INTERVIEW Right-wing group Perkasa is not belligerent against non-Malays as its aim is to promote the empowerment of the Malay community, said BN's Hulu Selangor candidate P Kamalanathan.
The 44-year-old public relations manager, whose task is to convince Hulu Selangor's 34,020 - or 52.7 percent of - Malay voters of Hulu Selangor that he is their man in the upcoming by-election, said that Perkasa's role is about "empowering” the Malay race and it does not trample on the rights of other races.
"Perkasa has its own role. It is strengthening its (Malay) race, its language and its religion, and we (MIC) are also doing the same by strengthening our race, religion and language," he stressed.
"Is it wrong for me to want to memperkasakan (empower) my race and my language? Is it wrong for me to want to memperkasakan Tamil schools?" he asked.
Speaking to Malaysiakini at his home in Taman Garing, Kamalanathan said that despite championing one's own ethnic group, it is crucial that economic growth and wealth is shared by all.
The MIC candidate, who is carrying the BN flag in the tussle with the opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat, is confident of gaining solid support from all communities with the help of its coalition partners - Umno, MCA and Gerakan.
Asked about his strategy for winning back the support of Indian community which has turned its back on former incumbent G Palanivel in the 2008 general election, Kamalanathan said:
"We are never contented. Even if we have regain the Indian ground, we will continue to work. Gone are the days when we sat back and say they all will believe us. We are on our toes everyday."
Moreover, he reminded that the marginalised Indian community has been given "a lot of support" from Palanivel, but it is up to them to make use of it.
"We can only take the horse to water but we cannot force the horse to drink it. Sometimes opportunities don't come rolling to your door, I am where I am today because I worked hard.
“ Every Malaysian is successful today because they worked hard... we must believe in our abilities and we must have confidence as we must also be motivated and inspired to be successful,” he said.
'Kamalanathan speaks better Malay than Zaid'
Kamalanathan, 44, who hails from neighbouring Rawang, also highlighted that his command of the Malay language has been praised by others to be better than by-election opponent Zaid Ibrahim's.
"I read on Twitter, and one posting said that, 'I'm surprised Kamalanathan speaks better Malay than Zaid...' and this was not said by an Indian or Chinese but a Malay," he said.
Kamalanathan argued that he lives close enough to Hulu Selangor to be considered a local.
"Hulu Selangor is only a stone throw away from Rawang... I have lived in Rawang for 43 years and I have many relatives and friends from the constituency," he said.
Taking a swipe at Zaid, who was formerly from Kota Bharu, the MIC national information chief said his advantage is that he understands the needs of the people that he has grown up with.
"Rawang is so much closer to Hulu Selangor, the nearest town is Sungai Choh, I have many friends whom I studied with - from Sungai Buaya, Sungai Gapi and Serendah because at that time everyone attended Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seri Garing (a secondary school in Rawang)," he said.
"I know a lot of friends and family who live in Serendah and I have a lot linkages (so much so) during the durian season, I have a friend in Ladang Sungai Choh who owns an orchard and we would go there to have durians," he added.
"I live nearby so I am able to convince and talk to the people on what I can do... I don't want to know what Zaid can do, I don't want to know what Pakatan is going do, and it is their right to do whatever they want.
Kamalanathan was quick to add that he is a "team player", unlike Zaid who left Umno in 2008.
"I will not abandon the ship I'm sailing, I will sink and swim with this party and with the people of Hulu Selangor. If there is a problem, I will find a solution within the system. I will not jump ship.”
Zaid, who was formerly the law minister and senator, had resigned from his post in protest to the arbitrary detention of Selangor executive councillor Teresa Kok, blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and journalist Tan Hoon Cheng.
He was later sacked from Umno for attending several opposition events. Last year, Zaid joined PKR, and has been entrusted with the task of drawing up Pakatan's common policy framework.
Asked if winning the election would bring MIC back its former glory, Kamalanathan said:
"MIC is not about Kamalanathan... MIC has more than 500,000 members throughout the country. Winning and losing an election is part of the process, and losing does not mean MIC has not done anything.
He also said that he is confident that the party grassroots who were slightly disgruntled over the sidelining of G Palanivel, will eventually support him.
