COMMENT BY PROF DR P.RAMASAMY,
PRO TEM CHAIRMAN OF URIMAI PARTY
Delusional multiracial politics of PKR and DAP
R. Sivarasa is another victim of the multiracial politics of PKR. He was former deputy minister of rural development under the short lived PH government. His position as the vice-chairman of PKR has been replaced by another Indian member, Sentosa assemblyman George Gunaraj.
Sivarasa remains as the ex-officio member of PKR Selangor according to Fahmi Fadzil, the information chief of PKR. Fahmi said that even though Sivarasa was replaced as the Selangor PKR vice-chairman, he continues to function as an ex-officio member.
It is euphemistic way of saying that Sivarasa is no more the Selangor PKR leader. His replacement shows that the party like the DAP are more keen to have sycophants in the party than leaders who might the mind of their.
Sivarasa once a close confidant of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had been left in the political wilderness. His contributions to the party and the coalition have been forgotten overnight. So much for Anwar’s leadership of the Madani government.
Sivarasa was denied the parliamentary seat of Sungei Buloh in the last federal elections ostensibly on grounds of heath. However, Sivarasa said at that time that his medical problem was not serious enough for the party to deny him the seat in his former parliamentary constituency of Sungei Buloh, Selangor.
He was replaced by R. Ramanan who joined the PKR after abandoning the MIC where he held an important party position. Before Ramanan was appointed as the deputy minister recently, he was given the responsibility to administer the Malaysian Indian Economic Transformation Unit (Mitra).
Rather than fighting for the provision of more funds for the Indian community, he was contented with the meager RM100 million for Mitra. He could even stop the government from taking away some portion of the funds to be distributed to 72 parliamentary constituencies with sizeable Indian population.
A good and educated leader like Sivarasa known for his loyalty to the PKR has been systematically sidelined from the party. It was a double whammy for Sivarasa, first dropped as an incumbent parliamentary candidate and second sidelined from the party.
The sidelining of Sivarasa is a big loss to the Indian community and to the party that boasts itself as belonging to all communities.
Sivarasa is a good lawyer and one of the legal advisors of PKR. Not surprisingly, his replacements in the parliamentary constituency and in the party were both Indians. Candidates who were not on par with Sivarasa intellectually were brought to displace him.
Sounds very familiar in the world of crabs, one crab pulling down another.
The action by PKR in marginalising competent Indian leaders such as Sivarasa is no different from the DAP’s purge of some Indian leaders recently. I suppose both the PKR and DAP having embraced Umno find it convenient to replace Indian leaders who are objectionable to Umno.
The farce of multiracial politics continues to rear their ugly heads in the PKR and the DAP.
Appointment of a non-Malay as the prime minister is not against the Constitution, but surely a party like the DAP before taking this giant leap should think of charity at home.
How about ensuring a Malay or Indian to be the secretary-general of the DAP, the most powerful position in the party?
Or, how about Chinese or Indian becoming the president of PKR?
