COMMENTARY
People who want to see change at the upcoming 13th general election and the end of Barisan Nasional (BN) rule are angry with P. Uthayakumar and his Human Rights Party (HRP) for declaring their intention to stand in Selangor seats currently held by Pakatan Rakyat.
They see this as a betrayal. Standing in these seats as independents (because HRP’s application for registration has been rejected by the Registrar of Societies), HRP members will create three-cornered fights that will bring advantage to BN. Why Uthayakumar and his party would do this to help BN is shocking to many.
After all, this is the same BN that treated them like pariahs when Hindraf, of which they were a part, held its mammoth rally in November 2007. Despite its being a peaceful demonstration, with numerous participants carrying pictures of Mahatma Gandhi to emphasise that, the BN-led government unleashed tear gas and water cannons on them. A total of 136 demonstrators were arrested.
Uthayakumar himself was hauled to Kamunting as a detainee without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA). So were a few other Hindraf leaders. Hindraf was unjustly accused of being linked to the Sri Lankan terrorist group Tamil Tigers. It was even outlawed by the Government – until just last January.
An irate pro-change citizen has this to say: “I am terribly angry. I remember when they were in Kamunting, we defied the police and held candlelight vigils praying for them to be released. We even contributed cash to their families. All that has been so quickly forgotten.”
Putting two and two together, observers have come up with the theory that BN may have wooed over Uthayakumar and his ilk the way it has been wooing the Indian community as a whole.
BN Chairman Najib Razak, in order to win Indian votes, has been throwing out cash and goodies of all sorts to the Indian community under the pretext of helping them. Observers believe he could be doing the same for the political groups, like HRP and the Makkal Sakthi Party headed by another ex-Hindraf leader, R.S. Thanenthiran, who was given a datukship soon after his party aligned itself with BN.
Obviously, there is nothing Najib would wish for more than to also win Selangor back for BN. He knows that winning Putrajaya would not be complete without that much-coveted state in the bag as well, and his job as Umno president and therefore prime minister could well depend on that if BN doesn’t win by a two-thirds majority.
Not surprisingly, therefore, he made himself the Selangor BN chief. And going by his track record of stealing Perak back from Pakatan in 2008, one can expect him to pull off any kind of tactic, including unsavoury ones, to steal a march on Pakatan again – in Selangor this time.
The word going around now is that some Indians are planning to vote for the third candidate standing in all seats nationwide, not just in Selangor. This will definitely split the Opposition votes. Their reason for doing this is that they want to protest against Pakatan for not accepting Hindraf’s blueprint to benefit the Indians.
This is not quite fair. Pakatan met with Hindraf Chairman P. Waythamoorthy to discuss the blueprint and has not rejected it. As of Feb 18, 2013, Pakatan’s leaders said they were still attempting to translate the blueprint into “implementable policies and amendments to the law”.
On the other hand, BN has not accepted the blueprint either. So why should this former enemy of Hindraf be suddenly favoured?
Furthermore, the DAP, one of the main parties in the Pakatan coalition, has announced a 14-point plan billed the “Gelang Patah Declaration” specifically addressing the socio-economic needs of the Indians.
However, Hindraf advisor N. Ganesan chooses to see it as a “plagiarised version” of Hindraf’s blueprint. He says it incorporates 11 of Hindraf’s proposals, and questions the sincerity behind the declaration.
One would think that the DAP’s incorporation of Hindraf’s proposals would be seen as a positive move, but apparently Hindraf is also playing political games. It is holding out for a better deal from BN after having met with Najib on March 25. Ganesan has revealed that he is now awaiting a second formal meeting to take place, and he thinks it will be soon.
In criticising the DAP’s Declaration, Ganesan now brings up all the grouses Hindraf has against the DAP dating back five years, and even accuses it of coming out with a race-based declaration when all this while it has been arguing along needs-based lines!
When Pakatan, which advocates rejecting race-based policy-making, did not specifically address Indian needs in its election manifesto, choosing instead to address the poor and the marginalised as a generic entity, it was accused of neglecting the Indians. Now when the DAP goes the way of attending to Indian needs, it is accused of “doublespeak”.
The Indians deserve better leaders who are genuinely concerned about their cause, not those who play politics or have personal agendas of their own. As it is, with all this game-playing, the signals being sent out are confusing the community.
It is highly unlikely that BN will accept Hindraf’s blueprint because one of its conditions is that whoever takes charge of Putrajaya after the general election must appoint Hindraf to administer a new ministry dealing with minority affairs. No coalition would be asinine enough to agree to such a condition. Such a thing is unheard-of, and the consequences of implementing it could be disastrous.
Perhaps it’s time Hindraf’s leaders – and Uthayakumar as well – came to terms with reality and decided what would be best not just for the Indians but for the country as a whole. Going with BN is not the better way for a better Malaysia, and they are smart enough to know that. Indeed, if BN were to accept Hindraf’s blueprint, Uthayakumar, Ganesan and Waythamoorthy should be prepared after the elections for a nasty surprise!
*This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
* Kee Thuan Chye is the author of the bestselling book No More Bullshit, Please, We’re All Malaysians, and the latest volume, Ask for No Bullshit, Get Some More!
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