"They will return to support me. Maybe it will take a day or two, but they will return. Plus, I will meet them after this," he said.
Hulu Selangor a green wonderland
Besides vowing to win back the support of the people, Kamalanathan also spoke of his aspirations for the bucolic Hulu Selangor.
"The environment, greenery and the coolness of Kuala Kubu Bahru is very peaceful and quiet. It gives you inspiration. I like Kuala Kubu Bahru," he said.
One of his ambitious plans is to turn Hulu Selangor into an educational hub, which in turn, would transform the social economic woes in the area, he said.
"There is a lot of possibilities for educational institutions there... the prime minister and the deputy prime minister have made a decision to build a UiTM there. It is an indication of how serious we are...
“YBK (Yayasan Basmi Kemiskinan) is working very hard, they have a piece of land and they want to build a university," he said.
"They want to construct an educational city, and with that there will be new development there. Houses rental will go up, with this other institutions will come and livelihood can be uplifted and abandoned housing project can be revived," he added energetically.
Satellite townships such as Bukit Beruntung, Bukit Sentosa, Sungai Cho, Sungai Buaya, Kampung Koskan, Serendah, Kerling, Kalompang, Batang Kali, Hulu Yam, Rasa and Pertak, all have its own unique selling point, he added.
"The basic necessities of the people who live there must be solve. The Maslow's hierarchy of needs says that the most important thing is a place to live, food to eat and clothes to wear," he said.
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The 44-year-old public relations manager, whose task is to convince Hulu Selangor's 34,020 - or 52.7 percent of - Malay voters of Hulu Selangor that he is their man in the upcoming by-election, said that Perkasa's role is about "empowering” the Malay race and it does not trample on the rights of other races.
"Perkasa has its own role. It is strengthening its (Malay) race, its language and its religion, and we (MIC) are also doing the same by strengthening our race, religion and language," he stressed."Is it wrong for me to want to memperkasakan (empower) my race and my language? Is it wrong for me to want to memperkasakan Tamil schools?" he asked.
Speaking to Malaysiakini at his home in Taman Garing, Kamalanathan said that despite championing one's own ethnic group, it is crucial that economic growth and wealth is shared by all.
The MIC candidate, who is carrying the BN flag in the tussle with the opposition alliance of Pakatan Rakyat, is confident of gaining solid support from all communities with the help of its coalition partners - Umno, MCA and Gerakan.
Asked about his strategy for winning back the support of Indian community which has turned its back on former incumbent G Palanivel in the 2008 general election, Kamalanathan said:
"We are never contented. Even if we have regain the Indian ground, we will continue to work. Gone are the days when we sat back and say they all will believe us. We are on our toes everyday."
Moreover, he reminded that the marginalised Indian community has been given "a lot of support" from Palanivel, but it is up to them to make use of it.
"We can only take the horse to water but we cannot force the horse to drink it. Sometimes opportunities don't come rolling to your door, I am where I am today because I worked hard.
“ Every Malaysian is successful today because they worked hard... we must believe in our abilities and we must have confidence as we must also be motivated and inspired to be successful,” he said.
'Kamalanathan speaks better Malay than Zaid'
Kamalanathan, 44, who hails from neighbouring Rawang, also highlighted that his command of the Malay language has been praised by others to be better than by-election opponent Zaid Ibrahim's.
"I read on Twitter, and one posting said that, 'I'm surprised Kamalanathan speaks better Malay than Zaid...' and this was not said by an Indian or Chinese but a Malay," he said.
Kamalanathan argued that he lives close enough to Hulu Selangor to be considered a local.
"Hulu Selangor is only a stone throw away from Rawang... I have lived in Rawang for 43 years and I have many relatives and friends from the constituency," he said.Taking a swipe at Zaid, who was formerly from Kota Bharu, the MIC national information chief said his advantage is that he understands the needs of the people that he has grown up with.
"Rawang is so much closer to Hulu Selangor, the nearest town is Sungai Choh, I have many friends whom I studied with - from Sungai Buaya, Sungai Gapi and Serendah because at that time everyone attended Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Seri Garing (a secondary school in Rawang)," he said.
