Hindraf's 'no' to Bersih 3.0: Does it benefit the Indians or Uthaya's political ambitions?

It was sad to hear that Hindraf will not participate in Bersih 3.0, if Pakatan Leaders do not attend a meeting that Hindraf organized for outlining Indian woes within 100 days of forming the new Federal Government. Such a statement almost mirrors Perkasa's views and only Perkasa, so far, has asked the police to stop the rally. There seems to be a link between the two?

P Uthayakumar, the de facto leader of Hindraf, has selfishly married the NGO to his Human Rights Party thus diminishing Hindraf's chances of survival. Is Hindraf still relevant? And to whom? Or does it exist merely to lend credibility to HRP? This is one question that Uthaya and his HRP team should answer and make known to all Malaysian Indians, because in one way or another, the community is connected to Hindraf by a special bond (Pasam).

Pasam

And no one can deny that this Pasam exists. It is this special bond that attracted thousands on that day on November 25, 2007 to gather and protest the Badawi administration for not helping the Indians more. And till today, almost all Indians from across the political divide still have a soft spot for Hindraf. They will never forget the Makkal Shakti cry created by Hindraf that helped to create the 2008 Political Tsunami.

The BN Government could not tolerate the feel-good factor that Hindraf was spreading to all the people in the nation and this included the non-Indians. In the end, they banned Hindraf, just like they banned Bersih 2.0, but that did not stop Hindraf or its people from running circles around the BN Government.

In the end, Prime Minister Najib Razak had to quickly hijack Makkal Shakti and registered it into a political party run by someone who can best be described as the "Traitor" of Indians. It is RS Thanenthiran who is helming Najib's Makkal Shakti.This caused a massive split among the ISA Five - or the five main organizers of the Hindraf rally. All went their own way, which is what the ruling Government had wanted and schemed after at that time.

Why link Hindraf to HRP decisions?

When Uthaya said he would wait for the outcome from the Pakatan to decide Hindraf's participation in Bersih 3.0 rally, his reasoning is flawed. He must understand Bersih is apolitical and there is no reason to include Pakatan into his argument unless he has an hidden agenda (udang di sebalik batu).

Sad to say all Politicians have this agenda, so it is not surprising that Uthaya must understand the sentiments of the Indians and follow it accordingly. If he uses the Hindraf hat, then he must act as an NGO and put the true motive of Hindraf first. In HRP he can act as a politician and have many disguises to trick and dupe the people. That is his choice and the people will not care but as Hindraf head, he must have only one face to convince the people that he too is Apolitical in his decisions. Strange that Uthaya can be Apolitical as he professes to be when heads a political organization, HRP.

Bersih 3.0 may seem to support Pakatan but that is because their so-called "Cause" are similar. Both want a free and fair election, while the BN Government doesn't want to change anything at all. So naturally both are against BN's policies in this aspect and it will be quite difficult to separate them since they have the same understanding and viewpoints as far as cleaning up the electoral process is concerned.

Uthaya must change his ways and not try to be a Perkasa copycat, especially if he wants Hindraf to become relevant again. He must realize that he and his brother Waythamoorthy are the main stumbling blocks to Hindraf's credibility.

Forget the 'stumbling blocks', unite with the other races for a better Malaysia

As for the Indians, they must remember that leaders come and go. Many have turned Traitors and Betrayed the community. The most important thing is that if we want a Better Malaysia, then we have to stay united to end the BN's rule. In this context, the Chinese are steadfast and will lead the way this time around.

Malaysian Indians too should not give up after their magnificent 2007 contribution. They must press on and together with all the races be present on April 28 for BERSIH 3.0. Malaysian Indians must take pride that they started the ball rolling nearly 5 years ago. They must now help to kick the ball into the net, if not score the goal again this time - the most important time ever for Malaysia and Malaysians of all colours and creed.

I'm game for it - are you?

Malaysia Chronicle