan, Hulu Selangor, Kuala Selangor, Kota Raja, Klang, Teluk Kemang, Rasah and Cameron Highlands are among seats in question.
Compared to Sabah’s 25 federal and 60 state seats with 837,584 registered voters, he noted that Pakatan leaders have shown more political zest to look into the north Borneo state affairs.
Meanwhile, Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M Manoharan has been receiving calls since Saturday over the Pakatan banner.
He said the callers, including his constituents and Pakatan supporters, raised questions on whether “Pakatan was only interested in Indian votes, not Indian representations let alone their problems”.
GEORGE TOWN: There was no Indian face in the Pakatan Rakyat banner displayed at its national convention in Alor Setar last Saturday .And this has riled up Pakatan and DAP Indian members. They feel that the omission was not a mistake, but a deliberate attempt by Pakatan leadership to show that only Malays and Chinese counted in the coalition.
The DAP Indian members are angry that their party supremo Karpal Singh pictorial montage was not included in the banner.
It was Karpal, as a lead counsel, who fought and got Anwar Ibrahim acquitted from the Sodomy II charge last Monday.
“How could Pakatan leadership forget Karpal?” they asked.
Human Rights Party secretary-general P Uthayakumar said that Barisan Nasional, for all its shortcomings, at least showcased Indian faces.
But by omitting an Indian face altogether from its official banner, he said Pakatan had indicated of things to come if it were to capture Putrajaya.
He claimed it was reflective of Pakatan future policies to undermine and sidestep Indian representation at the highest level of its decision-making hierarchy.
“Pakatan Malay and Chinese leaders demonstrated that they will make do without constructive Indian representations if they have federal powers,” alleged Uthayakumar.
He said Pakatan may have omitted Indian face because its leaders thought they can make do with only Malay and Chinese votes.
He reasoned that it was maybe because Indian community does not form a majority in the country’s 222 parliamentary constituencies despite having 715,099 registered voters as of general election 2008 electoral roll.
Since 1957, he alleged that Umno had has gerrymandered constituencies, with sizeable Indian population, to politically paralyse the community.
Sungai Petani, Padang Serai, Batu Kawan, Ipoh Barat, Bagan Datoh, Teluk Intan, Hulu Selangor, Kuala Selangor, Kota Raja, Klang, Teluk Kemang, Rasah and Cameron Highlands are among seats in question.
Compared to Sabah’s 25 federal and 60 state seats with 837,584 registered voters, he noted that Pakatan leaders have shown more political zest to look into the north Borneo state affairs.
Meanwhile, Kota Alam Shah assemblyman M Manoharan has been receiving calls since Saturday over the Pakatan banner.
He said the callers, including his constituents and Pakatan supporters, raised questions on whether “Pakatan was only interested in Indian votes, not Indian representations let alone their problems”.
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