"I know a lot of friends and family who live in Serendah and I have a lot linkages (so much so) during the durian season, I have a friend in Ladang Sungai Choh who owns an orchard and we would go there to have durians," he added.
"I live nearby so I am able to convince and talk to the people on what I can do... I don't want to know what Zaid can do, I don't want to know what Pakatan is going do, and it is their right to do whatever they want.
Kamalanathan was quick to add that he is a "team player", unlike Zaid who left Umno in 2008."I will not abandon the ship I'm sailing, I will sink and swim with this party and with the people of Hulu Selangor. If there is a problem, I will find a solution within the system. I will not jump ship.”
Zaid, who was formerly the law minister and senator, had resigned from his post in protest to the arbitrary detention of Selangor executive councillor Teresa Kok, blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and journalist Tan Hoon Cheng.
He was later sacked from Umno for attending several opposition events. Last year, Zaid joined PKR, and has been entrusted with the task of drawing up Pakatan's common policy framework.
Asked if winning the election would bring MIC back its former glory, Kamalanathan said:
"MIC is not about Kamalanathan... MIC has more than 500,000 members throughout the country. Winning and losing an election is part of the process, and losing does not mean MIC has not done anything.
He also said that he is confident that the party grassroots who were slightly disgruntled over the sidelining of G Palanivel, will eventually support him.
"They will return to support me. Maybe it will take a day or two, but they will return. Plus, I will meet them after this," he said.
Hulu Selangor a green wonderland
Besides vowing to win back the support of the people, Kamalanathan also spoke of his aspirations for the bucolic Hulu Selangor.
"The environment, greenery and the coolness of Kuala Kubu Bahru is very peaceful and quiet. It gives you inspiration. I like Kuala Kubu Bahru," he said.
One of his ambitious plans is to turn Hulu Selangor into an educational hub, which in turn, would transform the social economic woes in the area, he said.
"There is a lot of possibilities for educational institutions there... the prime minister and the deputy prime minister have made a decision to build a UiTM there. It is an indication of how serious we are... “YBK (Yayasan Basmi Kemiskinan) is working very hard, they have a piece of land and they want to build a university," he said.
"They want to construct an educational city, and with that there will be new development there. Houses rental will go up, with this other institutions will come and livelihood can be uplifted and abandoned housing project can be revived," he added energetically.
Satellite townships such as Bukit Beruntung, Bukit Sentosa, Sungai Cho, Sungai Buaya, Kampung Koskan, Serendah, Kerling, Kalompang, Batang Kali, Hulu Yam, Rasa and Pertak, all have its own unique selling point, he added.
"The basic necessities of the people who live there must be solve. The Maslow's hierarchy of needs says that the most important thing is a place to live, food to eat and clothes to wear," he said.
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- by concern citizen - 9 minutes agoYesterday i warn you to to watch-out what are you talking to PC. Ur doomed. I make sure u lost this battle. Ur bowed to the stupid privilege instead of stand for Indian rights. i will ensure u gulung tikar in this by election. ur too arrogant to be a leader. belum apa apa lagi sudah cakap banyak. tunggu dan lihat. starting from now i'm going to campaign anti BN.
- by P.Dev Anand Pillai - 15 minutes agoThe MIC candidate talks about Maslow's hierarchy of needs by saying that the most "important thing is to have a place to stay, food to eat and clothes to wear". Is he trying to say that the constituents are that backward and poor? Why not try documenting the Indians in the constituency who have been stateless for generations! the candidate wants to turn KKB into an educational hub, why can't he demand more seats for Indian students in blue chip faculties of our local universities? Can the poor Indian with good results afford AIMST college in Sg Petani? Will the poor Indian be allowed a 7-10% discount when he wants to buy a house? He talks about "memperkasakan" his language and race and supports Perkasa, where was he when the bull's head was put in front of the state secretariat and stomped upon to send a message to the Indians? It is a pity that slowly but surely the Indians are all being led back into the crab basket. I hope they enjoy being crabs in the basket.
