The Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) today named its
de facto
leader P Uthayakumar as its candidate for the next general election.
When contacted, Uthayakumar said he will contest in two
seats, namely the parliamentary seat of Kota Raja and the state seat of Sri
Andalas in Selangor, which are currently both held by Pakatan Rakyat.
"If
I win, I will be the first Hindraf candidate in Parliament and the Selangor
state assembly, we are going on a platform of equal opportunity, upward mobility
and the elimination of racism by the state and private sector," he
said.
Uthayakumar was the key leader of Hindraf rally in 2007 and was
subsequently detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for 514 days.
Kota Raja is presently held by PAS’ Dr Siti Mariah Mahmad while Sri Andalas
is held by PKR’s Dr Xavier Jeyakumar.
Hidraf has no choice
While conceding that this may split Pakatan's votes, Uthayakumar said the
movement had "no other choice" because the opposition coalition has refused to
engage Hindraf despite its best efforts to negotiate for one-on-one
contests.
"In the last general election we did not ask for any seats.
We gave our whole hearted support to Pakatan. But after they won in Selangor,
they have failed to address the problems faced by the Indian poor," he
said.
An example, he claimed, 282 acres of land in the state meant for
places of worship was given to Chinese temples when the Hindu community were
much more in need of them.
"If I am in the state assembly then I can
bring issues such as this to a higher level," he said.
He added that when
Hindraf advocated for the Indian poor, Pakatan had often tried to label them as
racist, "but it doesn't matter," he said.
The announcement today was made
before supporters at an event in Klang. Hindraf is expected to announce
candidates for the Kelana Jaya and Kuala Selangor parliament seats as well as
the Bukit Melawati, Ijok and Seri Setia state assembly seats, all in
Selangor.
At a national level, the party aims to contest 7 parliamentary
seats and 14 state seats in total.
"This is just a small number of seats
we are asking from Pakatan. Even MIC contests in nine parliamentary seats and 19
state seats," he said.
'Not voting is an
option'
Uthayakumar said the movement is calling on the Indian
community to back its candidates and where there is no Hindraf contesting, the
should reject Umno but "not voting is an option".
"Last time we told them
to vote for Pakatan but when Pakatan did not deliver, people held us
responsible, we have to answer, so this time we are saying its up to the
community to decide," he said.
The event in Klang today was also the
second invitation for opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to come explain what
Pakatan would do for the Indian community in its first 100 days if it captures
Putrjaya.
"We are disappointed that Anwar did not turn up, he had an
opportunity to explain the difficult issues faced by the Indian poor. For
example, he supports a royal commission of inquiry in Sabah on MyKads, but what
about the 450,000 Indians without MyKads?" said HRP information chief S Jayathas
when contacted.
Anwar had turned down the first invitation and did not
respond to the second, citing that the opposition coalition should champion its
cause without going along racial lines.
"They are taking the easy way
out. They are trying to label us as racist in order to silence us,” said
Jayathas.
Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/198490
The Human Rights Party, the political arm of Hindraf, is not a
registered political party and its candidates are expected to contest as
independents.
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