GEORGE TOWN: After fruitless meetings with Pakatan Rakyat, Hindraf now wants to meet Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to endorse its blueprint for the Indian community.
Hindraf Makkal Sakti chief P Waythamoorthy said the decision to meet Najib was made after much deliberations at all levels of the leadership and with the Indian community.
He said the meeting was to secure Najib’s written assurances and endorsement for its blueprint designed to improve the Indian working class community.
“After a long deliberation on the issue, we have decided to meet the prime minister to resolve Indian problems.
“We are not interested in politicking,” he said today.
Hindraf has already held a series of meetings with Pakatan leaders, notably from PKR, to get the coalition’s written assurances and commitment for its blueprint if Pakatan were to capture Putrajaya.
He said, as expected, Pakatan was more interested in using Hindraf to garner Indian votes than looking into the predicament of the Indians.
Waythamoorthy brushed aside criticisms by pro-Pakatan supporters and bloggers that the movement was playing both sides of the political divide for the best deal.
Stressing that Hindraf was not interested in political mileage, he said Hindraf cannot afford to be topsy-turvy, partisan and partial when dealing with Indian problems, which have existed for decades.
He said Hindraf had to meet Najib because it did not want its struggle for the Indian community to hit a snag after the general election if Barisan Nasional retained the federal government.
“What if Pakatan loses the general election? What should Hindraf do then? How is it going to deal with a BN government to resolve Indian issues?
“It will be a Catch-22 situation for us then,” he said.
To contest in the GE?
He said that Hindraf had written letters to Najib and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim on Aug 29 last year requesting for meetings.
“We stated clearly that we want to meet them in their respective capacities as the prime minister and prime minister-in-waiting,” he said.
Minister in Prime Minister in charge of parliamentary affairs Mohd Nazri Aziz said on Nov 7 last year that the government was willing to talk with Hindraf on the Indian issues.
On Jan 26, this year, the government lifted the ban on Hindraf.
During Hindraf roadshows on its blueprint, Indians have openly called on the movement to hold talks with both BN and Pakatan to resolve the community issues.
They have also openly backed Hindraf to contest in the coming election even as independent candidates.
No date has been fixed for Hindraf’s meeting with Najib.