- by ONE HAND COVER THE SKY - 16 minutes agoSuch an awful lots of "Cock & Bull Story" from a green horn...haa..better claim he is a malay during birth, but subsequently turn into an Indian because he had too many indians friends staying around him. A Chamelon ?
- by sigh - 31 minutes agoHi, APCO-UMNO-APCO mandore.The non-Malays n non-Muslims feel that SHIT-ALI is a racist who looks down on other races n religions . Don’t suck up 2 Najis n Moohyidin just cos they gave u the seat, lah thambi. So, u support APCO-UMNO-APCO on the cowhead demonstration n the burning of churches ? Your PM, DPM n Kriscow gave them support lah, u cowdung ! So, are u a APCO-UMNO-APCO supporter 1st n an MIC leader second ? u r a worse traitor of the Indians than Semi Value himself ! SHIT-ALI fights 4 his race n u support him. But, when HINDRAF fought 4 their race , APCO-UMNO-APCO n u MIC buggers called them terrorists n racists. PORA, THAMBI !!!
- by Arul Inthirarajah - 41 minutes agoOnly an idiot would support Perkasa, which is essentially a racist group, led by another. I think we can write off this Kamalanathan character immediately. He owes his candidacy to UMNO, and appears willing to do anything to polish their a... (ahem) apple.
- by Doc - 48 minutes agoThese MIC fellows; Kamalanathan & Samy Vellu especially is on a kissing everyone "as...." frenzy. I'm thinking of going down to Hulu Selangor and hoping Kamalanathan can kiss mine too. Need to get clarification firstly, if Kamalanathan is only kissing UMNO "as....." or it a free for all.
- by goat - 51 minutes agoGanesan Naragan what says you?
- by lim chong leong - 54 minutes agoWhere has this Kamalanathan been hiding? Has he read Ibrahim Ali's speeches? Perkasa memang perkosa kaum-kaum bukan Melayu. But Kamalanathan says otherwise. In just one day, he is already showing that he is Umno tambi.
- by Sekigahara no tatakai - 55 minutes agoGreat orator, in one day speeches you already screw up with 3 races.....1 ) You work till 11.59.59 pm.... then you are against the Malay. 2 ) You degraded Hindraf....you make the Indians angry. 3 ) You support Perkasa....the stones supposed to be thrown at Palanivel are now aiming at you.
- by Sekigahara no tatakai - an hour agoHe is dumber than I thought he is. Against Hindraf ??? support Perkasa ???...what else ? Tell us something we don't know.
- by Sekigahara no tatakai - an hour agoKamalanathan defends Malay rights group Perkasa........oooops ! the competition has ended before it even starts ! Case close, game over !
- by ramakrishnan - an hour agothis umno runner to empower indians against umno? he dont know what he is talking. i urge all ulu selangor voters especially indian voters to reject this typical umno and samy office boy.
- by Beetle - 2 hours agoSuch a proud egostic idiot. He claims that his bm is better than Zaid.That's an insult to a another human being. Just like another malay telling" Kamaludin" that he speaks better tamil than him. We do not need proud egostic opportunistic people like this Kamal to serve ULU Selango. Why so fast you presume that you are going to be the new YB and with it brings you power and riches. Dei Tambi,stop day dreaming LAH!!!!
- by Ferdtan - 2 hours agoHindraf what say you? By being neutral in this by election you are in fact indirectly supporting this BN candidate who supports Perkasa (who called Malaysian Indians beggar).Sometimes I wonder whether the leaders of Hindraf are in cahoot with BN or not? They don't seem to hit out at this kind of statement which is against the Malaysian Indian.The leaders of Hindraf always seem to hit out at the Pakatan Governments for the slightest misstatement or actions taken which do not benefit the Malaysian Indians.
- by Pg Kia - 2 hours agoThis Ah Neh just sold his soul to the devil even before elected but for an opportunity to be a BeEnd MP. No wander so many Indians in M'sia are so poor and backward because once these Ah Neh are elected, they will protect their self interest in the expense of their community. They are Yes Man to AMNO! So, Malaysians in general, do you want these people to represent you in Parliment or they represent themselves with huge contracts from BeEnd. Do we need these people to fight for our rights, the rights of our future generations? MCA, MIC, Gerakan, the parties in Sabah and Sarawak, what are your stand on this? Don't keep quiet like a lapdog.
