MIC, Hindraf in secret talks ... NOT!

makkalshakti | The MIC says that it has been wooing the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) in secret discussions, but the group has rejected this claim outright.

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the party had been holding discussions with Hindraf youth leaders in Kedah, Perak and Selangor, which he said went well. He said the meetings went well as the Hindraf leaders realised that the MIC was also fighting to upgrade the living standards of the Indian community.

"Whatever happened in the past, especially in the March polls, is history. We must work together for the betterment of the community," he said, claiming that some of the Hindraf leaders also regretted their decision to support the opposition.

Hindraf national event co-ordinator Kannan Ramasamy, when contacted, said he was baffled by Samy Velu’s claims as none of the movement’s 10 coordinators had met any MIC leaders.

“Hindraf does not have a membership roll. It is led by P. Waythamoorthy who is assisted by 10 coordinators and as far as I know, none of us had met anyone from the MIC,” added Kannan.

Hindraf national coordinator R.S Thanenthiran concurred and added the only best thing that happened from supporting the opposition was the awareness created that Indians mattered in the country.... selanjutnya.

Makkal Sakthi meeting rocked Penang!

penangwatch



The enthusiatic 5000 crowd at Penang's Chinese Assembly HallThe enthusiatic 5000 crowd at Penang's Chinese Assembly Hall



Panel speakers: Latiffa Koya, Lim Guan Eng, P Ramasamy (not on stage yet) ...tohether with relatives of Hindraf 5 detaineesPanel speakers: Latiffa Koya, Lim Guan Eng, P Ramasamy (not on stage yet) ...tohether with relatives of Hindraf 5 detainees. More interesting pics .....

CALUN BUKAN ISLAM PERTAMA PAS

ELECTION 2008:PAS FIRST INDIAN CANDIDATE.
makkalsakti.blogspot.com

JOHOR BARU: Kumutha Raman looked nervous as pressmen, armed with notebooks and recorders, jostled for an interview with her.

Johor Pas commissioner Datuk Mahfodz Mohamed (left) with Kumutha Raman, the first non-Muslim womanfemale to be fielded as a candidate by the party, who will contest the Ulu Tiram state seat. On her right is her brother R. Logeswaran.

The 29-year-old law graduate, who had just been named as the first non-Muslim candidate to be fielded by Pas, listened attentively to the questions hurled at her, when Johor Pas announced its candidates at the headquarters in Batu Pahat.

She is contesting the Tiram state seat. But knowing the realities, perhaps Pas is fielding her under the Parti Keadilan Rakyat symbol, based on the electoral pact the two parties have made.

Still, is she in for a culture shock? Will she be able to speak the language of Pas where Arabic phrases and Quranic verses matter most? Will she have to physically cover herself more than ever?

"I know I won't feel alienated because I believe voters nowadays are open-minded," she said.

"I also know that Muslims and non-Muslims will be able to accept me."

A member of the one-month old Unity Bureau under the Johor non-Muslim Pas Supporters Club, Kumutha may be oblivious to the fact that she had broken the conservative Islamic party's 61-year-old tradition of only fielding Muslims as candidates.

"I joined the club because I see that Pas is not bent on racialism. To me all races, be they Malays, Chinese or Indians, are the same."

Making the announcement about Kumutha was Johor Pas commissioner Datuk Mahfodz Mohamed, who said the move signified Pas' tolerance towards other races.

Pas will be contesting in 34 state seats and nine parliamentary seats.

The party lost all the 37 state seats and 11 parliamentary constituencies it contested in the last general election.

This time around, fresh faces made-up one-third of the candidates and none of them were Pas Women's Wing leaders.

Ostensibly, the Johor Baru lass's candidacy is to woo support for the Islamist party from non-Muslim voters in Tiram, especially the Indian vote which comprises 14.39 per cent of that area's voters.

However, even during the announcement, there were murmurs of uncertainty amidst the applause following Kumutha's nomination.

