The following is a letter that was sent to MT and published sometime around Dec 13 2007.
I am publishing it again so that we can see that the negative perception of HINDRAF and the Kg Buah Pala issue is something that could have been prevented.
It now seems that matters have moved on to a watershed, similar to the watershed that was March 8th, and the blame falls squarely and equally on the shoulders of HINDRAF and the opposition parties for sacrificing right planning for political expediency.
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Letter to Hindraf and Opposition political parties.
CTT (Citizen’s Think Tank) is going to form a Shadow
Government (what this entails is still unclear) soon.
When are we going to see a proper Shadow Cabinet by
the opposition parties and a move beyond calling for
Electoral reforms via BERSIH, to a common manifesto by
the Opposition to take on BN in the next GE??
Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall hosted a forum on Post
Hindraf Malaysia two days ago, with KeADILan and PSM
being represented, and the PAS speakers unable to
attend because of the BERSIH arrests at the Parliament
the same morning .
Yesterday, DAP hosted a talk ” A New Deal For
Marginalised Indians ” at NUBE in Brickfields.
The message delivered by all the speakers is for
Malaysian Indians to spread the news and to vote for
the opposition candidates in the next GE, as well as
an open invitation for them to join the respective
parties.
It will be a crying shame if the next GE sees a
reduction in the popular vote to BN to below the 50%
mark, and yet BN still forms the government because
the Opposition parties can’t unite and work together
in a more concrete manner.
When this question was raised to the speakers, not a
single one of them said they will speak to the other
leaders to get the ball rolling, all we get is more
rhetoric about the raw deal the Indians have had, how
UMNO is bad, and the same old sob stories.
Time for rhetoric is over.
PAS, KeADILan, DAP, PSM and whoever else, put your
heads together and show us that you can unite beyond
individual ideologies to come with a blueprint for a
better Malaysia.
Decide on which is more important. Your individual
ideologies or a better future for Malaysia and
Malaysians?
For Hindraf, take this opportunity to push all the
parties that are ‘courting’ you for your support to
force them to come together in a more visible and
viable manner. By this you will be doing all
Malaysians a favour, not just the Indians. Do not
allow your supporters votes to be in vain.
All I ask is that you defend the constitution and
ensure that the poor are given help regardless of
ethnicity.
Jeevindra Kumar
Dec 13 2007
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If HINDRAF is being vilified right now, it is because it allowed its momentum and message to be exploited (for want of a better word) by the Opposition Parties to achieve a common purpose (winning the 8th GE) without getting a quid pro quo. Not a quid pro quo for Indians or Hindus alone, mind you, but clout to fight for the downtrodden regardless of race, religion or language.
This is what you get when you trust the rhetoric that spills from the mouth of Political Parties, regardless of which side of the divide they are on. When push comes to shove they will pass the blame elsewhere and just let the cards fall where they may.
As for the general racism exhibited in the Kg Buah Pala issus as far as MT commentors are concerned, it should not come as a surprise to anyone. If you thought you were living in the land of racial equality and social justice, it’s time to get your head checked. This is Malaysia, and we take our race divides seriously.
Jeevindra Kumar
July 14th 2009
