A delegate at the Pakatan Rakyat second convention today has questioned the unity between the component parties of DAP, PKR and PAS , especially in the selection of its top leaders.

NONE Perak DAP central committee member V Jayabalan said although the selection process was carried out in a democratic manner, there were questions if racial politics existed in the opposition coalition.

He was the only delegate out of the other six in the morning session who spoke reflectively about the internal issues confronting the various component parties.

The other delegates – Mazlan Aliman (PAS), Khairuddin Aman Razak (PAS), Violet Yong Wui Wui (DAP-Pending), Dr Jayabalan (DAP), Chang Lih Kang (PKR – Teja) and Nurul Izzah Anwar (PKR-Pantai Dalam) only focussed on attacking BN and Umno for all their woes.

Saying that he would commend Pakatan on its achievements during his debate, Jayabalan added that he would also review the failure of the coalition during its nine-month rule in Perak before the BN seized power following defections in PKR and DAP.

Jayabalan said realistically, the time has come to question whether the Perak Pakatan government led then by PAS was able to resolve the ongoing problems faced by the Indian community.

“We did take several steps to resolve the problems but we did not achieve enough because of the lack of time, as the state was seized by the cruel BN...the Perak constitution has been bandied about due to the political greed of BN,” he added.

No roads to recognition

Jayabalan, who is from Ipoh Barat, also lamented the lack of recognition for Indian leaders within the coalition, citing as an example how the community was disappointed when the Pakatan government in Perak had failed to rename Jalan Silibin to Jalan P Patto as they had hoped.

pakatan 2nd convention 191210 03 The other, he said, was Jalan Dr V David, that got Pakatan severe criticism from the Indian community for forgetting the contributions of the two past leaders.

Meanwhile, Jayabalan said Pakatan failed to obtain the support of the third force, urging the leadership to open the coalition’s doors to groups like the newly launched Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement.

“We also failed to capture the hearts of Indian parties like Indian Progressive front and Makkal Sakthi,” he added.

He then suggested that the convention endorse a memorandum to ensure Pakatan resolved the various issues confronting the Indians, that include protection of Hindu temples from demolition and the setting up of a committee to oversee the problems of gangsterism within the community.

The memorandum also urged that the Pakatan leadership ensure that the quota for Indians in all matters, especially in the disbursement of scholarships, were fulfilled without any racial limitations.