"She is new, too new. And this is quite a task for her.

"The party leadership may want to introduce someone fresh to the party, but the members fear that too much hope is being placed on her.

"She may not be able to do it," a party member said.

Tebrau MIC division chief M. Soorianarayanan, whose division is in Tiram, was even more caustic.

"What is Pas doing? They are going to humiliate the girl and destroy her future in politics. The Indian community is going to hate her for aligning with the opposition," Soorianarayanan said.

The Tiram constituency is a Barisan Nasional stronghold.

In the 2004 election, BN's Maulizan Bujang beat Pas' Roslani Sharif, by a margin of 15,595 votes and the coalition is expected to repeat the feat.

Perhaps Kumutha's candidancy is to serve a greater goal in Pas' strategy to make it more relevant to Malaysians.

JD says:"I can see BN screaming that this is just an eyewash from PAS to garner Indian votes.MIC has already started that PAS is doing this with bad intentions.To all my Malaysian Indian brothers and sisters BN has been telling us this for the past 50 years.Whatever said and done,hasnt PAS bent over and given a Malaysian Indian a seat? Let the BN machinery say what they like we should just give our votes to the opposition, be it PKR,PAS or DAP.PAS maybe better then BN for all we know.I am sure we can give them a try since even now we dont have much of a future in the hands of BN and MIC".

Also refer,
PAS kemuka dua calon bukan Melayu
newsyoumavemissed

PAS bukan parti perkauman. Sekali lagi menjelang PRU ini PAS membuktikan hakikat itu apabila tampil mengemukakan dua orang calon bukan Melayu bagi bertanding di Kelantan dan Perak. Mereka adalah AJK PAS Pusat Datuk Anuar Tan yang akan mempertahankan kerusi DUN Kota Lama nya di Kelantan, manakala seorang algi calon adalah Dr. Khalil Idham Lim Abdullah di DUN Titi Serong, Perak.

Alangkah sejuk mata dan senang hati kita melihat betapa saudara-saudara kita dari kaum selain Melayu boleh sama-sama memegang panji-panji perjuangan, bagi menegakkan keadilan dan merobohkan kezaliman ini. More...

Boleh jalanlah air mata buaya hampa!

penarikbeca.blogspot.com

Sekiranya Barisan Nasional menang lagi di Taiping, Lenggong dan Sungai Siput, saya tidak tahu apa lagi hendak dikatakan kepada orang-orang Umno di kawasan itu.

Sebelum ini, saya sakit hati betul dengan orang-orang Umno Sungai Siput (jangan lupa ratib sakti Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu, "Umno jiwa saya! Umno nadi saya!") dan Bukit Gantang. Kalau saya berjumpa dengan mereka, hati saya pedih!

Hati saya pedih walaupun saya tidak memusuhi mereka.

Saya yakin, orang-orang India (Makkal Sakti!) dan orang-orang Cina yang bermaruah di Sungai Siput tidak akan memberikan undi kepada Samy Vellu.

Mereka ada maruah dan harga diri. Begitu juga orang-orang Melayu yang bermaruah. Tetapi, orang-orang Umno... entahlah!

Saya tidak mampu memusuhi ahli-ahli Umno di mana-mana pun kerana mereka adalah saudara saya di dalam Islam. Malah, ramai orang-orang Umno yang dekat di hati saya.

Tak mungkin saya balik ke kampung saya di Matang, Taiping dan berkelahi serta memaki-hamun orang-orang Umno kawasan Bukit Gantang. Matang berada dalam kawasan Parlimen Bukit Gantang.

Tak mungkin saya memaki hamun adik-beradik saya di Sungai Siput yang menyokong Umno serta kembang-kempis hidung mereka apabila disebut nama Samy Vellu.

