This late afternoon a gathering of about 300 representatives of Indian NGOs delivered a blunt warning to Pakatan either to appoint Dr. Xavier Jayakumar to the State Exco or face the consequence of retaliation by the Indian community.

“Pakatan should not behave like the BN”, some of them yelled.

They pointed out that when the Penang State Government could appoint two Indians to its Exco, one as a member and the other as the Deputy Chief Minister, what is the problem for the Selangor state in doing so?, they asked.

“We are not asking for Deputy Menteri Besar’s post. We are asking for two seats for Indians on the State Exco. We want Pakatan to know that we have more Indians in this state than in Penang. One of the seats must be for Dr. Xavier and the other one for the DAP representative”, they stressed.

They asked the Pakatan leaders to recall what they had promised in the 2008 general election: 2 Indian representatives on the State Exco.

This gathering was organised by the Coalition of Indian NGOs, which claims to have 118 affiliates as its members. It was held at the Midlands Tamil School Conference Hall, Klang.

Some pointed out that this Conference Hall itself stands as one of the living testimonies to Dr. Xavier’s contributions  to the development and enhancement of the status of Tamil schools in this country.

“No man born of a woman had done this to a Tamil school in this country before Xavier”, one speaker said. And why this dithering about giving Xavier the seat he richly deserves in terms of his services to his constituents, the Indian community and the party, one speaker asked.

The general secretary of the coalition G. Gunaraj said, “The Indian members represent more than 40 per cent of the PKR members in Selangor. The state of Selangor has 14 per cent Indian population. We are effectively over represented in PKR in Selangor, signaling our commitment to PKR’s struggle.”

He referred to the number of projects that Dr. Xavier had initiated during the period of his Selangor Exco membership. “His dedication to his duties was absolute. He conducted himself as a servant of the people, irrespective of race or religion. Only his branch of PKR has the highest number of members at 10,000 of which 65 per cent are Indians”, Gunaraj observed.

Flag of war

Speaking as the Selangor State Chairman of Malaysia Hindu Sangam, K. Ganesh Babu Rao, who is also the Honorary General Secretary of the Hindu Sangam, said that all that the Indians in Selangor are asking for is just two seats on the Exco. It is just 20 per cent of the seats available.

“If Pakatan just cannot give that for what the Indians in Selangor had done to ensure the victory of Pakatan and for all the contributions that Dr. Xavier had made to the development of Tamils schools, Tamil school students, Kindergartens for them, grants for lands for temples and  financial allocations for reconstructions of temples, we will raise the flag of war against Pakatan. I mean it”, Ganesh said to the thunderous cheers from the crowd.

More than a dozen representatives from the participating Ngos and others expressed their disappointment at what is going on in Pakatan at the moment, especially in the matter relating to the appoint of Dr. Xavier as an Exco member and an additional one more Indian to the Exco.

The chairman of the session K. Uthayasoorian summed up by saying that speakers had given expressions to their feelings and their proclamation that Dr. Xavier is their preferred candidate for the Exco membership.

He concluded by saying that letters and memorandums had been submitted to Pakatan chief Anwar Ibrahim urging him to ensure the appoint of Dr. Xavier.  He, one behalf of all the NGOs participants,  urged the Pakatan leadership to heed the call of the people.

The crowd standing behind NGOs leaders seated at the main table kept chanting “Xavier, Xavier, Xavier.”