PSM central committee member S Arutchelvan said this alliance is just a political ploy to get Indians to support PH in the 14th general election (GE14).
“This is what Najib did the last time in GE13. Now, Mahathir is following what Najib did then,” he said during an event at Bangi Estate here.
He said this manoeuvre goes back to the old racial politics of Barisan Nasional, with Indian and Chinese representatives.
“What they are trying to do is get Hindraf to be a representative, like MIC. There’s nothing different.
“We think it is time for Malaysia to do away with such racial politics,” he said.
PSM secretary-general Sivarajan Arumugam echoed similar thoughts and said this political manoeuvre was based on which group PH feels can bring more votes.
“But I don’t think this is based on any kind of long-term commitment or policy.”
However, he wasn’t sure what Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy’s agenda is this time in this alliance.
“When Waythamoorthy aligned himself with BN, it was based on some kind of Indian blueprint for BN to implement.
“We are unaware of details of the discussions he held this time with PH.”
Sivarajan said the alliance between Hindraf and PH would seem to be more on how many votes the Indians can provide PH.
Mahathir, after an hour-long meeting with Waythamoorthy recently, had admitted that the Indian community was not adequately represented in PH, adding that the group’s support was vital for the coalition’s machinery to run efficiently.
“So we are working to get Hindraf, if not as a member of PH, at least as part of the opposition,” he said.
Waythamoorthy, after the meeting, said he was confident the movement could mobilise Malaysian Indians to back PH at the next polls.
He said Hindraf’s role was critical in delivering the Indian vote to PH, adding that the community would be the kingmakers in GE14 to sway the election outcome against BN in marginal seats.
“We are offering to help PH in these rural seats, where the Indian vote can make a significant difference,” he said.
Waythamoorthy said Hindraf’s support among ordinary Indians would also work in PH’s favour should the coalition accept the group as its fifth partner, after PKR, DAP, Amanah and PPBM.
Hindraf came into prominence in 2007 after tens of thousands of Indians took part in a protest it organised in Kuala Lumpur, accusing the government of marginalising Malaysian Indians.
However, Hindraf shifted its support to BN just before the 2013 polls, following a memorandum of understanding signed with the BN ruling coalition, promising to uplift the Indian community.
Waythamoorthy later claimed Prime Minister Najib Razak failed to stand by the written commitment to help the Indian community.
“Obviously, he did not fulfil the promises and as a matter of principle, I left,” he said later.
We can deliver Indian votes, says Waytha after meeting Mahathir
Mahathir meets Waythamoorthy on possible PH-Hindraf alliance