My message to Anwar and his Indian cohorts in the party is very simple and straightforward: whatever plan they might come up with, it is way too little, too late, too patronising and pathetic.
by Govan Naliah via e-mail
I would like to say that I am very unexcited and unimpressed by the news and I believe I am not alone among Indian voters to feel that way.
My message to Anwar and his Indian cohorts in the party is very simple and straightforward: whatever plan they might come up with, it is way too little, too late, too patronising and pathetic.
Only after more than 1,060 days since the tsunami of 2008 that PKR has finally realised that Indian support for it and PR has waned. If the party is wondering why that happened, let me explain.
Indians have now woken up to the fact that they have been made use of. Many of us voted for the opposition in 2008 because of the Hindraf factor and our bitterness towards MIC and Samy Vellu.
Anwar and gang had very cleverly made use of that anti-government sentiment. All kinds of promises were made to help poor and marginalised Indians. And so we placed out trust on the opposition parties. Don’t anyone underestimate the impact of the swing of Indian votes. Our numbers may be small but the modest margin of victory for many opposition candidates tells you that our votes have been invaluable.
But now, more than 1,000 days later, what has PR done to alleviate the plight of many poor Indians? Ilek, nothing, zero. That’s why I say Indians feel that we have been made use of.
It is understandable why people like Gobalakrishnan, Kottapan and Jenapala have left the party. The latter, legitimately nominated to contest for the PKR deputy president post, even had one sacking letter very suddenly and suspiciously appearing out of the blue to put an end to his nomination. Was it because PKR didn’t want an Indian to contest such an important post? I leave that to everyone to decide. Jenapala might not have won but he could have carried the votes of a majority of PKR’s Indian members and made use of that to cut a deal with the other two candidates to make assistance to Indians a higher and more urgent priority in the party’s plans.
Whether you are an MIC supporter or not, you cannot deny that in the Interlok issue it has been quite effective in conveying the concerns and worries of the Indian community. If it becomes even more effective in serving its Indian constituency, I will have no hesitation to give it my support.
To PKR, I say it again: it’s too little too late.
GOVAN NALIAH
