Media statement by M.Kula Segaran DAP National Vice Chairman  and MP for Ipoh Barat in Ipoh on 18 th May 2013

Waytha has much explaining to do

 

 

P Waythamoorthy’s appointment as a deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department has made headlines, not just in the Tamil language press but also on web news portals and even in the mainstream media.

 

I congratulate him on his appointment. I hope he will fulfill the hopes and aspirations of the Indian poor whose espousal is supposed to be the main agenda of Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), of which Waytha is chairman.

 

Some wags would say that Waytha is the first leader in the history of protest movements in the world who undertook a fast to qualify as a deputy minister!

 

I will list the following as among the pressing concerns of the Indian poor that will need immediate remedies.

 

As many Malaysians already know, Indians have notched up rather unflattering superlatives among all the peoples of this country.

 

They have lowest life expectancy, the highest student dropout rate, the highest incidences of alcoholism and drug addition, and the highest number of prisoners in proportion to population.

 

Najib Abdul Razak has been Prime Minister for just over 4 years, enough time to address and find solutions to the problems that beset the Indian community.

 

These are issues I have raised consistently in Parliament in the past 13 years. Yet nothing serious has been done to resolve them.

 

Can Waytha spell out how he will find solutions to these ills afflicting the predominantly Tamil-speaking core of the Indian poor.

 

Of particular concern is the time frame within which he envisages the issues affecting the community can be addressed and solved.

 

Will the 6-point blueprint which he had wanted parties that desired the electoral support of Indians to endorse as a pre-condition of Hindraf’s support for them at the polls be enforceable during his tour of duty as a deputy minister?

 

Further, he needs to explain why he had agreed to compromise with the BN by dropping two demands from the 6-point blueprint, namely the demand to put an end to custodial deaths and to empanel the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), and the demand to end institutional racism.

 

The public has a right to know why Waytha compromised with PM Najib by shedding two of Hindaf’s 6 demands and into the bargain pledge support for the return to BN of its two-thirds majority in Parliament.

 

Is Waytha aware as a deputy minister he has little or no influence on the policy making of the government, as a deputy minister does not sit in the cabinet and so has no impact on policy-making and execution?

 

Waytha must enlighten us as to how, despite these structural disparities, he can help in the solution of the Indian community’s woes.

 

If Waytha is not forthcoming on these queries, I will raise these issues of public concern when Parliament convenes. He can expect slings and arrows to come his way on the floor of the House.