YOURSAY 'If the HRP leaders have any sanity left in them and if they really want to contest in GE13, they should have the gumption to face  MIC candidates.'

Uthaya forces three-way fights in Pakatan seats

Mbn: I was an ardent supporter of Hindraf as I believed that its leaders have suffered and sacrificed much for the sake of Indians.

I can't say the same now as many of us cannot believe that they are letting go of this golden opportunity to change the government which they hated so much.

Just because Pakatan Rakyat did not sign up to every demand of yours doesn't mean you should support BN and dash all your hopes, and ours as well.

This time around we should give full support to Pakatan and deal with them later if they misrule. Dear leaders of Hindraf, five years is very, very short.

LittleGiant: It is very sad. Instead of helping Pakatan to win and improve on its strength in both Parliament and in the state assemblies, Hindraf and the yet-to-be registered Human Rights Party (HRP) seem bent on destroying Pakatan's chances of maintaining even their current standing.

If the HRP leaders have any sanity left in them and if they really want to contest in GE13, they should have the gumption to face MIC candidates.

The bottom line is leaders of Hindraf and its off-shoots have lost their focus and nobility. What they are expecting to 'achieve' now will only make the Indian Malaysian community more divisive, more fragile and more vulnerable to the country's political powers.

Ferdtan: We have expected HRP to join in the GE, sooner or later. There is no way they can win any seat without the support of either the BN or Pakatan. Yet they still want to join in the fray.

The only reason we can come up with is that they want to play the role of a spoiler - more against Pakatan than BN. Can we see the hidden hands behind the move?

See how well the roles are being played; one brother, P Uthayakumar takes the partisan role of a politician, while the other brother, P Waythamoorthy, plays the apolitical Hindraf activist fighting for Indian rights and negotiates with both BN and Pakatan leaders.

We hope Indian Malaysians are wise enough to view their acts as just a good drama show - nothing more.

Not Convinced: It looks like the two Hindraf brothers - Uthayakumar and Waythamoorthy - don't see eye to eye.

Both claim to represent Hindraf, but Uthayakumar had decided instead to go ahead with contesting in a number of Pakatan seats (three parliament and five state seats - all in Selangor).

What has Waythamoorthy got to say about this turn of events?

Cala: I cannot see Uthayakumar's logic when he claims that the interest of the Indian community can best be served if he is elected under HRP.

What I see is a typical politician who lacks wisdom, self-centric, and clueless about strategic planning in achieving one's plan.

Magnus: From my point of view, the democratic process takes precedence and that's what is really important.

That process of consensual governance only works for one and all if everyone in that democracy participates fairly and use their democratic power to vote for and try to elect the best candidates chosen of their own free will.

So Uthayakumar has the democratic right to stand as a candidate for election by the free will of the rakyat if he can afford to pay the deposit required for that privilege.

I believe those are the rules of the democratic process "game" so I wish Uthayakumar the best of luck and may the best candidate win.

Temenggong: DAP and Pakatan gambled and the lost. This is now about GE14, and there would be no need to deal with DAP or PKR at all. BN would have finished them by then. That's the plan. There would probably be a new coalition in GE14.

Hmmmmmmmm: This reminds me of a case in Kuching in the last state election. The incumbent left PKR to contest as an independent and everybody was worried that he may affect Pakatan's chances of winning the seat because of the three-cornered contest.

He went from something like an 8,000-majority winner in the previous election to the lowest vote-getter of about 500-odd votes, losing his deposit in the process. Voters will only look at parties, not personalities.

P Dev Anand Pillai: So it looks like it is a lost cause, MIC stands to benefit the most. Pakatan tried but it was not enough for some.

At least, life has been ‘affordable' for five years in Selangor. It looks like we have to be prepared to tighten our belts hard as BN benefits from this three-cornered challenges. All bills in Selangor will go up as soon as their man sits on the plump seat in Shah Alam.

Let's hope that we have at least managed to make the people realise that a two-coalition system benefits the people most. So it has got to stay.

Jiminy Qrikert: Uthaya-HRP think they are taking away these seats from Pakatan. But GE13 is a different situation from GE12.

Looking closely at the racial composition of these parliament and state seats plus what BN will be doing to ensure they win, even if we apply a straightforward 50 percent Malay, 80 percent Chinese and 20 percent Indian support for Pakatan, these parliament and state seats are going to BN in GE13 anyway.

These parliament and state seats all have Malay and Chinese representation that is far lower then the national profile of 65 percent Malays and 25 percent Chinese. So all Uthaya is doing is taking away Indian votes from BN.

When that happens, Uthaya has effectively neutralised BN advantage in terms of 80 percent support from Indians. But if Indians choose now to reject Uthaya-HRP and instead vote for Pakatan and not BN, then Pakatan will have a good chance at retaining all these parliament and state seats.

But Indian support will need to kick in at more than 50 percent for Pakatan to breeze through in these seats. That's why Uthaya-HRP want to split the Indian vote. It's to ensure the Indians do not swing to Pakatan.

Changeagent: Good analysis, Jiminy Qrikert. Three-cornered fights will disadvantage BN more than Pakatan.

The best case scenario for Pakatan is if HRP can win the majority of Indian votes. That would leave the remaining Malay and Chinese votes to decide the winners for the contested seats.

Peace&Justice: I am amazed why we still fight for the rights of individual race after 55 years and I am indeed very sad with this mindset.

Values and virtues for all humankind are common. An ill Indian/Chinese/Malay Iban/Senoi/Semang/Kadazan needs a doctor.

Also, we should get it right in describing Malaysians. The correct words to be used are "an Indian Malaysian" and not "a Malaysian Indian", "a Chinese Malaysian" and not "a Malaysian Chinese".

In English, the first noun acts only as an adjective describing the main noun. Thus, we are all Malaysians.

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