Opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim's assurance that Pakatan Rakyat will not push for a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi spells good news for the country's economy.

p sivakumar In praising the 'timely' statement, Malaysian Indian Business Association (Miba) president P Sivakumar stressed that to maintain overall progress, it is pertinent that a country enjoys peace as well as political and economic stability.

"Those quarters who are calling on the prime minister to step down simply forget that he is the prime minister for all Malaysians and not just Umno.

"It is Abdullah's duty to ensure that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) continues to flow into the country and to ensure that the investors stay put," he told Malaysiakini .

Since the March 8 general election, Sivakumar said there has been much speculation regarding the top leadership and this is not good for business.

"Malaysians should put the country first in order to progress," he said in reference to calls on Abdullah to step down following Barisan Nasional's (BN) disastrous performance.

'Anwar much wiser'

Sivakumar also said that based on the statements made, "it appears that Anwar is now a much wiser man."

"He is living up to the expectations of the people who gave the opposition their mandate in the elections by bringing the opposition parties under one banner called Pakatan Rakyat.

anwar ibrahim pc 180208 01 "Anwar is a true architect. He is on track to realising the dream of a new Malaysia which is not divided along ethnic and religious lines," he added.

The Miba president stressed that Anwar must continue with this agenda for change and not allow the momentum to slide. "The voters and the international community are keeping a close watch on the progress," he warned.

Sivakumar was responding to Anwar's statements in the Star today which among others quoted him as saying that Pakatan Rakyat's priority is to ensure accountability and good governance in the states it controls.

"The people have placed so much trust on us. I saw it in their eyes when they came to our rallies. We cannot betray this. This goes beyond politics," he told the daily.

'The Hindraf mistake'

Meanwhile, Sivakumar also pointed out that no Malaysian Indian group, including political parties, have asked Abdullah to step down.

abdullah ahmad badawi 2008 cabinet line up 180308 03 "This is despite the unhappiness with the prime minister for not inviting the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) to the negotiation table to find amicable solutions. This was a costly mistake.

"Secondly, the leadership continues to ignore the tearful pleas including calls from international groups to free the five Hindraf leaders held under the Internal Security Act.

"Truth cannot compromise itself with falsehood. When temples were demolished inhumanely and 50 years of development progress did not reach the poor Indians, there is always a difficult choice to be made. This motivated the five brave individuals to stand up for the truth," he added.

Sivakumar called upon the prime minister to release the five - who are serving a two-year detention order - before the 'new' Parliament convenes for its first sitting on April 28.

"The Hindraf issue will just make it worse for him as far as Parliament is concerned, given that there are now 82 opposition parliamentarians in the August House.

hindraff isa detainees 141207 "Abdullah's plate is already full, I am sure he does not wish to see another serving of lengthy debates on the Hindraf issue on top of this," he added.

"Our direction must be clear as one nation," stressed Sivakumar. "It cannot be denied that in the past, idealism was traded in for personal gains by certain quarters who imposed their selfish will upon society to create the impression that their narrow beliefs were the right direction towards a true progressive nation."

"But this changed on March 8. They were struck with the realisation that Malaysians have become wiser and rejected their ideas," he added.