Sungai Siput menghantar nostalgia tersendiri dalam kenangan saya. Kecil-kecil dulu, Sungai Siputlah tempat saya "berjalan". Rumah Allahyarham abang emak saya di situ. Samy Vellu kenal Allahyarham Cik Gu Hamzah kerana beliau bekas Pengerusi Tetap Umno Bahagian Sungai Siput.

Ahh, saya dah menyentuh bapa saudara yang sangat-sangat saya kasihi...

Apa pun, jika Samy Vellu menang lagi di Sungai Siput, orang-orang Umno Sungai Siputlah yang sebenarnya menjadikan sakit hati orang-orang India lebih parah dan berdarah.

Jika Kayveas menang lagi di Taiping, orang-orang Umno Taipinglah yang memerah air mata rakan-rakan mereka, ahli-ahli Umno di Lenggong dan Gerik. Lenggong dan Gerik... Ramai adik-beradik saya di sana, juga tempat saya "berjalan" kecil-kecil dahulu.

Jika Kayveas menang lagi di Taiping, orang-orang Umno Taipinglah yang yang menafikan pembangunan yang menyeluruh di Taiping kerana Hasrul Halid mendedahkan, pembangunan di Taiping "untuk 'ras' tertentu sahaja".

Lebih dari itu, jika Barisan Nasional menang lagi di Lenggong, izinkanlan saya katakan kepada orang-orang Umno Lenggong termasuk adik-beradik saya, "boleh jalanlah air mata buaya hampa!"

Makkal Sakthi drama at Penang CM’s office

anilnetto

Some 300 Indian Malaysians from the Makkal Sakthi (”People Power”) movement, many of them clad in their trademark orange, gathered at Komtar this morning in an attempt to meet Penang Chief Minister Koh Tsu Koon at his office. With them was five-year-old Vwaishnavi Waythamoorthy, the only daughter of one of the five detained Hindraf leaders, who brought along roses and a memorandum for Koh.

The memo was to seek Koh’s intervention to ensure the safety of the crowd - that the police would not take action against them - at the planned gathering at Parliament on 16 February. The group intend to hand over “Valentine’s Day” roses to the Prime Minister and to seek the release of the Hindraf Five.

Apparently, the group chose to see Koh because he is the “only non-bumi chief minister” in Malaysia. I feel Makkal Sakthi should not look at the world solely through ethnic lens. Lowly paid workers are often exploited by the super-rich business elite, which includes non-bumi tycoons who are very much part of the domination system. I mean, do you see any Indian Malaysian tycoons endorsing the MTUC’s call for a monthly minimum wage of RM900 and a cost of living allowance of RM300? A glance at the multi-ethnic cast of characters in the Lingam video scandal would be enough to tell us that things are pretty muhibbah up there in the elite circles of power. The sooner Makkal Sakthi sheds its ethnic worldview, the faster it can build bridges with marginalised Malaysians of all ethnic groups - and indeed non-Malaysian migrant workers.

Back to the story: One of Koh’s aides turned up to collect the memo from the crowd gathered at Komtar. He went in and signed the document to acknowledge receipt.

But the crowd expressed displeasure: “We are not anchadi (five-foot way) people to be treated this way.”

Taken aback, the aide invited five representatives from the crowd into the Penang state government’s offices. There, he apologised that the CM was unable to meet them due to other commitments, according to my source.

The crowd below was not convinced that the Chief Minister was unavailable. Armed police and riot police turned up.

Some in the crowd responded that they had come peacefully, that they were “flower people”.

“We are unarmed so why do you come with guns?” they asked.

Cries of “Makkal Sathi” pierced the air. Eventually the crowd dispersed peacefully.

The movement is not about to go away in a hurry. I must add that these Makkal Sakthi folks are pretty savvy and creative in their means of drawing public attention to their cause and in highlighting the plight of the marginalised among Indian Malaysians.

With Penang considered a front-line state in the coming general election, many Malaysians will be closely watching to see what impact the Makkal Sakthi phenomenon will have on voting patterns.