Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email the thing is when we look at public perception and surveys, many people are worried about bread and butter issues. the rural folks and the urban poor want to have chance to make a living. they are not worried about international issues or things that happen to the rich and well-off. elections are won by making sure the issues that are local to the area are taken care off – electricity, school, roads, surau, community centre etc. now, when the people want to air the grouses on their issues, they are asked to think and consider about tourism, national image etc. of course they don't care bit.
to handle the crowd, the govt should focus on solving or placating their "local" issues, and not ask them to think about economy affected, tourist run away etc. those thing won't register with the peaceful, simple-way-of-life indians who come from the outskirts of big towns.
meanwhile, koh tsu koon suggests that more peaceful way such as signature campaign to be used instead of assemblies and rallies.
Illegal rallies 'will affect economy, people's lives'
PETALING JAYA: The government will not back down from the political challenge posed by the Hindu Rights Action Force, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.
"We will meet the challenge. We will not back down from a political challenge," he said.
Asked to comment on Hindraf leader P. Uthayakumar's assertion during an interview with Al-Jazeera that the group's intention was to embarrass the government, Najib said: "His intention is political. If we were one-sided, there is no way the Indian community would have supported us, and the Barisan Nasional would not have won. "Suddenly, he wants to raise this issue. It is just politically motivated," Najib said after witnessing the handing over of three Dauphin helicopters from Eurocopter Malaysia to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency. He said illegal street demonstrations could severely affect the economy and people's everyday lives.
More than 240 were arrested as thousands of protesters, organised by Hindraf to deliver a petition to the British High Commission, clashed with police on Sunday. Police had cordoned off a 4-km radius from the high commission, leaving the usually busy Jalan Ampang devoid of weekend traffic and shoppers.
In George Town, Gerakan's message to Hindraf supporters was to engage in constructive dialogue. The party's acting president, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, yesterday said there were always many peaceful channels for the Indian or other communities to resolve problems. Koh said the BN was open to suggestions and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had a soft spot for the marginalised. "Taking to the streets is a dramatic way of expressing one's feelings which can only lead to many other problems. "It is Gerakan's hope that the community can come together with concrete solutions to solve their problems. "Any problems which affect a community affects the country as a whole.
Although the MIC has and will continue to take the lead in helping to resolve issues faced by the Indian community, other BN component parties also have an important role to play," he said after the state legislative assembly meeting here. Koh admitted that while the Indian community was well represented in certain professions and businesses, there were also many areas where the community was left out. "Let us always go back to the New Economic Policy (NEP) spirit, with the sole objective of wiping out poverty and re-arranging the different communities in the country. "We should also look at the issue from all aspects and have a pragmatic approach to address it," he said, adding that the idea of petitioning Britain's Queen Elizabeth II was unrealistic.
