Waythamoorthy claims brother has no right to sack him from Hindraf

TAIPING, April 27 — Hindraf chairman P. Waythamoorthy denied last night that he has been sacked from the Indian rights group he founded as his brother P. Uthayakumar has no post in the newly-registered pro-tem committee.

The lawyer and activist, who was seen on the stump for Barisan Nasional (BN) at the Sri Maha Mariamman Ladang Temerloh here, said without any power or position in Hindraf, Uthayakumar had no right to give anyone the boot.

“He has no say at all... he only has absolute say in the Human Rights Party (HRP),” Waythamoorthy(picture) told The Malaysian Insiderafter speaking to a group of Bukit Gantang voters from the Indian community here.

Waythmoorthy said Uthayakumar had moved on after his release from detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in 2009 to form the HRP, a non-registered political party that champions multiracialism and human rights.

He said Uthayakumar ran the HRP for over two years, even forming branches in seven states nationwide, before the movement fizzled out.

“Now when there is no support (for HRP), he is saying that he is the de facto leader of Hindraf.

“There was never any such leader,” Waythamoorthy noted of the previously outlawed Hindraf movement.

Uthayakumar said in an SMS yesterday that Hindraf had sacked Waythamoorthy, likely due to the latter’s recent decision to turn Hindraf pro-BN.

He is scheduled to explain the sacking at a press conference today.

Hindraf was banned following the mammoth gathering it held in 2007 to protest against BN policies; the rally has been largely credited for the coalition’s staggering loss of votes from the Indian community in Election 2008.

However, earlier this year in a strategically-timed move, the Najib administration agreed to lift the ban on the group in anticipation of the May 5 general election.

After several failed attempts by Hindraf to seek endorsement of its demands for the community from federal opposition Pakatan Rakyat (PR), Waythamoorthy took the now-legal group pro-BN last week.

Waythamoorthy, who was reportedly formally recognised as Hindraf’s chairman by the Registrar of Societies (RoS) on March 8, signed a memorandum of understanding with the BN government to improve the economic position of the Indian community.

But this earned much criticism from Uthayakumar, who alleged that his brother had sold out to the BN government by compromising Hindraf’s struggle for the Indians.

Waythamoorthy, however, denied this last night, saying Hindraf’s founding struggle was about the plight of the poor and the underclass.

“Yes, we are struggling... but there must be a solution. It is not about making Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim the prime minister or Lim Kit Siang the deputy,” he said, referring to the PR de facto leader and DAP adviser.

He said that BN chairman Datuk Seri Najib Razak had been willing to endorse Hindraf’s demands, which includes measures to improve the economic wellbeing of the Indians, and had proven his mettle as an inclusive prime minister when he signed the movement’s 18-point blueprint.

“We believe he will implement the policies,” he said.

Waythamoorthy said while Hindraf has not started accepting formal membership applications, the movement has more than 100,000 supporters nationwide who will now be campaigning for BN until the May 5 polls.

In his speech at the temple here, Waythamoorthy urged the Indians to give their votes to BN and to spread the word to their friends and family members elsewhere.

The Indian community is a significant minority in 60 of the 222 federal seats. Buntong in Perak is the largest Indian-majority state seat, where they make up 48 per cent of the 22,907-strong electorate, followed by the Chinese at 44 per cent and Malays at six per cent.

Indians make up just about 950,000 of the 13.3 million voters eligible to cast their ballots in the general election.