I refer to the letter PAS need not worry about Hindraf by Steve Oh.

I disagree with the writer that PAS must drop its Islamic tag. Many political parties have religious roots such as the present chancellor of Germany who leads the Christian Democratic Union party and the prime minister of Turkey.

I support Hindraf's right to bring its grievances to public attention. Of course, this puts PAS in a dilemma. Although it is a Muslim party, it is also a Malay party. It would be suicidal for PAS to support the questioning of Malay privileges and rights. What PAS can support is the right for Hindraf to highlight any dissatisfactions it has regarding the ruling party's neglect of the poor in Malaysia.

Unfortunately, many non-Malays and non-Muslims prefer Umno over PAS because they feel that a Malay-Muslim party would be more oppressive than just a Malay party. This is of course baseless because many non-Muslim countries such as Burma and Singapore have worse human rights records.

Why are Malaysians so keen on concentrating on differences instead of seeking common ground in their struggles? All opposition parties have a common enemy - the ISA. Thus Malaysians need to united against the ISA and strive to eradicate poverty.

There is suspicion that Hindraf is just a mask for those opposing Malay rights and privileges. It is also suspected that the financial and intellectual backers of Hindraf are rich and well off. It must be remembered that the number of Indians at the minimum wage demonstrations was larger than that of the Hindraf rallies.

The government's over-reaction proves that Hindraf is more of a political nuisance to the ruling elite rather than a genuine socialist movement seeking to better the plight of the Indians in Malaysia.