A Penang Hindraf leader has questioned Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s delay in implementing the NGO’s five-year blueprint to uplift the lives of the Indian Malaysian community.

p waythamoorthy first pc as deputy minister State chairperson K Kalayselvam also hit out at Umno ministers Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (Home), Hishamuddin Hussein (Defence) and Khairy Jamaluddin (Youth and Sports) for saying that Hindraf president P Waythamoorthy (left) should quit as deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

Their calls were made after he criticised the police for the manner in which five suspected gang members - all Indian Malaysians - were shot dead in Penang.

"Why won't these Umno ministers ask Najib why Hindraf's blueprint, which was agreed by him and our leaders, has yet to see the light of day?" Kalayselvam said when contacted.

He said the community has been pressuring Hindraf about implementation of the blueprint after having thrown their support behind BN in the May 5 polls.

He said Hindraf is being asked if its leaders have been "cheated by BN".

"Why is it so difficult to implement the blueprint? Why can't BN or Najib keep to their promises? We worked very hard to ensure that BN won the general election.

“It has been more than 100 days now that they have been in power and our blueprint has yet to be implemented. We do not see any improvement in the lives of our community either.

"We signed a memorandum of understanding with the BN before the general election for only one reason - and that is to see our blueprint implemented. It was a very difficult decision for us, but we thought we could make the blueprint a reality."

Spate of shootings

Kalayselvan said the NGO is aware of the suspected involvement of members of the community in several incidents of crime, including the spate of shootings in the country.

"We do feel very bad about this and feel that solutions need to be found immediately," he said.

But shooting those allegedly involved is not the solution, he said, although Hindraf is not questioning police actions to reduce crime.

"The only way to address the problem of crime is to implement the blueprint and we have provided solutions on how to uplift this marginalised community," he added.

NONE About 120 participants comprising teachers, NGO activists and concerned individuals from around the country attended a one-day seminar with Hindraf leaders in Juru yesterday.

The Youth Development Programme was organised to find solutions to the plight of the Indian Malaysian community.

Hindraf leaders hope to develop skills-training programmes for the community.