DAP’s blueprint for Indians is a copy of Hindraf’s
Is DAP’s declaration for the Indians just intended to create an illusion of action substituting for real action, asks Hindraf advisor N Ganesan.
By N Ganesan, FMT
I am really sad to see DAP go this way. The so-called Gelang Patah Declaration of DAP is no more than a plagiarised version of Hindraf’s 5-year blueprint document.
Eleven out of the 14 items in the DAP document are straight out from Hindraf’s blueprint.
The fact that their blueprint was revealed on the 21st day of P Waythamoorthy’s hunger strike indicates as though DAP was scurrying to cover its behind against charges of abandoning the cause of the Indian poor.
Not one of the DAP leaders had anything to say for all of 20 days about the endorsement of the Hindraf blueprint – which was the key demand of the hunger strike. On the 21st day –they pull this out of their sleeves, and within 24 hours.
Look at the timing of DAP’s declarations and actions for the Indian poor – just days before the elections. What were they doing for all the five years up to now? No action in five years and then now a declaration.
The items in this declaration that could easily have been carried out in the DAP Penang state government in all five years of their rule, but which absolutely were not.
Housing for the marginalised – large and numerous developments in Penang have been approved in the last five years span, but hardly any noticeable effort for the marginalised poor.
Alienate land for temples and burial grounds – land is a state matter, they could easily have done this in the state in these last five years instead of talking about it after five full years after, in their declaration just before the next elections. Did this realisation just come to them or is this their standard modus operandus?
Provide land to Tamil primary schools– similarly with land for the Tamil schools. Worse here. Not only did the DAP government not grant land to the 23 partially aided Tamil schools in the state, requests for land for Tamil schools in Penang coming from the PIBGs were ducked using a variety of techniques, were denied outright or the PIBGs were manipulated to avoid causing embarrassment for the state government with such requests.
So, it raises the question – is this declaration just intended to create an illusion of action substituting for real action?
The double speak game
The DAP leaders made a promise to the Kampung Buah Pala folks in 2008 in Penang and they totally reneged on their promise.
That is a precedent for the value of all their promises. This declaration is put forward as a promise.
I wonder how much commitment there is now to this promise. Whatever they did eventually for the Kampung Buah Pala folks, was because of the pressure that was brought to bear on them, it was not out of any obligations to their promises.
The Pakatan argument against Hindraf’s blueprint has always been that it is race-based and not need based.
May I ask “what based” is this Gelang Patah Declaration when 11 out of 14 items in it come from a “race-based” document.
This double speak is so typical of what we have been seeing lately with Pakatan.
If you have been following the story – the first Pakatan Manifesto had zero election pledges addressing the problems of the Indian poor. Then after an uproar from the people, they included five items into the revised manifesto (the additional items also came from the Hindraf blueprint).
Then seeing that this was not cutting it enough, now the number of items taken up has gone up to 11.
In 2008 Pakatan hijacked the Hindraf rallying cry ‘Makkal Sakthi’. In 2013 they are now attempting to hijack Hindraf’s blueprint. It is shameful.
Is this all the intellectual capability the DAP can muster? Is copying the best they can do? It is so shameful for a national party to plagiarise. How much commitment can there be in any effort like this.
We are wondering why this Gelang Patah Declaration did not extend to include the most impactful intervention such as a Felda type of land allocated contract farming proposal. Why was this not copied out as well from Hindraf’s blueprint?
DAP supremo Karpal Singh on March 30 called out to Anwar Ibrahim to endorse Hindraf’s blueprint. The next day, his son Gobind Singh is in Gelang Patah beside Lim Kit Siang launching this DAP blueprint. What circus is this?
