Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email After the euphoria settled, the Indians have increased their expecctations. I have received 6 SMSes so far talking about putting up an Indian a Deputy CM or even Chief Minister in any one of the states taken by the opposition – Penang, Kedah, Perak or Selangor.
Hindraf issues statement (refer the end of this article) today via Waythamoorthy asking ISA Detainee Mr Manoharan (N48 Kota Alam Shah Selangor) to be given Deputy CM post.
HINDRAF
135-3 Jalan Toman 7
Kemayan Square 70200
Seremban.09 March 2008
BRIEF PRESS STATEMENT
HINDRAF congratulates opposition parties for their success.
The opposition parties should appreciate the “Makkal Sakthi” wave
created by HINDRAF as it is the root cause for change in mindset and political
maturity of all races.HINDRAF demands that DAP and Keadilan appoint a deputy Menteri Besar/Chief
Minister in the state of Selangor, Penang and Perak to show their sincerity towards
the Indian community.HINDRAF urges DAP and Keadilan to appoint M. Manoharan as deputy Menteri Besar
for the state of selangor.HINDRAF cautions DAP and Keadilan not to shortchange/betray the indian
community and the trust placed upon them.P. Waytha Moorthy
Chairman
HINDRAF
Currently in New Delhi
I’ll say there’s two ways looking at this issue:
1. If the coalition (DAP-PKR-PAS) are really putting away racial classifications, it should not be an issue if an Indian does not get a top or second highest position in the state. This will be a test for the coalition to see if they can indeed serve all communities with justice and fairness. If not, Makkal Sakthi will know what to do in 5 years time.
2. If the coalition really appreciate Makkal Sakthi (since they have been shouting on all the platforms while campaigning), then possibly they can allocate the CM post in Perak to a DAP/PKR indian assemblymen (Can choose from SIX candidates – 4 DAP [Sivasubramaniam, Sivakumar, Keshvinder, or Sivanesan] or 2 PKR [Ayyathurai or Kesavan]) or at the very least offer Deputy CM post. If not, create second deputy post in few states like Penang, Perak and Selangor.
However, I suspect that an Indian CM will be too much to take. May need to consult with respective palace (Sultans) before deciding.
As it stands:
Penang – CM DAP, Deputy PKR
Kedah – CM PAS, Deputy PKR
Perak – CM PAS (even though DAP won most seats), Deputy – not known
Selangor – CM PKR, Deputy DAP
Hindraf: Make ISA detainee Mano S’gor deputy MB
http://122.0.17.30/news/79508
K Kabilan | Mar 9, 08 5:19pm
The Hindu Rights Action Force wants its legal advisor M Manoharan to be appointed as a deputy menteri besar in Selangor under the new state government to be formed by the opposition. The opposition yesterday toppled the BN government by winning 36 seats out of 56 in the state. BN won the remaining 20 to be in the opposition in the state legislative assembly. PKR’s secretary general Khalid Ibrahim, who won the Ijok state seat, is expected to be named as the new Menteri Besar to replace BN-Umno Mohd Khir Toyo.
Hindraf’s chairperson P Waythamoorthy said that it was time for the opposition to repay the Indian community for their huge support in turning the wave in favour of the opposition in yesterday’s general election. “Nationwide, the Indian community has shown its dissatisfaction towards the BN government and had voted them out. “The opposition has been riding on the wave of makkal sakhti (people’s power) in the run up of the general election. “And it is no secret that the Indian voters have delivered their votes for the opposition,” said Waythamoorthy who spoke to Malaysiakini from New Delhi, India.
He added that now it was time for the opposition to repay the trust placed on them by the Indian community and not to betray that trust. “As such we hope that Manoharan will be appointed as a deputy menteri besar in Selangor. Likewise, we hope the opposition parties will appoint an Indian representative as a menteri besar or chief minister in the other states that they have won,” he added.
The Hindraf factor
Apart from Selangor, the opposition also has taken control in Perak, Kedah and Selangor – all states which have a large number of Indian voters. Waythamoorthy said that Hindraf had played a vital role in awakening the silent angst in the Indian community over their socio-economic sidelining.
