The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) has expressed dismay over the lack of progress on a deal it had inked with Putrajaya, lamenting that its former chief, P. Waythamoorthy, now a deputy minister, has only managed to set up an unnamed unit under the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
In its 100-day report card, Hindraf adviser N. Ganesan said under the agreement it signed with the federal government, 23 key issues were to be addressed.
One was the need to set up a unit under PMO to monitor developments under the agreement as well as find a solution for displaced estate workers.
“Most of the items are still a work-in-progress. One of the major issues we are facing is the setting up of an expert steering committee to work on the implementation of the blueprint,” Ganesan said in a statement today.
Days before the 13th general election, Waythamoorthy signed a memorandum of understanding with the Barisan Nasional government aimed at improving the economic position of the Indian community, after negotiations with Pakatan Rakyat failed.
His compromise on human rights issues pertaining to institutionalised racism and police brutality, including deaths in custody, for economic welfare guarantees drew accusations that he had sold out Hindraf.
In 2007, Hindraf’s massive protest against the BN government under then Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was crucial to the community’s rejection of BN in the 2008 general election, which led to the group being banned.
However, earlier this year in a strategically timed move, the Najib administration agreed to lift the ban on the group before the May 5 general election.
The Indian community is a significant minority in 60 of the 222 federal seats. Buntong in Perak is the largest Indian-majority state seat, where they make up 48% of the 22,907-strong electorate, followed by the Chinese at 44% and Malays at 6%.
Indians make up just about 950,000 of the 13.3 million voters in Malaysia. – September 12, 2013.
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