Zaid: Hindraf can help Pakatan win GE14

Everyone has to join hands to defeat BN, says the DAP man.

PETALING JAYA: DAP man Zaid Ibrahim has welcomed the idea of Hindraf cooperating with Pakatan Harapan to help the opposition coalition win the coming general election.

“Everyone has to join hands to defeat Barisan Nasional, and Hindraf has taken the first step,” he said in reference to recent talks between Hindraf leader P Waythamoorthy and PH chairman Mahathir Mohamad.

The talks centred on the prospect of Hindraf becoming PH’s fifth component or an affiliate of it. Speaking to newsmen, Mahathir said the Hindu-based NGO had an important role to play in the opposition machinery.

Zaid told FMT that PH might need Hindraf’s help in addressing the needs of marginalised Indians if the coalition were to take over the government.

Asked if he thought people would be reluctant to accept Waythamoorthy, he said the Hindraf leader needed to be judged by his actions.

After the 13th general election, Prime Minister Najib Razak recruited Waythamoorthy as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. He resigned in February 2014, citing the BN government’s failure to address the needs of the Indian community despite Najib’s promise to do so.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang said his party was open to the idea of Hindraf becoming an ally of PH.

“We will maintain an open attitude,” he told FMT.

PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said no group could be accepted into PH without the unanimous agreement of parties in the coalition.

He said Hindraf would have to agree with PH’s constitution and policies if it wished to be accepted.

“There cannot be an inconsistent or on-the-fence attitude. There has to be full commitment,” he told FMT.

Saifuddin said he doubted that Hindraf still had the impact or influence that it had in 2008.

However, he acknowledged that it might have some traction with voters in some constituencies where even a few votes would matter.

Mahathir has said that Hindraf could play a big role in determining the election results in some rural constituencies. - FMT