KUALA LUMPUR:
Indian Progressive Front (IPF) president Tan Sri M.G Pandithan will go from state to state to rally support for the Barisan Nasional in preparation for the general election.
He announced this at the party’s central working committee meeting yesterday attended by more than 50 members.
Looking frail and speaking slowly, Pandithan said he was confident of reaching out to the grassroots and exposing the bad intentions of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).
“Most of our over 380,000 members belong to the grassroots and are in the lower income group. And from the feedback I get from our leaders, none of our members are aligned with Hindraf. We want to tell them not to fall for the opposition's tactics and to give BN their 100 per cent backing,” he added.
Pandithan said he would concentrate on certain constituencies where some youths had been taken up by Hindraf’s propoganda.
“What we saw at the recent rally was a handful of young people. Let’s not forget the silent majority that do not condone such acts,” he said.
He urged Indians to detest Hindraf for injecting religion into its cause just as Pas was disliked for its extremist ways.
“Religion should not be used for political or commercial gain. Hindraf will cease to exist after the elections,” he added.
Asked if he felt that all the problems plaguing the Indian community has been addressed, Pandithan said, “Problems will always be there, but let me ask you, has the problems of the Malays and the Chinese in this country been solved?
We must be practical, these things take time to be sorted out. But if every community wants to be a fanatical force, then the country would go to the dogs.”