- by ksn - 2 hours agoNo wonder UMNO picked him. First he wanted to win the seat as gift to Najib and now he supports Perkasa.What leadership qualities! He may win a few Malay fanatics' votes but will lose all Chinese and Indian votes. Kamala, why not convert to Islam, you speak Malay very well from what I read.Thus you will qualify to become a Malay, constitutionally. Who knows you may end up as our PM like Mahathir, What about it? Give it a shot.
- by Kumara - 2 hours agoKamal, why don't you ask your wife to pr for perkasa, i believe she will be able to do a better job, isn't there anything MIC wouldn't do for position.
- by Godflesh - 2 hours agoKamalanathan, you speak of strengthening one's own race, religion, language and what not.That's the very reason BN was rejected on 308. Is this so hard for you in BN, MIC and MCA to understand? You see, the rakyat are no longer interested in raced based parties. An Indian desn't need to represent the indian community. If you still insist that it does then I suggest that you apply for citizenship in India simply because there are only Malaysians here in Malaysia-- you're standing for elections in the wrong country!
- by SusahKes - 3 hours agoSo Kama Chameleon, part of the UMNO "engagement terms" in your job description (obviously in return for your candidacy eh?) is to lick, pucker - up, kipas....?? First, you downplayed the role of HINDRAF as insignificant. Now, you kasi angkat sama Ibrahim Katak & the UMNO subcontracted racists. Why, I bet you don't mind going out to tea with Awang Selamat & Ahmad Ismail as my saudara-saudara from BN. You really sound like a political novice. You are going to lose this one, boy.
- by abacus - 3 hours agoI AM NOT SURPRISED WITH WHAT KAMAL SAID ABOUT PERKASA. AFTER ALL PERKASA IS HIVED FROM UNMO AND KAMAL IS UMNO'S CHOICE AND NOT MIC CHOICE. YOU SEE THE CONNECTION. SO WHAT KAMAL IS SAYING IS WHAT UNMO STAND IS. I SEE NO WAY KAMAL CAN SPEAK UP FOR THE CHINESE, INDIANS OR ORANG ASLI. SO PLEASE VOTE WISELY
- by ksn - 3 hours agoWhat a shame! By being the slave of UMNO and supporting Perkasa, this guy may pick up a few fanatical Malay votes but he can say good-bye to the Chinese and Indian votes. No wonder UMNO picked him. First he wanted to win the seat as a gift for Najib and now he supports Perkasa! What leadership qualities! Why not covert to Islam, thus become a Malay, you speak Malay very well.Constitutionally you qualify. Who knows you may become Malaysia's PM like Mahathir!.What about it, Kamala? Give it shot.
- by kgen - 3 hours agoHe defends Perkasa better than Umno. As for a UiTM in Hulu Selangor, how will a one race institution help the non-Malays there? Kamalanathan doesn't seem to worry about this because he is really representing Umno not MIC.
- by Perakian - 3 hours agoA typical MIC politian he is, bravo!
- by Keturunan Malaysia - 3 hours ago"Kamalanathan: I am the underdog".....reads a headline in under news blog as regards to the coming bye-election. After reading what he said here, I thought it suits him better if he drops the word 'under' altogether and leave the rest intact.
- by 1st Race - 3 hours ago"Perkasa has its own role. It is strengthening its (Malay) race, its language and its religion, and we (MIC) are also doing the same by strengthening our race, religion and language," he stressed."for wht MNO and why HM baned Hinraf..:):):)
- by 1st Race - 3 hours ago"Perkasa has its own role. It is strengthening its (Malay) race, its language and its religion, and we (MIC) are also doing the same by strengthening our race, religion and language," he stressed."for wht MNO and why HM baned Hinraf..:):):)
- by SKSs - 3 hours agoThis guys does not know what is happening around him. An indian supporting PERKASA's cause. One lost soul he is. How is this guy suppose to fight for the right of the Indian when he does not know what PERKASA is actually fighting for. Since he knows he cant get the indian votes after the so called palanivel fiasco he is trying hard to get the Malay Votes even if he has to butter up to PERKASA. That is how low MIC has gone to. Hope the indian voters realise now what kind of a "HERO" this guy is to the indian.