Last week Waythamoorthy urged all Hindraf supporters to vote for the opposition to ensure that the plights of the Indian community are addressed.
This is the victory of the people who made an informed decision against long-standing corruption and tyranny in this nation. We needed a figurehead like Anwar Ibrahim to unite the parties, but it was the people who made that smart choice – a quantum leap of sorts – to vote for change. The BN’s shocking defeat is a big slap on the face for Badawi and his present tenure is shaky to say the least. Unseen forces within UMNO are bound to play it out in the next few months to unseat him from the reins of power. Meanwhile Mahathir is getting vocal.
If Pak Lah resigns, Najib will step up and it will then be back to old-style cronyism and nepotism; and worse, Mahathir;s dictatorial era will be back again to haunt us.
Najib is very much worse and is a cold blooded person…Tunku Razaleigh once said Najib is neither friend of Malay, nor Chinese or Indian Not even the faraway Mongols either. Altantuuya had proven that to us in broken bits and pieces.
Remember, if Badawi is forced out, Najib will take over. This is Mahathir’s agenda, and it is the agenda of old UMNO guards who irreparably corrupted this nation in the first place. And we all know what Najib stands for…Altantuuya, multimillion (whopping $500m to be exact) defense contract fees and what not and getting away with murder for all that.
Mahathir just held a Press Conference to push his own selfish agenda (he thinks and acts like he is still the Prime Minister in charge!!), and by proxy, to pave the ground for his son Mukhriz’s ascension to power. Standing next in line to Najib. But foremost, he would want Najib to take over from Badawi. When he does, we can forget about Altantuuya and the RCI into the heinous VK Lingam tape scandal.
And it will be a return to strong-arm rule all over again for Bolehland citizens. We are not supposed to allow that to happen. That’s why we voted in the BR to change all that.
It wasn’t Mahathir who stomped the country for change. It was Anwar.
To pre empt Mahathir making a comeback the back-door way, we need to install Anwar back into Parliament. To do that Badawi must show magnanimity to his arch-foe of yore. He must befriend his old enemy to beat off a bigger threat. The tide has changed somewhat, psot-GE12, and it’s going to be tougher than it seems on the surface.
Many will see this election’s results as a vindication for the BR, but other disgruntled Umno members like hidden-agenda Mahathir, watch-and-wait Najib (and impatient Khairy) will see this as an opportunity to grab power and the booty that comes along. The next few months will see Mahathir staging a “hidden-dragon” coup to oust Badawi from the hotseat. Najib will bide his time before his next move, smiling behind our backs now like the “crouching tiger.” Just watch and see.
Pak Lah, to redeem himself from the GE12 debacle, now only needs to do two things foremost.
The first thing Abdullah Badawi needs to do is to clean up the mess of a corrupt judiciary and the sycophantic media of the old guard dating back to the 80s.
Corruption will always exist, but the judiciary and the media in any democracy acts as the first and last line of defence watchdog. Instead, we have had lapdogs barking against the voices of the people for too long. The shocking mediocrity of the mainstream media is pathetic. The corruption of the judiciary is endemic. Both already rotten to the core and beyond repair. A complete overhaul of the rot and decay is not out of place. They still have not come to grips with the new political landscape yet.
It is important that members of the old guard from Mahathir’s era are not allowed to worm back in. We should start from a clean slate. Such a move per se will checkmate any of Mahathir’s hidden agenda plans, post-GE12. It is in the national interest that Badawi do just that.
A saving grace in his swan song, unshackling the good citizens of this wretched country from the twenty-over odd years of Mahathir’s godforsaken reign where the integrity and sanctity of our institutions were ransacked, raped and plundered with impunity. R
WIN-WIN LAH B4 U GO, BADAWI!!!
REINSTATE THE RULE OF LAW (PURGE THE JUDICIARY OF DEADWOOD N DRIFTWOOD).
