Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan has accused Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia (PHM) leader P Waythamoorthy of misleading the public on Putrajaya's handling of issues affecting the Indian community.

In a post on his Facebook page yesterday, Abdul Rahman said Waythamoorthy had once asked Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to resolve the housing issue faced by residents of Taman Permata in Dengkil, Selangor.

"The PM immediately gave my ministry RM35 million to solve it. So it is not true if Waythamoorthy accuses (the) PM of not listening to Indian issues brought by him," wrote Abdul Rahman.

Abdul Rahman also shared another anecdote where Waythamoorthy was reminded by Najib during a meeting that Putrajaya had allocated millions in various government agencies for the Indian community.

He said Najib had then urged Waythamoorthy to "work within the system".

"Bottom line is - I think Waythamoorthy ( left ) couldn't fit in the system. I think he was restless and felt out of place.

"But that's not a reason to demonise the PM," wrote Abdul Rahman, adding that the premier had always accorded Waythamoorthy with respect.

"I (too) had the privilege to have Waythamoorthy in my office for a meeting. He was a reasonable man with good intentions.

"But with very little patience," he said.

Abdul Rahman is the latest among ministers and deputy ministers who have hit out against Waythamoorthy, who resigned as senator and deputy minister in a huff on Feb 10.

Waythamoorthy claimed that Najib had betrayed the Indian Malaysian community by failing to keep BN's word outlined in the BN-PHM MOU signed just before the 13th general election.

He also claimed that he had met Najib 16 times since then, and each time the premier had dithered on establishing a new unit for Indian affairs and allocating a budget for it.

Report card

In a related development, Media Prima Bhd's New Straits Times has, for the past three days, carried a series of infographics titled 'Report card on the Indian community'.

Among others, the infographics claimed that the federal government had undertaken the following:

  • Committing RM540 million to Tamil school's infrastructure since 2009, including RM100 million budget allocations in 2012 and 2013.

 

  • Allocating 1,500 seats for Indian students in government matriculation colleges.

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  • Setting a annual quota of 10 percent of all places available for Indian students in government polytechnics.

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  • Establishing Koperasi Suria and provided funding of RM8 million to transform existing Indian sundry shops and automotive workshops.

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  • Reserving RM2 billion worth of Amanah Saham Malaysia and Amanah Saham 1Malaysia shares that were fully subscribed by Indian investors.

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  • Allocating more than RM125 million since 2009 to more than 2,600 Indian community NGOs.

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  • Disbursing RM55 million since 2009 for upgrading and expansion of more than 1,300 Hindu temples and other Indian places of worship.

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  • Alienating land for the relocation and rebuilding of temples in a just and fair manner acceptable to all involved.

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  • Forming a Special Implementation Taskforce (SITF) under the cabinet committee for the Indian community to specifically address documentation issues in the Indian community.

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  • Executing 80 dedicated on-the-ground events and two special MyDaftar programmes that resulted in 6,590 Indians being awarded citizenship, identity cards and other documentation.

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  • Resolving the long-standing Kampung Buah Pala issue and providing homes to Indian families who were abandoned by the Pakatan-led state government in Penang.