Bersih’s Free and fair elections just like UMNOs’ cannot also possibly segregate and exclude the minority Indian poor man’s right to their without fear or and favour MPs’ right to a voice at the highest political level ie in the Malaysian Parliament as a means of protecting minority Indian poor interest.

Even the supposedly “authoritarian” 85% Chinese majority Singapore in order to protect their Malay and Indian minorities political representation had bent backwards and way back in 1988 itself created the Group Representative Constituency (GRC) Members of Parliament (MPs’) where about a third of their elected MPs’ are their GRC MPs’. This is how even in democratically “hostile” Singapore, the 85% majority Chinese at least made the attempt to protect their minority Malays and Indians.

In fact this GRC seat gave the sole late grand old man Opposition J.B Jeyaratnam the opportunity to win the Parliamentary seat of Anson. And in the latest Singapore general elections this GRC system even saw the ouster of the Foreign Minister by he unprecedentedly losing in the General Elections.

In Malaysia under the 50 year old UMNO regime rule the MIC Indians were given malay muslim majority seats to contest and win. In the 2008 General Elections some eleven (11) Indian MPs’ in PKR and DAP similarly won in Malay muslim and Chinese majority constituencies.

In both the case of UMNO/BN and PKR, DAP & PAS/P.R their Indian MPs’, State Assemblymen, Senators & Councillors etc are merely subservient to their tuans and towkays. And to keep politically afloat and to try remain “politically relevant” they play to the majoritarian 90% Malay muslim, natives and Chinese gallery and with a sprinkling of wayang kulit Indian issues the latest being the Parliamentary Round Table thrown in to showcase and create the political impression and perception that the Indian poor interests are being cared for.

And the double tragedy being neither do the rest of the 75 Malay & Chinese Pakatan Rakyat and pseudo multi-racial MPs’ speak up for the Indian poor. Thus the need and necessity for HRPs’ 15/38 seats arose, much to the chargin of racism by Pakatan Rakyat. But Pakatan Rakyat has forgotten that Hindraf never asked for a single seat or any seat in the 2008 General Elections and thereafter. Our support was unconditional and sincere but which was like the previous UMNO regime fully taken advantage of. After the elections the Indian poor yet again were dumped like sucked oranges. True to form Bersih and Pakatan top politicians are only takers. Never givers to the Indian poor.

All because in all the 222 parliamentary seats and 576 DUN seats, UMNO ab initio (from the very beginning) shrewdly since 1957 jerry mandered and broke up Indian majority Parliamentary Constituencies the most notable Padang Serai, Merbok, Batu Kawan, Sungai Siput, Ipoh Barat, Bagan Datoh, Teluk Intan, Klang, Kota Raja, Kuala Selangor, Hulu Selangor, Teluk Kemang, Rasah, Cameron Highlands etc to be reduced to become Indian minority constituencies so that the Indian poor would not have an empowered voice at the highest political level ie Parliament. And so that the Indian poor could be easily manipulated, subjugated and preserved as the Indian poor and to become the future Indian poor vis a vis the negros of Malaysia.

And today we end up merely having politically unempowered Indian mandore Ministers, Deputy Ministers MPs’, ADUNS, EXCOs’ DCM II Senators etc being made the showpieces in the Pakatan and UMNO/B.N showcases with instructions to do their kosong wayang kulit job scope by their UMNO, PKR, DAP & PAS tuans and towkays that Indian interests are being “cared” for.

Our point is even a Malay or Chinese or even a non HRP candidate can be the M.P in our proposed Indian majority Constituencies. And this MP would be forced to also champion the interests of the Indian poor or he risks not getting re elected. Just as how DAP’s Karpal Singh had to serve his 80% Chinese majority constituents and even another Chinese MCA candidate would be voted and booted out by the Chinese majority Jelutong constituents.

Like in almost all other democracies in the world, the majority Malays who control political power and the Chinese who control half the country’s economy and some significant political power, they would some how be taken care of. It is the 8% tiny, vulnerable, soft target and powerless minority Indian poor who needs some political power especially so in the face of the “not so multi-racial” PKR, DAP and PAS Indian and non Indian MPs’ and top leaders. Unlike in bi racial One Malay-sia, in the Western civil societies, the majority most often bend backwards to champion and in fact take great pride in championing the rights of their minorities.

But in Bersih’s grand scheme of majoritarian politics and or in Pakatan Rakyat’s for that matter this does not matter unlike in the western civil Societies as the Indian poor are not a part of the majoritarian 90% Malay muslim, natives and Chinese political gallery, let alone deeming the Indian poor a political liability in their supposed “apolitical” equation.

To start off with, Bersih ab initio had never invited Hindraf or HRP when 62 other NGOs’ were invited to join the Bersih coalition.

Motive? Why bother with the Indian poor deemed a “political liability” anyway!

But if they get Indian support for Bersih and Indian votes for free, why not?

In conclusion Bersih’s free and fair elections segregates and excludes the free and fair elections of empowered to also to serve the Indian poor MPs’ to Parliament.

Thus Hindrafs’ & HRP’s insistence on at least the 18^th point of the Hindraf 18 point demands of at least 20 Indian majority “reserve” cum politically empowered MP seats in Parliament in protecting the minority Indian poor interest at the highest political level. Especially so as multi-racialism vis a vis the Indian poor is only in theory and never meant be put into practice in bi racial One Malay-sia. And thus the critical Indian poor problems today, the tip of the iceberg of which is as is documented and reported on a day to day basis in www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com

Assuming even if we were/ are wrong on Bersih, Pakatan, UMNO and the Malaysian civil society, the loud and clear message by the 100,000 Indian poor people having unprecedentedly come out to the streets of K.L. City Centre on the 25^th November 2007 Hindraf Rally cannot be wrong.

P.Uthayakumar