Waytha regrets insults on close friend who came for swearing-in

© Free Malaysia Today Waytha regrets insults on close friend who came for swearing-in

Arunachalanandaji with new unity minister P Waythamoorthy at the Dewan Negara yesterday.

KUALA LUMPUR: Newly appointed unity minister P Waythamoorthy is saddened by the personal insults on social media on the appearance of a Hindu scholar who accompanied him to Parliament yesterday.

Waytha described Arunachalanandaji, a non-Indian national residing in India who is respected for his insights and dedication, as a close friend and brother who had dedicated a big part of his life to propagating world peace and communal harmony.

“He is my brother who has renounced his life for world peace and lives by a mountain in India in seclusion,” he told FMT when contacted about pictures on social media circulated by internet users who claimed there was a “ghost” in the public gallery of the Dewan Negara.

A news portal had even reported on viral messages concerning “ghostly pictures of a man with long braided hair and a thick beard”.

Arunachalanandaji was there to witness Waytha and four others taking their oath for senatorship, to pave their way into the Cabinet.

Waytha said he had invited Arunachalanandaji out of respect.

“I thought that since he dedicated more than 30 years of his life to world peace, it would be most appropriate for him to grace my swearing-in,” said the Hindraf chief, who has been made a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, despite not standing for elections.