Waytha appointed as others had failed

Hindraf advisor N Ganesan says that Waythamoorthy's cabinet appointment is the prerogative of the prime minister.

PETALING JAYA: It is naïve and pointless to criticise Hindraf chief P Waythamoorthy for accepting a deputy minister’s post in Najib Tun Razak’s new cabinet which was unveiled on Wednesday.

Hindraf advisor N Ganesan said that it was the sole prerogative of the prime minister to appoint or leave out anyone in the cabinet list.

“So we can only read between the lines to fathom the prime minister’s decision but to target criticism at Waythamoorthy as if it was his decision is misdirected and naive,” he said.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Najib announced that Waythamoorthy was appointed as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.

The appointment received severe criticism from various quarters. P Uthayakumar, who leads another faction of Hindraf, criticised his brother Waythamoorthy for accepting the cabinet post and referred to him as a political opportunist.

MIC Youth chief T Mohan also rebuked Waythamoorthy’s appointment, saying that it would further weaken Indian support for the government.

Responding the to criticism, especially by Uthayakumar and Mohan, Ganesan said that it was obvious that Najib decided to work with Waythamoorthy and Hindraf as there were no other capable individuals or organisations to deliver the transformation needed for the Indian community.

He added that duo would only point out their own incompetence in resolving issues affecting the Indian community by harping on Waythamoorthy’s appointment.

“Mohan and Uthayakumar should just keep their peace and mull over the implications of this subtle message to them in more productive ways,” said Ganesan.

Waythamoorthy’s Hindraf had been a harsh critic of the government over the sidelining of the Indian issues. In 2007 the movement even organised a mass street protest to highlight the plight of the Indian community.

However just before this general election, Najib inked an MoU with Hindraf in which he had agreed to address the Indian issues as raised by Hindraf in its five-year blueprint.

Just prior to this, Waythamoorthy had embarked on a 21-day hunger strike to urge either BN or Pakatan Rakyat to accept the Hindraf blueprint.

Waythamoorthy’s appointment as a deputy minister in the PM’s Deparment could see him heading a special unit to be created to oversee the Indian affairs, this being the reason for MIC anger as the party had been the sole representative of the Indian community in the BN government all along.