It is really very disappointing for a national leader like Gerakan's Lim Keng Yaik to insult the Indian members of his party by not only denying them seats but also saying that they are "empty vessels that make big noise and cannot perform."

This rude, uncouth and insensitive remark just shows how parochial he is.

I have been a Gerakan member for almost 25 years. I have worked hard, not by politicking but by providing social services to the poor through the party. And just like me there are many other professionals, both Indians and Chinese. doing the same thing. We contributed not with the aim of being elected wakil rakyats but with the aim of promoting and enhancing multiracial patriotism.

Of course, there were some members who wanted to serve a larger group of the populace by being political representatives of the government. And towards this, the rest of us worked hard to ensure victory for them when they contested in general elections. We never took into account what race they were.

Keng Yaik's puerile remarks just shows what a leader he is having forgotten that Gerakan is a multiracial party. Is this his insidious plan to rid the party of non-Chinese so that Gerakan can merge with the MCA and become a fully Chinese party?

It is time for the Indians in Malaysia to cast their votes for the opposition. We can't trust the leaders of either the MIC or the PPP.

With such leaders like Keng Yaik in the BN, forgive us Pak Lah, when we have to vote against you.