I share the concern of some citizens regarding the recent rifts between Pakatan Rakyat supporters and Hindraf. There is a barrage of information that sometimes can be confusing but we must decipher all of them by looking at them objectively.

Hindraf

Some PKR members affiliated to Hindraf are apparently willing to scuttle a win for the PKR candidate S Manikumar because some have personal agenda's against Anwar Ibrahim.

When you are having your plate full fending of attacks from your opponent, the last thing you want is those you consider allies joining forces with the other side to attack you.

This is exactly how Pakatan supporters who are tired of BN's divide-and-rule policy see Hindraf. They see them as opportunists holding Pakatan to ransom by making ethno-centric demands.

Respect and gratitude is a two way street, thus Hindraf cannot demand it.

Agreed Hindraf, played a role in the March 8 tsunam i but to claim sole credit is stretching the truth a bit too far as countless other factors and dynamics were involved.

Hindraf should remain a pressure group to champion issue's affecting Hindu rights and issues unique to the community, but when they expect to be consulted as to the selection of election candidates they have overreached themselves.

Kalaivanar and Samy Velu

It was reported that Anwar had to go through a list of 21 potential candidates for vetting. B Kalaivanar, who lost his bid for the Gurun seat and was charged in court on two counts of cheating in June last year, offered himself as a candidate.

Was he actually expecting to be picked ? This together with the fact that Samy Vellu publicly announced that Kalai will campaign for the BN candidate is highly suspicious.

Has Kalai forgotten that when the Hindraf leaders were arrested, Samy - Umno's lackey - agreed with Syed Hamid Albar that they had links to the Tamil Tigers. Samy’s lies were exposed on NDTV India.

Coincidentally, Kalai also bumped into Umno Deputy President Muhyiddin Yassin and congratulated him on his recent victory in being elected Umno deputy president. I wonder if Kalai remembers what Muhyiddin said about Hindraf?

He said: ‘If Malaysia had treated the Indian community unfairly, as claimed by the organisers of the Hindraf demonstration, the group leader would not have obtained a good education and become a lawyer...’

The media gave coverage for Kalai slamming Anwar but his grouses and true intentions raise many questions especially the timing that coincides with the by-election.

The fact that Hindraf did not distance themselves from the likes of such a shady character is seen by others as a tacit approval of his actions.

MIC

The MIC failed miserably to look into the welfare of the Indians and when the people had enough Hindraf came to the fore and MIC was trounced in the 12 ^th general elections last year.

Whenever asked what he had done for the Indian community, Samy would rattle off the latest number of Tamil schools and temples built but these do nothing to improve the community economically.

And I am afraid Hindraf is also giving too much importance to these two issues.

There is not much difference between Umnoputras and MIC-putras. Both are corrupted and only look after their cronies.

Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim has been called many names, among which that he is an ‘untrustworthy’ person with the gift of playing political spin in his favour.

However, what many people fail to see is that Anwar has managed to accomplish the Herculean task that no one before this has been able to do - which is to unite the opposition parties with diverse ideologies into an alliance that subscribes to justice, equality and the quest to end corrupt practices.

Anwar recognized the sentiments on the ground well and in the March 8 elections, led the Pakatan Rakyat coalition towards a common goal, denying the BN two-thirds majority in parliament for the first time.

This was accomplished despite much flak from naysayers. On top of that, an unprecedented four states fell to the opposition.

The ‘independent’ candidates

Those who have offered themselves as ‘independent’ candidates at Bukit Selambau also raise much suspicion. For starters there are at least three ‘independents’ who are younger than Manikumar, who is said to be too young at 35.

Then we have the former Sungai Petani Gerakan Youth chief Tan Hock Huat at 54 - likely doing BN's bidding to spoil the Chinese vote against the PKR canditate.

Local Tamil actor RPS Kalaimani, 52, is trying the Ronald Reagan route.

Quarry Operators Association president Husaini Yaacob, 44, and Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma) advisor Datuk Thasleem Mohd Ibrahim, 59, both known to hobnob with the Umno crowd, are also in the fray.

We even have one candidate listed as unemployed- I wonder how he came up with the deposit.

Divide and rule

Politicians use the race platform because it appeals to our basest herd mentality. You cannot fight racial polarisation using the race card as a platform. Frankly I, too, am tired of some Indians’ whining about ethno-centric issues and letting the title ‘king-maker’ go to their heads.

There isn't a single Indian majority constituency in the country and out of the 500-plus constituencies in the country, only about 21 fall into the category where Indian voters are a deciding factor or tipping point - that too is highly subjective.

The last general election showed that race-bases politics are on the way out, that is why subversives have been playing on the emotions of Hindraf supporters to alienate them from the multiracial Pakatan coalition - it is typical BN style isolate and neutralise.

That is why many well-meaning citizens - myself included - are appealing to them in that they have a better chance of voicing their concerns collectively than trying to go for it alone.

Even MCA which claimed to champion the Chinese community - whose population is triple that of the Indian community - failed to mitigate Umno hegemony so what more can a community smaller in demographic numbers hope to achieve in partnership with MIC ?

What we can achieve with the current model is not racial unity but mere racial tolerance; tolerance has boundaries and when they are breached, can turn ugly.

Conclusion

Most problems have two dimensions - causal and symptomatic. The causes are multiple and ingrained, thus the ugly symptoms. Both need treatment. To treat the cause, BN has to be removed from power and the only other viable alternative at the moment is Pakatan.

They need our undivided support, not Chicken Little crying ‘Oh Pakatan leaders will marginalise Indians too’ . I say put them into power in the federal government then take them to task if they don't deliver.

There is a big difference in ruling a few states and ruling at the federal level, specifically the purse strings. Penang, for instance, remits more than RM5 billion in federal taxes, but are given development funds that are, pathetically, not even one fifth of that.

If various groups jostle and bandy about political bargaining chips when Pakatan already has a handful with BN dirty tactics, it is going to make their jobs even more difficult.

Did Hindraf strongly support the Penan for being marginalised for example? No. Why not? Because they were not Indian?

This country has much to learn about being unified on basic issues, Hindraf included. A good start would be to support or convince voters to support PKR’s Bukit Selambau canditate S Manikumar in the upcoming by-election.