PETALING JAYA — Former Hindraf leader P. Waythamoorthy has shrugged off calls for him to resign as deputy minister over his criticism against the recent police killing of five alleged gang members, saying he is in for the long haul.
In a letter sent out to various newsrooms, the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said his role is to “deliver comprehensive and permanent solutions to the long standing socio-economic problems of the Indian community and nothing else”.
“It is in line with this charter that I raised the issue on the shooting of the five youths in Penang recently.
“That particular episode may have taken the five off the streets in the way it did, but will it really solve the problem of crime?” he asked in the letter.
“The shooting of the five has given me occasion to focus public attention to the big chunk of ice under the water as with an iceberg.
“Shooting these youths is shooting at the most visible portion jutting above the water, but which is only a very small fraction of the problem,” the deputy minister added.
Waytha had last week disputed the police’s account of the shooting that killed five alleged gangsters in Penang, earning the ire of Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who warned him against acting like an activist despite holding the post of deputy minister.
In an apparent swipe at Waytha during a weekend forum, Ahmad Zahid had reportedly suggested that the latter leave his government post and go back to being an NGO member.
“If you were a champion in an NGO, and now a member of the administration and want to make negative remarks about the government, then it is best you leave and rejoin the NGO,” the home minister was quoted as saying last Saturday by news portal The Malaysian Insider.
Echoing Ahmad Zahid’s call for Waytha’s resignation were Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who told the deputy minister to be “responsible” and not be emotional, and DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who said it is the best option since Waytha is at odds with the police’s handling of the shooting.
But Waytha, citing police statistics claiming that 71 per cent of gang members nationwide are from the Indian community, argued that shooting each and every one of them would do nothing to solve crime.
He said marginalisation, which has lead to a subculture of hopelessness as described in “The Rise of Crime in Malaysia” by ACP Amar Singh Sidhu, has been a strong push factor alongside the lack of educational and work opportunities towards crime among Indians in urban squatters.
“The result is what we see today — the rapid rise of the Indian underclass.
“I make this call again to the home minister to work with me in a holistic manner to address this complex problem through the implementation of the plans in the five-year blueprint,” he said.
- themalaymailonline.com
In a letter sent out to various newsrooms, the deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said his role is to “deliver comprehensive and permanent solutions to the long standing socio-economic problems of the Indian community and nothing else”.
“It is in line with this charter that I raised the issue on the shooting of the five youths in Penang recently.
“That particular episode may have taken the five off the streets in the way it did, but will it really solve the problem of crime?” he asked in the letter.
“The shooting of the five has given me occasion to focus public attention to the big chunk of ice under the water as with an iceberg.
“Shooting these youths is shooting at the most visible portion jutting above the water, but which is only a very small fraction of the problem,” the deputy minister added.
Waytha had last week disputed the police’s account of the shooting that killed five alleged gangsters in Penang, earning the ire of Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who warned him against acting like an activist despite holding the post of deputy minister.
In an apparent swipe at Waytha during a weekend forum, Ahmad Zahid had reportedly suggested that the latter leave his government post and go back to being an NGO member.
“If you were a champion in an NGO, and now a member of the administration and want to make negative remarks about the government, then it is best you leave and rejoin the NGO,” the home minister was quoted as saying last Saturday by news portal The Malaysian Insider.
Echoing Ahmad Zahid’s call for Waytha’s resignation were Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, who told the deputy minister to be “responsible” and not be emotional, and DAP chairman Karpal Singh, who said it is the best option since Waytha is at odds with the police’s handling of the shooting.
But Waytha, citing police statistics claiming that 71 per cent of gang members nationwide are from the Indian community, argued that shooting each and every one of them would do nothing to solve crime.
He said marginalisation, which has lead to a subculture of hopelessness as described in “The Rise of Crime in Malaysia” by ACP Amar Singh Sidhu, has been a strong push factor alongside the lack of educational and work opportunities towards crime among Indians in urban squatters.
“The result is what we see today — the rapid rise of the Indian underclass.
“I make this call again to the home minister to work with me in a holistic manner to address this complex problem through the implementation of the plans in the five-year blueprint,” he said.
- themalaymailonline.com
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