Magh Krushnapaksha 13, Kaliyug Varsha 5114
Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy is to go on a hunger strike from March 10 to highlight the plight of the marginalised Indian Malaysian community.
“P Waythamoorthy has decided to take it beyond and above politics. This is a national and a moral problem and it has to be seen as such by whoever is in government and by the larger sections of our peoples,” the Hindu rights group said in a statement yesterday.
“This ‘Hunger Viratham’ is a prayer to emphasise to all the peoples of Malaysia and to the government of Malaysia that there are serious issues of morality and governance surrounding this entire historical occurrence (of Indian marginalisation).”
The group said the hunger strike is meant to press home the need for “permanent and comprehensive solutions to these serious problems”.
The move comes in the wake of Hindraf’s disappointment with Pakatan Rakyat’s lack of a definitive answer to its blueprint to uplift the sad state of the Indian community largely neglected by the government and mired in a bog of social problems and poverty.
Pakatan’s election manifesto released on Feb 25 also upset Hindraf leaders for its failure to address any of the points raised in the blueprint.
However, PKR strategy director Rafizi Ramli and Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim maintained that the manifesto was meant to uplift all Malaysians in general, and its beneficiaries would include the Indian community.
Complicating the matter of Hindraf’s support for the opposition is also its demand to be allowed to contest seven parliamentary and 10 state seats in the coming general election.
Hindraf in its statement yesterday said the hunger strike would begin after morning prayers at the Arulmigu Agora Veerabathrar Sanggili Karuppar Temple in Kampung Benggali, Rawang, at 7am on March 10.
During his hunger strike, Waythamoorthy would limit his intake to water, and would continue with the hunger strike depending on the his state of health.
Source : Yahoo News
