Reject Waytha and vote Pakatan, say Indian NGOS

‘Hindraf is not Waytha’s personal property, it belongs to the tens of thousands who rallied in 2007.’

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KUALA LUMPUR: A group of Indian based NGOs, pledging to vote for Pakatan Rakyat candidates in the May 5 election, has accused Hindraf leader P Waythamoorthy of claiming personal absolute right over the Hindu group.

“Hindraf does not belong to any particular person; it belongs to the tens of thousands of Indians who rallied in the streets in 2007,” former Hindraf coordinator R Kannan told reporters today after a forum at Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, where the NGOs made their pledge.

“The organisation he registered is called Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia, not Hindu Rights Action Force, which yields the acronym Hindraf.

“It is thus clear that Waytha has no power over the original Hindraf movement.”

Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia was registered last month, years after the name Hindraf had been stamped onto the public mind as a movement fighting for the rights of Malaysian Indians, particularly those members of the community who have been sidelined in the nation’s economic and social development.

According to news reports, Waythamoorthy has warned that he would sue anyone claiming a right to Hindraf.

One of the NGOs at today’s forum was the National Indian Rights Action Team (NIAT). Its chairman, Thasleem Mohamad Ibrahim, said the memorandum of understanding signed recently by Waythamoorthy and BN chairman Najib Tun Razak was “nothing but a farce”.

Citing the four points in the agreement, Thasleem said that there was nothing in them that was not covered in a blueprint that MIC submitted to the government in 1974.

Thasleem showed the 1974 document to reporters, pointing out that Waythamoorthy’s demands were already in it. That document was prepared by former MIC vice-chairman K Padmanathan.

“So, what is BN’s point in inking a new MOU with Waythamoorty when it has already received those demands?” he asked.

A Rajaretnam, who leads WargaAMAN, urged Malaysian Indians to vote out BN in the coming election.

WargaAMAN is coalition of 20 civic groups representing Malaysian Indians.

“By fielding Zulkifli Noordin as a BN candidate, Najib has sent a clear message that he is a Perkasa supporter,” he said.

Zulkifli, notorious for his racially insensitive statements, is a vice president of Perkasa, a group that is equally notorious for the same reason. He is fighting PAS’ Khalid Samad in Shah Alam as a candidate sponsored directly by BN instead of one of its component parties.

Rajaretnam also urged the Christian community to vote for Pakatan to show their disappointment with BN for similarly sponsoring Perkasa supremo Ibrahim Ali for Pasir Mas.

Ibrahim came under fire recently following his call on Muslims to burn copies of the Bible that use “Allah” as God’s name and contains other religious terms derived from Arabic.