YOURSAY 'Whatever has the race of a leader got to do with his ability to help any particular race? Pathetic is the perfect word that sums it all up.'

HRP asks panel for 53 Indian-majority constituencies

ONG: Human Rights Party (HRP) leader P Uthayakumar wants "at least 14 new parliament seats and 38 state assembly seats which are at least 70 percent Indian majority".

In the 2008 GE, at least 14 Indian Malaysians got elected and none of those seats was Indian majority. The last time I checked, all 14 are still Indians. There were actually many other Indians who were also successful but they decided to become Malays after some genetic engineering.

Uthayakumar wants the parliamentary select committee (PSC) to order the Election Commission to do some gerrymandering so that there will be 53 seats which are "at least 70 percent Indian majority, with 20,000 voters for parliament and 10,000 for state assembly seats".

For the 2008 GE, there were 10,921,255 registered voters spread over 222 parliamentary constituencies. This works out to an average of 49,208 registered voters per parliamentary constituency. HRP is now suggesting that for their proposed special 70 percent Indian-majority seats, their one vote will equal others' 2.5 votes.

The way my simple mind figure out our election procedure, in a straight one against one contest, 50% + 1 vote will guarantee victory. In multiple candidate contests, less than 50% can actually win.

Therefore why does HRP wants "at least 70 percent Indian majority" in their proposed mandate-of-heaven extra special Indian-majority seats? It must be because Uthayakumar cannot trust the Indians to vote his candidates.

Which prompts the next question. Why not?

Gandhi: ONG, search your mind why Hindraf is asking for these seats. Your sarcasm of ‘mandate-of-heaven' says something about your chauvinistic trait in you.

Pakatan Rakyat should give some seats to HRP, which would check if Pakatan neglects the Indian woes. Simple as that.

You need not delve in too much to figure out why HRP is asking for their share. I can't trust Pakatan the way they have broken their promises.

Daseen: Uthaya is certainly a champion for the marginalised Indian Malaysians who are predominately of Tamil origin. It is no fault of them being a historical baggage (minority) due to colonisation by the British.

However, his demands far exceed the norms of the constitution, electoral system and reality so it is better to settle for less. Indian Malaysians, being matured, can act as a block and decide the faith of wannabe MPs in at least 35 seats.

Let the 13th GE be the occasion that they vote in block in favour of whoever they feel is best to lead the nation.

Just as the tsunami in 2008 realigned the political landscape in our nation, the 13 ^th GE shall be an 'eye-opener' for the rest of the Malaysians to the power of Indian Malaysians as block voters (where a minimum of 85% Indian votes going to the least evil of the candidates).

John Thivy: Even during the Merdeka talks in 1956, the question of the need for minority Indian representation was discussed as the British realised that Indians are scattered all over the country.

They acknowledged Indians can never win in an election, so suggested a minimum of 20 appointed MPs. However, this was conveniently forgotten later.

There are more than 900,000 registered Indian voters and the average parliamentary seat has about 50,000 voters. It does not make sense that Indians are not given any exclusive seats.

Yap CS: Might as well ask for Indian ghettos to be set up.

Paul Warren: I hope Uthaya and others who see themselves as Indians will just pack their bags and go back to India. We are Malaysians here.

Temenggong: Paul Warren, there are identities and sub-identities. Are you denying the existence of race identification in Malaysia and the peculiar problems of marginalisation of each community?

You are offering the same solution as the Malay Muslim extremists - ‘balik India, balik Cina'. Quite a race and religious bigot, aren't you?

There is something in your subconscious make-up to account for your derisive and simplistic attitude. I know what it is.

Imagine the UN having majoritarian rule - two-thirds of the member states (120 nations) won't be represented at all due to having a small populations.

Equitable representation in a majoritarian democracy has always been found grossly wanting everywhere in the world, and it requires special solutions. Singapore found it and avoided the dilemma of Sri Lanka.

If the 12 percent of East Malaysians can send 56 MPs to Parliament, then the Indians should have about the same number of Indian-majority seats.

If not, this is a majoritarian state with no representation for minorities. Democracy means equitable representation and if that is not there, then we have a dysfunctioning democracy.

What we would have is Malay and Chinese candidates purportedly representing Indians.

P Dev Anand Pillai: What Uthaya says makes a lot of sense. The Indians have been neglected and will always be neglected as long as we don't force the powers-that-be to treat every Malaysian with equality.

Md Imraz Muhammed Ikhbal: Whatever has the race of a leader got to do with his ability to help any particular race?

Are we resigned to the fact that our leaders must be inclined to the particular race they are of, hence the need to ensure a particular race composition in our government line-up?

Only in a country that embraces racism do we see people squabble over the racial mix of those who ought to be leaders. Pathetic is the perfect word that sums it all up.

Kudos to Dr Hatta Ramli though. He is the glimmer of hope if we are ever to rise beyond the mentality of racism.

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