So, does this mean Najib will make Malaysian Makkal Sakti part of the BN soon?

Makkal Sakthi means "People Power" or in Bahasa Melayu, 'Kuasa Rakyat'.

That was the call when tens of thousands of Malaysian Indians took to the street on 24/11/2007, and the reason, I believe, was because they felt that they have been given a raw deal by the Malaysian government - i.e. the UMNO-led BN government.

The response to this peaceful expression of discontent was tear gas, water cannons, etc ( see that video footage at the bottom of this Blog page).

Then there was the arrest of Uthayakumar and several leaders under that draconian ISA..the 'banning' of HINDRAF (Hindu Rights Action Force) - the name that this movement came to be known as. There was also a 'ban' on the usage of orange (or saffron) coloured clothing, which came to be associated with this movement.

It is still the same UMNO-led BN government that rules Malaysia - and the man who is the PM was the Deputy PM then....and now he apparently has been invited to the launch of a new political party called the 'Malaysian Makkal Sakti' party - and the PM has apparently accepted.

Interesting how easily and speedily this 'Malaysian Makkal Sakti' party got its registration when it really is quite difficult to get a political party registered in Malaysia. Ask the Parti Sosialis Malaysia how long it took....

Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a political party claiming to represent Malaysian Indians, being one of the original partners with UMNO and the MCA of the political coalition now known as the BN, is certainly not going to be very happy with the PM going for a launch of this new party, who by name may likely be a party whose majority will be Malaysian Indians.

Would not the going to this launch be a slap on the face of Samy Velu and the MIC? Maybe, Najib may soon invite 'Malaysian Makkal Sakti' party to join the Barisan Nasional.

Well, this would not be the first time for MIC - for this also happened when PPP (whose members were majority Malaysian Indians were allowed to join BN)

With regards to MCA, the UMNO-led BN weakened its claim to be the party representing Malaysian Chinese by the bringing in of GERAKAN (a majority Malaysian Chinese party).

Will any Malay party...or Malay majority party be invited into the BN family...I think not.

UMNO still can claim (within the BN coalition, that is) that it represents the Malaysian Malays..

But, alas MCA can no longer make a similar claim with regard the Malaysian Chinese...

But, alas MIC can also no longer make such a claim when it comes to Malaysian Indians..

Do we still want and need ethnic based parties in Malaysia? After 52 years, Malaysians are no longer drawn to ethnic-based parties... they would like to move on to be Malaysian - to have political parties based on principles and values. They prefer to move away from that 'divide and rule' policies inherited and propagated by the UMNO, MCA, MIC ...and the BN.

The concern now is about justice, equality, rights, democracy, accountability, transparency, anti-corruption, ...

And there is now options available to the people of Malaysia... or are there? Pakatan Rakyat....

Makkal Sakti was a call heard at most of the Pakatan Rakyat ceramah - sometimes made just to give the impression that there is concern for the Malaysian Indians..

Makkal Sakti...REFORMASI calls and chants must not remain such but must be translated into real changes...or they are just 'shouts'...

One thing for sure is that Najib and the UMNO-led BN is all out to regain lost seats and power...

KLANG: The Prime Minister has accepted the invitation to launch the newly-formed Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party on Oct 10.

Party secretary-general Kannan Ramasamy said the Prime Minister accepted the invitation in late August to be the guest-of-honour at the party’s official launch scheduled to be held at 10am at the Malaysia Agricul-tural Exposition Park in Serdang.

“We are happy that he has accepted the invitation and we feel it is a good start for us with the Prime Minister launching our party,” said Kannan.

The party, which was officially registered early this year, is a splinter group of the outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) which organised anti-government rallies in November 2007.

Although a large number of pioneering Hindraf members appeared to still be anti-establishment, Kannan and party president R. S. Thanenthiran ‑ both Hindraf coordinators ‑ have made peace with the Government. - Star, 25/9/2009 - PM to launch Makkal Sakti on Oct 10