KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 – The Pakatan Rakyat manifesto has completely ignored the needs and welfare of the Indian community, claims a former DAP member. Former DAP Sepang parliament liason committee chairman R. Vellasamy said the populist manifesto displayed shallowness of the opposition leaders, as they failed to recognise the community’s longstanding woes.
He claimed Pakatan’s promises were not aimed at benefitting the people, but was only targeted at certain racial groups so that they could win more votes.
“I urge the Indian community to study the manifesto, which is only capable of making false promises with a view to winning more votes. It is a huge disappointment for the Malaysian Indians, and obviously, Pakatan Rakyat does not value the community’s support and needs,” he told Bernama when contacted today.
Vellasamy was commenting on the opposition’s 10-point manifesto announced last Monday, in the run-up to the 13th General Election. He said, there was no mention of the Indian community anywhere in the manifesto, but there were specific pledges to the Malays, Chinese, Orang Asli, Sabahans and Sarawakians, ex-armed forces and Felda settlers.
Vellasamy also cautioned the Indian community not to blindly vote for the opposition. Instead, he said, Indians should use their strength to ensure votes were cast for those who had been helping the community. Echoing similar sentiments, MIC Youth deputy chief V. Mugilan warned the people, especially the Indian community, not to believe the opposition and their unrealistic’ manifesto, which appeared to be “too good to be true”.
“Trusting the opposition will jeopardise and gamble our community’s future, which is too valuable to just give to those who are not responsible with their promises,” he told Bernama. Mugilan also noted that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had contributed to, and assisted the Indian community throughout the past four years by resolving many of the community’s pending problems in such areas as personal identity documents, education and job opportunities in the government sector.
He also called on the Indian community to place its trust, confidence and hope in Najib, as the prime minister was a leader who always placed the needs of the people first.
“The BN government is always sincere in helping to uplift the Indian community, and that is why, we can see the community is returning to the BN-fold, as compared to 2008,” he noted.
Mugilan said Najib had kept his promise to give the Indians a fair deal in uplifting the community, by laying the foundation in all aspects of political, economic and administrative transformation.
BERNAMA
