Two Umno ministers have warned him to follow the government line but P. Waythamoorthy (pic) is not backing down.
Waythamoorthy has little to lose in making his stand because if he is kicked out of Cabinet, he will be given the credibility he does not have in the Indian community.
Today he asked if crime should be tackled by shooting all gangsters.
“Every major town in the west coast, I am sure has several gangs and probably as many members as in Penang. That is a large and disturbing number. Is anyone suggesting we shoot off all these wayward youngsters to clean the streets of crime?" he questioned in a statement.
Labelling it a crisis in the Indian community, the Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said there was a need for urgent and positive intervention, adding that a memorandum of understanding had been signed between the Barisan Nasional and Hindraf before the elections for a 5-year blueprint for the advancement of the Indian community.
He called on his critics in the Cabinet to work with him to solve the problems of Indian youths involved in crime rather than call for his ouster from the government.
Waythamoorthy said Putrajaya needed to address the root cause of the issue, which was a symptom of socio-economic malaise affecting the Indian community.
"In my discussions with the Prime Minister, I had it made very clear that my role is to deliver comprehensive and permanent solutions to the longstanding socio-economic problems of the Indian community and nothing else. I have chosen to come into government primarily for this purpose," he said in a statement today.
Over the weekend, Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Defence Minister Datuk Hishamuddin Hussein told the former Hindraf leader to quit his Cabinet position after the deputy minister had questioned the police shooting of five alleged gang members in Penang last Monday.
"In the war against crime, there should be no quarter given to criminals," Ahmad Zahid said.
Hishammuddin told him to “think rationally before making statements now that he is in government".
The five shot dead – J. Gobinath, 31, R. Ramesh, 27, N. Rakan, 25, M. Suresh, 25, and M. Gobinath, 21 – were believed to be linked to nine shooting cases this year, according to police.
They were in an apartment in Sungai Nibong when the police moved in.
Waythamoorthy, explaining the reason he spoke out on the shooting, said it may have resulted in the five being taken off the streets, but did nothing to solve rising crime.
He noted that at the funeral of one of those who died that day, the newspapers reported about 800 Indian youths, many purportedly 04 gang members, were in the procession.
He added that it was also reported that the director of criminal investigations (CID) Bukit Aman, Hadi Ho Abdullah, said police records of known gang members revealed that 71% were Indians.
In April, Waythamoorthy, on behalf of Hindraf, had signed a 5-year blueprint with the government to bring the Indian poor into the mainstream of national development.
"When realised, it will certainly help wean these wayward Indian youth from crime and into productive economic activity. That will really be a win-win approach. I have chosen to come into government primarily for this purpose," he stressed.
He pointed to a study done by ACP Amar Singh Sidhu titled "the rise of crime in Malaysia", which said the main cause of the violent crime and gang-related activities was urban poverty.
In the study, Amar noted that Indians in urban squatter areas had developed a sub-culture alienating them from mainstream Malaysian society. This subculture mindset was besieged by hopelessness, was captive to low self-esteem, and low self image coupled with the lack of opportunities to pursue education and employment.
"I make this call again to the Home Minister to work with me in a holistic manner to address this complex problem through the implementation of the plans in the 5-year blueprint," he said. - August 26, 2013.
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