At rally, Hindraf 2.0 demands seven Indian-majority seats

The Election Commission was today urged to create seven Indian-majority parliamentary seats to give the community more political representation.

The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf 2.0) wants these seats to be created at Padang Serai, Batu Kawan, Ipoh Barat, Kota Raja, Port Dickson, Tebrau and Cameron Highlands.

"Unlike Western civil society, where the majority speaks up for minorities, the politically and economically powerful Malay and Chinese in this country hardly speak up for the Indian poor.

"For 62 years, they haven't spoken up for Indians, be they from BN or Pakatan Harapan," Hindraf 2.0 de facto leader P Uthayakumar said after a rally in Brickfields. His brother P Waythamoorthy is the minister in the Prime Minister's Department under the Harapan government.

"Currently, we have Indian MPs, but they have no voice because they won on the votes of the Chinese and Malays.

"There is no voice without fear and favour, they have to dance to the tune of the Malay and Chinese political masters," he added.

As such, Uthayakumar said, Indian-majority seats should be created so that lawmakers – regardless of their race – are empowered to speak for the community.

This can be done by reducing the non-Indian voters in these seats, he added.

"I have written to the EC earlier today.

"In India, two parliamentary seats were ab initio entrenched into the Independence Constitution of India for the minority Anglo-Indian community.

"In Sarawak, four Orang Ulu state seats with a smaller voter base and a parliamentary seat were created, leading to Baru Bian being in a position of power in the cabinet," he said. 

The rally earlier today saw about a 100 protesters march through Brickfields, carrying banners reading "reject the continuation of racial discrimination, upset at becoming second class citizens." 

Uthayakumar and representatives of Indian NGOs spoke in Tamil when they raised the plight of poor Indians.

Speaking to the media later, the Hindraf 2.0 leader touched on the issue of matriculation and how the government was reluctant to help the Indian community.

Uthayakumar said the government also pledged to resolve the stateless Indians problem within 100 days of taking power.

He estimated that there are 350,000 stateless Indians in the country and the Harapan government only managed to resolve 0.5 percent of the problem in the first year of power.

"The excuse of Harapan having no money does not hold water as this can be done at the stroke of a pen by the prime minister and home minister.

"To me, this is the continuation of a racist and supremacy policy," he said, adding that the government has no political will to fulfil its promises to the Indian community.

Uthayakumar lamented that only one percent of the promises to the Indian community was fulfilled.

Meanwhile, Nyam Kee Han, a representative of Johor-based Sahabat Rakyat, pointed out that both the Chinese and Indians were the victims of the Malay supremacy.

He called on the activists from the Indian community and Hindraf 2.0 to join hands with the Chinese in their struggle so that they can have a bigger voice.

Asked to elaborate on this later, Nyam said he felt several policies, such as the New Economic Policy, matriculation and the racial quota system, were not fair to other ethnic groups.

He said he agreed with Hindraf 2.0 that Article 153 of the Federal Constitution, which stipulated the special position of the Malays, was the core problem.

Nyam added that this is because the provision has created policies to safeguard the Malays and led to the discrimination of other races.

"This is where we feel the need for review. If it is not right, it should be abolished," he said. - Mkini