TYPICAL BN 'SNAKE-PIT' POLITICKING: Now, Najib goes for Waytha's jugular too!

UPDATE2 KUALA LUMPUR - It looks like even P Waythamoorth's 'savior' is deserting him.

Prime Minister Najib Razak, who had controversially appointed Waytha as a Senator and deputy minister, has called on the ex-Hindraf leader to toe the line or face the consequences.

"As a member of the government, you must toe the line, you must have one voice," Najib told a press conference on Thursday.

Bully boys

Three other Umno ministers have rebuked Waytha after he slammed the police over a controversial shootout in Penang, telling him to conform to BN policies or get out.

The trio are Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein and Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

"This is typical Umno-BN snake-pit politicking. I am not surprised, just a bit disgusted at how they all seem to be rushing to attack Waytha because he is an easy target,"PKR vice president Chua Jui Meng told Malaysia Chronicle.

"But Waytha should have known better than to play both sides of the fence. He's no angel and this is a good lesson for him."

Jui Meng was not alone in chiding Umno-BN for its rough-and-tumble ways.

"Bully boy tactics used on Waytha disgraceful. Collective responsibility does not mean covering up for government agencies," former Bar Council president Ambiga Sreenevasan said on Twitter.

No angel

Waytha had taken the police to task over the shooting of five gang members at an apartment in Sungai Nibong last week. All five were Indian youths, whom the police alleged were members of a notorious gang. The families of at least of the youths have denied this. The five were J. Gobinath, 31, R. Ramesh, 27, N. Rakan, 25, M. Suresh, 25, and M. Gobinath, 21.

"Photos of their injuries suggest that the five suspected Gang 04 members had been shot at point-blank range.  Nobody in their right frame of mind would believe that the five had been killed in a shootout if they saw the photographs," said Wayhta, urging the Attorney-General to call for an immediate inquest.

"It has been a standard answer of the police that they were forced to defend themselves after being shot at. But the injuries on the suspects don't fit the description of a shootout. They give the impression that they had been shot at point-blank range."

In the wake of the calls for his resignation, Waytha has defended himself saying that his work for the Indian community was not done yet.

"Being leader of the marginalized Indians in the country I cannot just be a disinterested observer on the sidelines just because I am in government. In fact it is to the advantage of the government that I voice out the true sentiments of the people on the ground," he had said in a statement.

"The problem is very much larger and if the real intent is to reduce the crime problem, then it has to be addressed in the larger context. I do not interfere in police work but I believe the public perception of the police force is diminishing by their actions.  The Home Minister has also to understand the issue is not simply of some gross criminals being killed in a justifiable manner. The issue in its entirety relates really to the wayward drift of young of the Indian community."

Thick-skinned Waytha will let Najib sack him rather than quit

But despite the noble words, Waytha failed to convince his community, many of whom felt he had betrayed them by joining the government.

They remember how he had gone on an infamous hunger strike, portraying himself at death's door allegedly to gain public sympathy, just weeks before accepting Najib's offer.

Many political observers believe that Waytha will continue with his 'double game' and if need be, force the Najib administration to sack him rather than resign voluntarily.

"Waytha is someone who likes the glamor and high office. He is not going to let go of his Deputy Minister status so easily and the best part is he is so thick-skinned he will be able to take on whatever brickbats and insults you hurl at him," a Hindraf leader who knows Waytha well told Malaysia Chronicle.

"Also, it doesn't make sense for him to quit. If he does, he will look like he has been kicked out. If they sack him, he has the opportunity to try and turn the whole thing over to his advantage and emerge as a hero to the Indians. So it cuts both ways. I would say Najib and Umno have got what they deserve they recruited him."

Malaysia Chronicle