KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Advancement Party (MAP) President and HINDRAF Chair, Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy, has launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s 13th Malaysia Plan (RMK-13), branding it a “betrayal” and “utter disgrace” to the Indian community. In a strongly worded statement, Waytha Moorthy accused the Prime Minister—popularly known as PMX—of delivering hollow promises under the guise of inclusivity, while continuing policies that marginalise the Indian poor. “Neither my party nor I have ever opposed targeted initiatives for the Bumiputra community,” Waytha Moorthy said, noting that such measures are widely accepted as necessary to address long-standing economic disparities, especially given the perception that the Chinese community holds a dominant share of the economy. “However, it is absolutely unacceptable to exclude poor Indians from similar support mechanisms, while offering only loans disguised as development programmes.” According to Waytha Moorthy, PMX’s announcement that the government would “move away from race-based solutions to providing assistance based on actual needs” was contradicted almost immediately when he outlined Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia and Tekun loans for the Indian community.
“This is a blatant case of saying one thing and doing another,” he said. “The Prime Minister himself has acknowledged that Indians are among the poorest communities in Malaysia, a fact also supported by the World Bank. Yet instead of grants or targeted aid, we are offered debt packages with strict qualifications and no guarantee of success. Presenting loans as empowerment is dishonest—and cruel.” Waytha Moorthy argued that the RMK-13 does not constitute genuine reform. Instead, he said, it preserves race-based benefits for one group while denying equivalent measures to another.
He called for a proportional grant allocation to the Indian community, amounting to at least 1%—or RM25 billion—over a five-year period, to ensure economic justice and fair representation in national development policies. “If this government truly believes in helping based on need, then where is the grant system for the Indian poor?” he asked. “Where is the targeted approach and minimum allocation we have consistently proposed? This is not reform. This is systemic discrimination wrapped in slick public relations.”
The HINDRAF leader warned that the Indian community would no longer tolerate being “treated as political pawns” or accepting “crumbs” in place of substantive policy changes. “The Indian community does not need lip service,” Waytha Moorthy concluded. “We need real policies, real allocations, and genuine respect.”
