Questions Kamalanathan refused to answer
Jiwi Kathaiah, Malaysiakini
BN candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election P Kamalanathan has put his public relations skills to work by avoiding giving straight answers to questions involving statements that he had made earlier.
“My focus is Hulu Selangor. My focus is the voters in Hulu Selangor. And my focus is to win the election,” he said repeatedly when asked to elaborate on some of his controversial remarks.
“I will answer all these questions after the by-election,” he told Malaysiakini yesterday while campaigning in Batang Kali.
Ask whether he would follow Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s example in putting his race first, he said:
“I’m Malaysian. I don’t want to say anything more,” he said.
He was also quizzed on his ‘Hindraf is not a factor’ statement, which he quickly brushed aside.
“I have already explained. I am not going to go into it again.”
Kamalanathan also kept mum when asked whether he considered relevant some of claims contained in Hindraf’s 18-point manifesto such as the need for a ethnic relations act, to convert all Tamil schools into fully government-funded schools, and reserving 20 percent of jobs in the public sector for Indians.
Perkasa’s 97 percent claim
He was also asked whether he would endorsed Perkasa’s aim to reserve 97 percent of the economic cake to the Malays.
“I have already explained, no further comment,” he said.
The BN was pressed on why Indian Malaysians continued to be marginalised despite MIC being part of the ruling coalition for over half a century.
“This is a hard question. You should have put it in writing and given it to me earlier so that I could do some research before I could answer it,” replied Kamalanathan.
When told that as the MIC information chief, he should have ready answers to such questions, he said: “I have been the information chief only for less than a year.”
Kamalanathan was then referred to the MAPEN Report 1991 (National Economic Consultative Council), which had recommended, amongst others:
1. Pre-schools in estates.
2. Conversion of all partially-aided Tamil schools into fully-aided government schools.
3. Provision of assistance to setting up of a commercial bank and an insurance company.
4. Creation of a trust fund to enable Indians to invest in share markets.
5. Creation of a special scholarship fund to enable Indian students to acquire higher education in foreign countries.
6. Introduction of “affirmative action” similar to the affirmative action that is implemented for bumiputeras.
He was asked why MIC had not pressed the BN government to implement all these recommendations.
Kamalanathan hesitated, and then said he would have to look at it.
Short answers
The BN candidate was told that one of the biggest problem facing the Indians is employment opportunity.
For example, in 1971, before the implementation of New Economic Policy, there were 14.4 percent Indians in the public service. Now, they represent only 4 percent.
“It is going up,” said Kamalanathan, without elaborating.
Similarly, according to the 9th Malaysia Plan, the development allocation for Chinese and Tamil primary schools is RM174.3 million and RM64.8 million respectively, while the allocation for national schools is RM4.8 billion.
Given on the basis of per student per month, national schools have RM33.30; Chinese schools RM4.50; Tamil schools, RM10.55. Why the discrimination, the MIC candidate was asked.
Kamalanathan’s answer was again typically short. “More Tamil schools are being built,” he said.
When he was pressed further to answer a number of other questions. Kamalanathan finally gave up.
“I will answer all these questions after the election,” he said.