FREE THE PRESS N REPEAL THE ARCHAIC PRESS LAWS N ISA (FREE THE HINDRAF 5, I BEG OF U)
Wow..this is a very tough question. I think most likely, an Indian will be appointed as Deputy CM in either Perak or Selangor. Penang Deputy CM has to go to a Malay, cos many mainland Penang Malays still voted for UMNO, so they have to have a Malay there to reassure the Malay community that they can trust and support Barisan Rakyat in the next GE.
Although I agree with the doing away of racial classification, it must be done slowly lest a backlash from Malays emerged. Thus in states with majority Malays, we still have to have a Malay CM (Perak, Selangor). If they don’t play it right the Malays may return full force to the fold of UMNO. Right now we must encourage them to abandon UMNO for PAS/PKR/DAP.
The best compromise to me is to have a second deputy CM post for Indians in Perak and Penang as you suggested. Selangor being more urban would be better suited for a full blown Indian Deputy CM. Let’s hope they resolve this issue to everyone’s satisfaction. The Old Guard of UMNO is waiting to pounce at any signs of weakness.
it’s a long hunger to see an Indian deputy CM . It could be tough in other States except Penang . After all if not because of Makkal Sakhti it’s not possible to see such swing .
Indian representation in BN gov reduced , so generally Indians will be expecting better deal from opposition . If not , i’m sure there could be swing to the other side next election . BA should be smart enough to calculate this .
My strong hope is with Penang . It’s a near miracle Chinese actually accepted an Indian (P.Ramasamy) than a Chinese party (acting)president . So I’m sure they will accept a deputy Indian CM .
I challenged many Chinese if they’re willing to support for democracy based voting rather than racial based voting with regards to Batu Kawan election . Similarly Indians abandoned MIC to support Chinese majority DAP . Somehow Batu Kawan Chinese give way for democracy based voting . Kudos! Guess what if DAP did not field an academician against Dr.Koh , things might be even tougher for DAP .
In Penang , rumors flying around that Jagdeep Singh(Karpal’s son) could be the potential candidate for the deputy CM slot . Just a rumor by the way…
We voted without regard to race. So appoint people without regard to race, the only consideration should be the “right man” for the job. Do away with the race factor once and for all and see far our nation can go
Good Morning,
Its a good idea that Mr M.Manoharan made the Deputy MB for Selangor. I’m very proud that its because of whats been happening in the past few months, there’s a tsunami in our politics.
And thanks to our warriors, they have not only opened the eyes of our Indian community but also the Chinese and Malay community.What have we done to get them out of ISA?
There neednt be differences in all these three ethnics, when everything is equal; there shouldnt be a problem. Lets live in Malaysia as a family..all united and be there for each other in times of need. When we start doing that, i’m sure others will follow suit.
I dont know anything bout politics etc, but there’s one thing that I would like to highlight here..which is on the education system in Malaysia. I teach both private school and local school-goers. And there are loads of differences in both, in terms of the quality in the system, and the output in a child. I have nothing against Government school, moreover i went to a Government school and today from that Government school education is where i went to university and became an engineer.Its just that there’s more to do to our education system ,its not about getting straight A’s for the Federal examination etc. An education system has to be implemented whereby a child upon completing his/her Standard 6 and Form 5 should be looking at life a step further. A teacher should be there as a guide, a motivator and an individual who grooms the child to be a better person..corrects a child when he/she slouches etc. These are the simple examples that need to be kept into consideration. Our current school syllabus has to be upgraded, and thus that itself will upgrade the child. Constant feedback and support by the parent is also crucial in making this things work. Things like second languages can be implemented in high school, yoga/fitness can go in with our current Physical Studies etc.
Upgrading on our current education system is crucial because our future generations are the asset to the country , thus its a RETURN OF INVESTMENT!
Syabaas MAkkal Sakthi! Syabas MAlaysia!
Makkal Sakhti here to stay. Now the whole nation and the world know the power of Malaysian Indians. This is only the beginning of our peaceful and justified revolution, we still have a long way to actually reap the benefit from the seeds we have planted.
United We Stand Divided We Fall…We should be united forever to achieve our goals and dreams!