KUALA LUMPUR, May 18 — Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) chairman P. Waythamoorthy
has dismissed criticism following his government appointment last Wednesday.
He was named deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, despite being head of the Indian rights movement that organised a mass protest in 2007 against the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, leading to the community’s rejection of the ruling coalition in Election 2008.
“Let them talk. I’m a performer,” Waythamoorthy (picture) was quoted as saying by English daily New Straits Times today.
Waythamoorthy’s appointment appears to be reward for his role in returning Indian support for BN.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Indian vote in Election 2013 was evenly split between BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties.
Less than three weeks before the polls, Waythamoorthy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the BN government headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, purportedly to improve the Indian community’s economic standing after negotiations with PR failed.
Just days after the signing of the document, his brother and Hindraf co-founder P. Uthayakumar said that Waythamoorthy has been sacked as the movement’s chairman.
Hindraf’s 2007 protest before the Election 2008 “political tsunami”, where BN lost its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament, had led to the group being banned.
However, earlier this year in a strategically-timed move, the Najib administration agreed to lift the ban in anticipation of the 13th general election.
The Indian community makes up about 950,000 of the country’s 13.3 million registered voters and is a significant minority in 60 of the 222 federal seats.
has dismissed criticism following his government appointment last Wednesday.He was named deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, despite being head of the Indian rights movement that organised a mass protest in 2007 against the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, leading to the community’s rejection of the ruling coalition in Election 2008.
“Let them talk. I’m a performer,” Waythamoorthy (picture) was quoted as saying by English daily New Straits Times today.
Waythamoorthy’s appointment appears to be reward for his role in returning Indian support for BN.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the Indian vote in Election 2013 was evenly split between BN and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) parties.
Less than three weeks before the polls, Waythamoorthy signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the BN government headed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, purportedly to improve the Indian community’s economic standing after negotiations with PR failed.
Just days after the signing of the document, his brother and Hindraf co-founder P. Uthayakumar said that Waythamoorthy has been sacked as the movement’s chairman.
Hindraf’s 2007 protest before the Election 2008 “political tsunami”, where BN lost its customary two-thirds majority in Parliament, had led to the group being banned.
However, earlier this year in a strategically-timed move, the Najib administration agreed to lift the ban in anticipation of the 13th general election.
The Indian community makes up about 950,000 of the country’s 13.3 million registered voters and is a significant minority in 60 of the 222 federal seats.
No comments:
Post a Comment