My response to the comments on What Position Should the Indian Voters of Bagan Pinang Take?

By Subramaniam Bharathy

PR does not treat Indians like Pendatang. I agree with this. However it is my opinion this is only a necessary condition but not a sufficient condition for the Indian Malaysian support for PR.

2.  The Kampung Buah Pala problem was created by the BN/Gerakan Government. I agree with this as well. But it was a problem in the brewing during BN’s tenure. It was LGE’s government that precipitated the problem by accepting payment on a lapsed premium on the 14th of March 2008.

Further, LGE and his Mandores made all kinds of promises to the villagers during the 12th GE campaign and they have reneged on all these promises. They now aggravate the situation by taking the Developer’s position, lock stock and barrel and working hand in glove with the Developer to shut the villagers up with some compensation. In any case, whatever compensation being offered now is a result of the significant pressure that was mounted by the villagers and their supporters on the DAP government and the Developer. It did not come out of the largesse of DAP. So what difference is it to the villagers whether it is DAP or UMNO, you tell me?

3. There are many comments that say I am an anti Indian UMNO/MIC lackey. I know what I am and I am not an  UMNO/MIC lackey. I loathe both UMNO and MIC. I voted, as did so many of you, enthusiastically for the PR – the first time in my life, in the 12th GE . I WAS AROUSED FOR CHANGE. But now after 18 months of PR rule in 4 states, what do we see changing for the marginalized Indians in the country? Nothing significant. Maybe a little more allocation to the schools, to the temples, a little more support on issues like the desecration of the cow, maybe a few road signs in Tamil in Penang – that’s all.

The major problems facing the marginalized Indian poor see no light of day. They still languish in an abandoned state. If PR is doing something positive about all that and then I take the position of denying them support, you can readily call me an anti Indian UMNO/MIC lackey.

4. Then there is the argument that PR has no power in the State Governments. This is only partially true. They have unfettered powers in all land related matters. You can see this in the way they have dealt with the Chinese New Village land ownership schemes in Selangor and Perak. What has LGE done on this matter at KBP for the Indian poor there – he was afraid of setting precedents – precedents that will make him look bad in the eyes of his Developer friends. He was not for the poor Indian villagers. His interest was with his own future and his war chest which will be amply filled by the Developers. The argument that it is because PR does not have power that they are unable to respond at all to the marginalization issues has is not true.

It is only a convenient cover for their policies which do not  prioritize Indian Malaysian marginalization issues.

5. Then there are those that say look at the bigger picture….”only if PR comes to Federal power can we have all these changes”. I can see the general wisdom in that. But look at it another way – I do not think the marginalized Indian Malaysians are going to see any change even if PR comes to the Federal Government with PR’s current policies. There is no new competency, no new policies that they are applying to the problems faced by the marginalized Indians which predicts change for them. Maybe for the Chinese Malaysians what the PR Government is doing may predict change. If in areas where the State Government has unfettered powers they give excuses to the Indian poor now, will it be any different later on? They should show they mean what they say now, then we can believe.

6. A two party system will fit in with the Chinese Malaysian and the Liberal Malay paradigm for change. What is more important now for Malaysian Indians are basic issues. At least one of these parties must make some real sense to the marginalized Indian Malaysians, then the two party system may be meaningful. But if they all appear no different, whether it is a one party, two party or three party system it will still make no sense.
     
7. Then there are those that say, look at the number of Indian Parliamentarians and ADUNs on the PR side. These people are all being very naïve in equating those numbers to mean true representation for the marginalized Indians. It is now very clear that all of that becomes mere window dressing. These MPs and ADUNs have no power to effectively represent the interests of the poor and marginalized Indians in the country. They cannot speak up for the marginalized Indians because the argument from others within their parties is always ..” but then there are marginalized poor in all the other ethnic groups as well ” and the discussion ends. They are outnumbered in discussion within their respective DAP or PKR parties. If they insist, they then risk being sidelined as being too sectarian for the party and risk losing out the goodwill within their parties. So how much can they do or how much will they do? So all of that does not make any difference either to the marginalized Indian Malaysians.

8. There are others that say that the approach of singling out the Indian Malaysian marginalization issue is too narrow and too ethnic – look at what happened yesterday. How many non-Indians attended the candle light vigil protesting the desecration of the cow by the UMNO mob? The vigil was open to all. What happened to the DAP MPs, Chinese or Indians, the PKR MPs (other than for Manickavasagam) Malay, Chinese or Indians. Zero participation. You tell me why? How many of the 16 who were arrested were MPs or ADUNs. Imagine what would have been the situation today if 16 MPs had been arrested yesterday.

So, now all those of you commenters who are castigating me for the position that I have taken on the Bagan Pinang by-election, I ask you this. Give me an alternative position to get the point across on all these marginalization issues faced by the Indian Malaysians to whomever is in power so something positive will result. 

Nothing from UMNO, that we know. 

How about from PR?