The event at Vivekananda Tamil School in Brickfields here was attended by the BN chairman and prime minister Najib Tun Razak, Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy, several top MIC leaders and a throng of orange-clad Hindraf supporters.
Speaking during the event, Waythamoorthy urged Indians to return BN its two-thirds majority in the upcoming general election on May 5.
He insisted that their welfare will only be cared for by the ruling coalition BN and not Pakatan Rakyat.
“They (Pakatan) told me there would be a meeting but none of the leaders showed up,” Waythamoorthy told the crowd here.
“Even up until a few days ago, I was begging them. I thought of them as my friends,” he added.
Waythamoorthy acknowledged that there was skepticism over the agreement with BN but hoped Najib would dispel these criticisms by implementing the blueprint for the 1.5 million Indians that stand to benefit from the deal.
“I hope the prime minister will prove them all wrong,” he said.
Hindraf’s blueprint, among others, highlights issues related to displaced Indian plantation workers, the need for tertiary-level education for Indian students, job opportunities in the government sector, financial loans to Indian entrepreneurs, and the establishment of a Minorities Affairs Ministry.
Najib calls it historical dayNajib in his speech said this was an historical day for the Indian community and promised to do more for the community.
The MoU today puts to paper the government’s commitment in uplifting the Indian community. It is a result of weeks of meetings and negotiations with Najib on the Hindraf proposal for the Indian community.
Hindraf had a meeting with Najib on March 25, and following that there had been a series of talks between them.
The first indication that Najib was willing to look into Hindraf’s proposals came when he included the setting up of a special unit to oversee Indian affairs in the BN manifesto.
Though this was a far cry from the ministry which Hindraf sought, it however gave them the belief that Najib was willing to meet them half way to help uplift the Indian community.
Waythamoorthy had previously said that Hindraf would support whichever party that endorsed its blueprint. Alternatively, he had declared that Hindraf supporters would abstain from voting if neither Pakatan nor BN was willing to endorse the blueprint.
He had also embarked on a hunger strike on March 10 in order to get either BN or Pakatan to endorse the Hindraf blueprint. He ended his hunger strike on March 31. By this stage, the movement and Najib had officially started talks.
He had also expressed his disappointment with Pakatan and its leader Anwar Ibrahim for not taking them seriously despite having several meetings.
With the MoU being inked today, and with the tone of Waythamoorthy’s speech, it is certain that Najib and BN would be benefiting from Hindraf’s support.
While Hindraf leaders remained tightlipped, FMT learnt that Najib had agreed to provide affordable houses for displaced Indian plantation workers, make more concessions in education of Indian students and create more opportunities on the economic front for the community, including increasing financial loans and job opportunities.
This is a continuance of the concessions Najib has been making to the Indian community in that last 18 months, which included upgrading Tamil schools and giving financial aid to various Indian groups for grassroots programmes. The government had also introduced various schemes to help the Indian community to set up businesses.
‘Hindraf hijackers’
While
Hindraf’s deal with Najib and BN can bring about some positive changes
to the Indian community, the movement will nevertheless face severe
criticism from its detractors and its followers in Pakatan for sleeping
with the enemy.Hindraf came to prominence in 2007 when it led a mass street demontration which highlighted the plight of the Indian community in this country.
The awareness created by Hindraf then had helped Pakatan win over the Indian votes, and as a result to claim a huge victory in the 2008 general election.
Najib’s motive to deal with Hindraf will also be questioned if he is interested just to win over the lost Indian votes.
News of Hindraf’s talks with Najib had already seen some of its former office bearers holding press conferences and protests to label Waythamoorthy and other Hindraf leaders as turncoats and traitors to the cause.
Earlier today, the movement’s former leader S Jayathas said Waythamoorthy “and his cronies” were no longer authorised to issue statements on behalf of Hindraf.
Jayathas, who is PKR’s human rights legal bureau deputy chairman, said he had formed an interim management committee to run the affairs of the movement for the time being.
He stressed the Indian community will never allow Hindraf to be hijacked and destroyed by Waythamoorthy and his associates, and added that it was important for BN to be removed from federal power as they have not changed and reformed over the years.
Meanwhile Human Rights Party (HRP) pro-tem secretary-general and Waythamoorthy’s brother P Uthayakumar also distanced himself from the deal with BN.
Calling Waythamoorthy’s group ‘Hindraf hijackers’, Uthayakumar said the deal with Umno/BN has never been Hindraf’s struggle.
“This is not acceptable on the eve of the general election,” he said.
Calling himself the most senior and the de facto Hindraf leader, Uthayakumar said Hindraf’s political direction remained the same – not to vote for BN.
“Voting for Pakatan Rakyat is up to the individual as Hindraf is not prepared to take responsibility for Pakatan’s non-delievery to the Indian poor,” he added.
(Source: Free Malaysia Today)
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