Will Hindraf fall for BN’s election bait?
| January 31, 2013
Many from the minority communities
are well aware that the BN has a long history of sweet, and often, double talk.
COMMENT
The recent lifting of the ban on
Hindraf has resulted in a flood of commentary about how this and other measures
undertaken by Najib Tun Razak and the Barisan Nasional government to recapture
Indian support through various conciliatory measures may impact on Hindraf and
the larger Indian population.
The consensus among many
commentators is that the BN already has the Indian vote in the bag and that the
mending of relations with Hindraf and the opening up of the national purse
strings to address Indian shortfalls in education and economy – even if in a
limited way – will be sufficient to bring the critical Indian vote in many
federal and state constituencies back into the BN fold.
This rush to judgment is not only premature;
it is most probably wrong. This is because it underestimates the sense of
deprivation, injustice and anger felt by the Indian community which has arisen
from four decades of BN-sanctioned institutionalised racism and discrimination.
It also fails to take into account
the passion and commitment that has driven P Waythamoorthy and his Hindraf
colleagues who have pursued, with much personal sacrifice, the cause of equal
rights and opportunities for all Malaysians, especially for Malaysian Indians.
Ever since their rally in Kuala
Lumpur on Nov 25, 2007 and the 2008 elections in which they were one of the
major catalysts for the political tsunami that occurred, Hindraf leaders and
supporters have been victims of a BN campaign to demonize, persecute and wipe
out the movement.
Surely, Hindraf will be the first to
see this ban removal – politically timed on the eve of Thaipusam – for what it
is: a political ploy to win Indian votes rather than a change of heart towards
the movement and its stand on Indian rights.
Many from the minority communities
are well aware that the BN has a long history of sweet, and often, double talk.
Indians especially have been victims
of BN’s unfulfilled promises made election after election ever since the
country obtained its independence.
In the past 50 years of Alliance and
Barisan rule – and despite MIC participation in the two coalitions – the Indian
position in economy and society has worsened steadily by whatever indicator of
socio-economic and political development is used.
Despite the paucity of official
statistics, there is sufficient quantitative and qualitative evidence to show
that poor Indians as well as those from middle-class backgrounds have fallen
behind their non-Indian counterparts (with the exception of Orang Asli) because
of racial discrimination, bureaucratic red tape and lack of access to
governmental resources.
The hard reality
There has been little evidence so
far of fundamental changes in national policies affecting minority communities.
The hard reality which Hindraf is
acutely aware of is that the Home Minister can very well impose another ban on
the movement once the elections are over and that the treasury and other civil
service doors are shut again on Indians when the movement is no longer seen as
useful in Umno’s effort to retain political supremacy.
The commentators who argue that
Hindraf should see the election concessions to Indians as representing real
change as well as those who are predicting that Hindraf will align itself with
BN may well believe that it is in the best interest of Hindraf and the Indian
community to accept whatever benefits or sweeteners are thrown to the Indian
electorate.
They may be convinced that
challenging Umno’s political hegemony and the racist principles upon which this
hegemony is founded is futile.
Better to make hay while the sun
shines and to be a small time beneficiary to the Umno big money and huge
political clout juggernaut than to be a principled dissident.
In doing so, they appear to be
ignorant or uninformed of Hindraf’s mission.
Commentators and readers interested
in learning more about the objectives of the Hindaf struggle can refer to their
18 point demand which emerged in 2007 and their more recent blueprint.
In summary, the two documents call
for:
- The dismantling of the racist and discriminatory system and state
- Addressing the plight of hundreds of thousands of displaced plantation workers and stateless Indians
- Ensuring adequate and equal educational, employment and business opportunities for Indians and other minorities
- Eradicating the racism that is rampant within the police and other sectors of the civil service and which has especially targeted poor Indians
- Raising the standards of human rights practices to ensure a free, just and fair nation.
In the countdown to the elections,
we can expect more intense spinning and political manoeuvring not only by the
BN but also by the Pakatan parties to draw Hindraf into their camp.
Both coalitions are fully aware that
Indian voters hold the key to power in the states of Kedah, Perak, Selangor and
Negri Sembilan.
Indians are also a sizable presence
in Johor, Malacca and Pahang and can help influence the outcomes in these
states should the state seats become closely contested.
Whatever position Hindraf decides to
take in the coming elections, I am confident that they will not betray the
cause of equal rights, non-discrimination and justice that they have valiantly
fought on behalf of all Malaysians.
