“This is a good development. (PH chairman) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad should meet as many as possible, like what (PH de facto leader) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim did because we want to pool our efforts to fight tyranny.
“However, all must come in sincerely because we don’t have the means to give this or that,” said PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar.
She was commenting on the meeting yesterday between Mahathir and Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy at the Perdana Leadership Foundation in Putrajaya. Also present were former minister Zaid Ibrahim, who is now with DAP, and former Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Junid.
Nurul reminded Hindraf that it should agree to conditions and the agenda of PH before it could be accepted into the coalition.
“I stress inclusiveness because Malaysia is multiracial and multireligious, and we must practise tolerance to foster unity,” she said at a news conference at PKR headquarters here today.
Hindraf, the Hindu Rights Action Force, came into prominence in 2007 after it mobilised tens of thousands of Indians in a protest in Kuala Lumpur, accusing the government of marginalising Malaysian Indians.
The group was widely credited for the opposition gains in the general election a year later, when BN candidates were defeated in constituencies with a large concentration of Indian voters.
However, Hindraf shifted its support to BN just before the 2013 polls.
Waythamoorthy was appointed a deputy minister in the Najib Razak administration after the polls but he quit less than a year later, alleging the prime minister reneged on his promises to Hindraf.
Mahathir said after meeting Waythamoorthy that Hindraf could be a strong wing in the opposition grouping.
“We acknowledge that Hindraf enjoys support from every layer of the Indian community, from doctors and lawyers to estate workers.
“That is why we will cooperate with Hindraf, if not as a component of PH, then at least a wing of the opposition,” said Mahathir.