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| Memorandum of Understanding between Barisan Nasional and Hindraf – Part 2 Posted: 25 Apr 2013 12:36 PM PDT
A large percentage of the Indian poor cannot vote for themselves, as they are stateless. For a majority of those that can vote, bread and butter issues are what matter, and not whether car prices will come down after the election. Hindraf Economic Unit The purpose of this series of articles is to set a standard of reference for what needs to be done to uplift the Indian poor in Malaysia. A large percentage of the Indian poor cannot vote for themselves, as they are stateless. For a majority of those that can vote, bread and butter issues are what matter, and not whether car prices will come down after the election. Hindraf represents their voice, and is morally and ethically obligated to do what is best for the marginalised Indian poor. A message is now being sent out to the Indian poor in this country. In that message, probably for the first time ever in his life, the marginalised Indian Malaysian will see a clear statement of intent with regards to improving his condition by one of the two coalitions which are vying for his vote and support. For a start he will be shown the following: BN and HINDRAF, in: • Recognizing that there has occurred a transition of the vast majority of Malaysian Indians from plantation estates to towns and cities over a period lasting approximately 4 decades, and, Is that the best "apology" in the world? Not by a long shot. But, it is the only apology he would have received so far that also brings the promise of hope into his life and that of his children. We can say with certainty that none of the developers who displaced the Indian estate worker, or the people who purchased the properties built on the land the estate worker was displaced from, would have gone out of their way to apologise to him. There would have been no greater betrayal that the displaced Indian poor could have suffered than if Hindraf had turned down BN on his behalf. For the pro Pakatan Malaysian voter who cannot stand the thought that Hindraf has thrown the full weight of its support behind BN, fret not, there is a way to counter that move, if not in the coming polls, then in the one after. The MOU spells out the following key points with regards to uplifting displaced estate workers. For the purpose of the Blueprint, 'Displaced Estate Workers' shall be considered as synonymous with 'Low-Income Indian Households' and shall be defined for the purposes of policy formulation and execution as all Malaysian Indian households, earning less than RM3,000 in 2013 (hereinafter referred to as the "Target Group"). The MOU states that the overall objective of the program will be to double the mean monthly family incomes of all Malaysian Indian families earning less than RM 3000, base lined in 2013, by the end of 2020. There will also be programs to retrain and reskill displaced estate worker youth. The program will provide easy and attractive placements with appropriate financial support for the displaced youth (Target group) into 176 GIATMARA centres and 78 community colleges across the nation. After retraining, placement services will be provided for jobs and internships in Government and GLC's. For the youth who wish to start a small business after retraining, TEKUN or a program similar to TEKUN will be set up to provide support. If you are a pro Pakatan voter, and you no longer want to hear the name Hindraf even in your dreams, all you will have to do is make Hindraf irrelevant, it is as easy as that. This can be achieved if you are prepared to ensure that Pakatan Rakyat will at the very least match the programs and work towards the objectives which are being listed in this series of articles. If you are prepared to put the effort to formulate concrete steps to uplift the Indian poor, address the issue of statelessness and solve it once and for all, increase educational opportunities from pre-school to University as well as increase employment and business opportunities for the target group, so much so that the marginalised Indian Malaysian becomes only a memory, and becomes fully integrated into the mainstream development of Malaysia, then Hindraf will also become a memory. When you can get Pakatan to bring down car prices, fuel costs as well as abolish toll charges, uplifting the Indian poor should be a piece of cake, shouldn't it? While we in Hindraf would love to wait with bated breath while Pakatan Rakyat and its supporters get around to uplifting the lot of the Indian poor, there is a small problem that's in the way of us doing just that. Hindraf knows first-hand that the needs of the marginalised Indian poor are not an abstract matter. It is a real need, and it exists in real time, for a part of the population who are as real you are, dear reader. What is unreal is the pain and suffering that they have to endure as their daily lot. That knowledge makes it impossible for Hindraf to wait for anyone to get their act together, so forgive us while we forge ahead while you explain to the Indian poor why abolishing toll charges is going to turn his life around.
Hindraf Economic Unit
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| PKR and now PAS party of Umno and Barisan misfits, rejects and ingrates Posted: 25 Apr 2013 12:08 PM PDT
... and who are their own worst enemies with Umno and Barisan becoming their mere punching bags.
Mansor Puteh
Parti KeAdilan Rakyat (PKR) cannot be described as a true political party in Malaysia. It was formed for a different reason, which has got nothing to do with any political agenda of national interests, other than to be a sworn enemy of Umno.
However, in the process, it became a party which is a sworn enemy of Barisan Nasional, i.e. by default.
The main characters involved in the formation of PKR are those who were staunch supporters of Umno and Barisan.
And the supporting characters, comprise mostly of the wives, children and also cronies of the de facto leader and founder of PKR, who is Anwar Ibrahim.
So what can one say of this party? It does not aim to champion some wonderful national political cause, but one that aims to belittle and condemn the very party and coalition of parties which had spawned its founders and staunch supporters in the first place.
Now Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) is also in such a situation when it readily accepts a former senior Umno leader, Muhammad Muhammad Taib as its member, who left Umno and Barisan in such haste that one wonders if he decided to join PAS in order to further extend his political life.
Being in politics in Malaysia all his life, surely, Muhammad Muhammad Taib cannot bear the brunt of not being able to hog the political scene for a while longer, even if he is now on the other side.
Unfortunately, most of the original founders of PKR had left the party to join mainstream politics, and who are now most vocal in their criticism of PKR and its lead founder, Anwar.
One can almost discount Anwar's first daughter, Nurul Izzah for any diatribe which she may have on Umno and Barisan as she is merely performing her filial duty and not a national duty.
Goh Burne could not speak Melayu at all and had given or read only one speech in his halting Melayu while in parliament through the last five years, which dealt with some foreign affairs matters that made Hamid Albar, the then minister of foreign affairs smile widely.
Anwar was very angry for not being able to succeed Mahathir Mohammad as Prime Minister. He thought Mahathir had made a very bad and awful decision for sacking him as his deputy, which Anwar thought was not a wise move.
But why did Anwar and his supporters think Mahathir had made such a wise move by accepting Anwar into Umno and hence the Mahathir Cabinet, and who later shot up in the Umno and Barisan hierarchy quickly so much so that those who had been waiting in line had to be removed or sidelined?
And yet, when Mahathir had the wisdom to change his mind about Anwar and sack him, why then did Anwar and his supporters not say it was also a wise move by Mahathir?
From being someone who was wise by admitting Anwar and accepting all his quirks and style, suddenly Mahathir had become not wise simply because he had chosen not to allow Anwar to have his ways anymore.
Being the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia is not a right; party members of Umno do not choose who to become the Deputy Prime Minister. The right rests in the good hands of the Prime Minister himself and it is his prerogative to appoint and even sack anyone in the cabinet as he so pleases.
So when it finally happens, one gets a rude shock.
One way to overcome this shock is to become a turncoat and join PKR and now PAS, the two parties which can be described as the 'graveyards' and 'dumping grounds' of Malaysian politics, especially by those who think that there is indeed life after political death, who may be party-spoilers.
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