Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email I reproduce the full article from NST below.
I have the power to make a difference
S. Manikavasagam
I HAVE been fired from many jobs and arrested over my social activist programmes before I became a member of parliament for Kapar.
Prior to that, my whole life revolved around fighting against any injustice and issues of human rights under various non-governmental organisations like Policewatch.My unexpected win in Kapar opened my eyes to a whole world of issues and made me realise that I had the power to make a change. After winning the Kapar parliamentary seat by a big majority, I also realised that my constituents wanted a change. They have such high hopes in me, especially the Indians who make up 13 per cent of Kapar’s 112,224 registered voters.
Kapar was a foreign area to me because I was actively involved in helping people at Batu Caves. In fact, I wanted to be an MP for Batu Caves but respected the party’s request to contest in Kapar.
As a first-time MP, I was quite nervous but my experience in dealing with constituency issues with senior MPs from PKR helped me cope with mine.
Issues in my constituency range from stateless people to clogged drains and perpetual flood problems. We have set up four service centres in Klang, one in each state assembly seat and have staff recording complaints or grouses from those who visit the centres.They report back to me and if any of the complaints needs the state government’s attention, I bring the matter up with Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
Otherwise, I try to help as many people as possible, especially with land title issues and stateless persons since I have experience in dealing with such problems. We are saddened by the fact that we have no proper allocation for remedial work such as replacing the drainage system to overcome flood problems.
There are so many economic and social issues in Kapar, including high unemployment and crime rate and investors pulling out causing some businesses to close down.
We have tried discussing with the police on efforts to reduce the crime rate but find it difficult to get cooperation. The last thing I want to do is hit out at the police. I want to work with them. There is much work that needs to be done.
Although I have to sacrifice my privacy and time with my family, I will not rest until I see a safe and well-developed constituency.
Apa macam? Boleh percaya ka? What is your opinion on Manikavasagam so far?
He is having a tough time because Kapar is a big constituency, and he is also facing a lawsuit over the Sujatha case. Kapar is also famous for its criminal activities, especially by Indians.
Do you think he can last the race? Will he be a one-term MP or continue to rise in politics?
What are the Kapar folks saying?
Poobalan
This is what will happen.
The fate of Mani and other new MPs very much tied to the political future of Anwar and PR. We can already seen that Anwar’s stunt on “Project 916” has backfired badly and caused much damage to his credibility. In fact the momentum of PR also significantly affected (just like I predicted right ?).
My guess is that Anwar’s and PR’s power has reached its peak in 2008 and will be downhill from now onwards. There are many reasons but that’s something to discuss elsewhere.
Let’s put that aside first. Let’s analyse the situation for 2013.
Case 1 : Anwar get’s more popular and on the verge of taking over power.
– In this case, we can expect many people will be flocking to join PR both nuetrals and BN supporters (and even MPs and ADUNs). In such cases, I hardly expect people like Mani will be able to hold on to his position. Most likely he won’t even able to get to contest.
Case 2 : Anwar’s popularity down in the drain.
– In this case, Mani likely to get to contest but also likely to lose badly.
Realistically, there is no way that Mani can continue to be a MP for 2nd term. I think even a simple check with Kapar people will tell us that no one really likes him much. After all he is not from Kapar nor he has any grass root support. PKR is only slightly less Malay than UMNO and most of its members are Malays. If PKR is going to organise divisional elections, then I am sure Mani will not win.
As for Mani’s performance, I think the general consensus is that he might be good in his NGO work but he is no MP. His BM and PR skills are poor and perceived as an Indian NGO guy than a real wakil rakyat for all races.
Even among Indians, his reputation is mixed. He failed to stop temple demolition in his own backyard, which he later blamed others. This incident really damaged his reputation among Indians since he himself used temple demolitions as key issue for GE.
The crime rate in Kapar has gotten worse, with the gang leaders and members from Klang / Taman Sentosa area has fled to Kapar to evade the police from the Operasi Copperhead.
Mani is wrong to accuse the police of inaction, his comments likely to antagonise the PDRM. The real issue is social issue and the lack of cooperation among the citizens in coming forward to give evidence. As such it is hard for police to charge anyone. The only avenue available is the Emergency Ordinance Act where the police can send these gangsters to Simpang Renggam. But funnily Mani used to be one of the biggest critic of this act when he was in the Police Watch. So I guess this is peotic justice….hahahhaha….so the lesson here is to be responsible in your criticisms otherwise it will come back to haunt you later.