Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia has reminded Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak to include the agreed allocation for the implementation of the organisation's memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the BN in Budget 2014.

NONE Its Penang chairperson Kalay Selvam Kalay ( right ) said nothing has been done by the BN government since the MOU was signed in April, except allowing the setting up of a unit in the Prime Minister’s Department, which is yet to be named.

"As the national budget 2014 planning cycle has begun, we remind the BN government, especially Najib, to include the agreed allocation for the implementation of the Hindraf-BN MOU in this next year's budget ," Kalay told Malaysiakini when contacted.
 
He said that while the quantum of the allocation was not specified in the MOU, it was "understood" at the time when they were discussing the memorandum that allocations would be provided to implement programmes.

The group’s proposal for an organisational structure to carry out the implementation of the MOU has been rejected because it is too elaborate.

"The establishment of the expert steering committee (ESC), proposed by Hindraf, has also been delayed. In total, 31 of the 32 areas of the MOU remain untouched," Kalay told Malaysiakini .

"The questions raised about the delays in implementing the MOU have only been met with silence by the prime minister," he added.

Kalay said the PM’s Department must at once approve the organisational structure and allow the establishment of the ESC as proposed by Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia to enable the MOU to start running.

"Unless the ESC gets to work very soon, it is likely that the budget input for the implementation plan may be in jeopardy," Kalay said.

Cannot swing back Indian votes

Kalay urged Najib, who initiated the signing of the MOU two weeks before the May 5 general elections, to look back at his promises laid down in the MOU.

"It is crucial for BN to allocate the agreed budget for the Hindraf-BN MOU in the 2014 national budget as failure to do so will indicate that BN has broken its promises," he said.

NONE "Once that happens, neither Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia nor (Deputy) Minister in the Prime Minister Department P Waythamoorthy ( left ) can ever swing back the Indian votes en bloc to BN in the next general election.

In the May 5 general election, the association agreed to support the BN to help the coalition win back a two-thirds majority in order to get its MOU implemented to uplift the status of the Indian community in the country.

In return, Waythamoorthy was appointed a deputy minister by Najib after the election, to look into the plight of the Indian community.

"BN may have failed the Indians once, but it can’t afford another similar shortcoming in today’s crucial changing political landscape," Kalay said.