- by allinthegame - 3 hours agoThe word mandore only exist in the Tamil language. You are a tamil and it most befitting to describe you as one. Before the Indians were the white mans mandore now they are UMNO mandore. MIC will be nothing but UMNO's dog. We are not going to vote for someone who is going to take office and defend malay rights.
- by tc8000 - 3 hours agoThis is the reason why you will always be 'thambi' to umno-bn.
- by govindasamy - 3 hours agobla,,bla.. bla..will not take you to parliament. Your support of PERKASA will not put you in good books with PERKASA.When the whole country is condemning PERKASA how come you are only fellow supporting them ? Don't lah ....just to win Malay votes you do not have stoop so low. Use real time issues to convince the voters.
- by tc8000 - 3 hours agoThis is the reason why you will always be 'thanmbi' to umno-bn.
- by tc8000 - 3 hours agoThis is the reason why you will always be 'thambi' in umno-bn's eyes.
- by artchan - 3 hours agoGood , I sokong you. Please invite the rabid frog and ask him to campaign along with you. Maybe you can also ask him to memperkasakan you indian rights which have been trodden by your own UMNO colleagues. MIC for more than 50 years in the govt did nothing, and today you want to "meperkasakan" your race and language. You replacing Samy Vellu as the joker in MIC or what?
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11:23am: Light Strike Force personnel use loudhailers to order Pakatan supporters to disperse. 
10.55am: MIC state (Federal Territory) secretary P Panchamorthy says he also was injured when trying to stop Samy Vellu from falling on the barbed wires.
10.15am: Both BN and Pakatan supporters are getting closer to each other. They are now about 20 metres apart. The two sides exchange insults. There are chants of 'Altantuya', 'Chua Soi Lek', 'kaki botol', 'liwat', among others. 
10am: 
Apparently, she arrived late and was barred from entering the nomination centre. Her irate supporters are seen shouting outside the centre. 
9.45am: Inside the nomination centre, BN's Kamalanathan files his nomination papers. Two others have also filed their papers to contest as independent candidates.
9.30am: MIC leader S Samy Vellu's leg is injured and bleeding slightly after being pushed by the exuberant BN crowd. He is being attended to by a few people. 
Among those with the duo are Selangor Umno deputy leader Noh Omar, party Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin, MCA leaders Liow Tiong Lai, Kong Cho Ha, Wee Ka Siong, Heng Sai Kee Ng Yen Yen.
Outside, the BN crowd tired of singing 'Inilah Barisan Kita' for the umpteenth time, begins belting out Umno's theme song. 
Among those who are with them are PKR president Dr Wan Azizh Wan Ismail, party vice-president Azmin Ali, PAS deputy leader Nasharuddin Mat Isa and Selangor DAP leader Teng Chang Khim. 
8.46am: Both sides are stopped by their march got to the 100-metre restriction zone under the EC regulation.
8.30am: The Pakatan crowd has increased to about 10,000. The supporters begin marching slowly towards the nomination centre. They shout slogans - 'Hidup Rakyat, Hidup Pakatan' and 'Takbir Allahu Akbar'. A few could be seen beating the 'kompang', turning the march into a carnival show.
8.15am: About 2,000 Pakatan supporters gather at the KKB bus station. Among the opposition leaders in the area are PAS Salahudin Ayub, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, and Khalid Samad. They are waiting for PKR candidate Zaid Ibrahim and Selangor Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim to arrive.
8.10am: The nomination center is at the Dewan Serbaguna dan Kompleks Sukan Daerah Hulu Selangor. The area around the center has been barricaded by police with barbed wire. At least 200 uniform police are stationed at both barricade entrances (one for Pakatan, one for BN).
The crowd, made up of mostly Umno Youth, Wanita and Puteri raise banners and flags and are ready to march, while patriotic song blare from loud speakers. 
MIC chief S Samy Vellu seen at the nomination center area but as he walked through the Pakatan crowd, he was booed. The MIC chief smiled and there is no untoward incident.