COMMENT Self-appointed De Facto Hindraf Makkal Sakthi Chief P. Uthayakumar appears to be more than a little upset that P. Waythamoorthy, his younger brother and the chairman of the ad hoc human rights movement, has been appointed as a Deputy Minister by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
I did write about the Umno-Hindraf-BN Borneo Government or the Umno-3rd Force Government before the 13th General Election on May 5.
It was sour grapes on the part of malaysiakini to refer to Waytha as a P. Waythamoorthy when reporting on the new Cabinet line-up.
Many hardcore Hindraf activists are disappointed that Waytha wasn't made a full Minister. Even while clutching at a straw, Umno can't do a decent job of it and must bring in their ketuanan Melayuism.
In a text message in recent days Uthaya fumed that “Waytha Moorthy in Najib's Cabinet has nothing to do with Hindraf”.
He claimed that Waytha was sacked by the Hindraf Supreme Council on April 25 “for being a traitor to the Hindraf 18 point demands cause and for joining BN”.
Waytha got diverted by his personal agenda and is a political opportunist, added Uthaya.
Uthaya went on to claim that his “human rights and Indian poor activism spans a consistent 24 long years, while Waytha joined Hindraf only in 2007, ran away to London and took charge of Hindraf only w.e.f. 13 Dec, 2007, the day that Uthayakumar was jailed 514 days under ISA”.
He said that “a Google search would confirm this”.
“Waytha was never a Hindraf warrior. Like Thanindren -- who formed the Najib-backed Malaysia Makkal Sakthi party -- Waytha is an opportunist,” continued the text message from Uthaya. “Congratulations to Waytha as the latest Indian mandore! @ new Samy Vellu... His empty promises and zero delivery tells @ his GE13 advts in all full page Tamil dailies.”
In a parting shot, Uthaya thundered that “I will continue leading Hindraf for the tens of thousands of sincere Hindraf activists beaten up, injured, hit with tear gas, lost jobs, family broken, suffered etc @ the sacred 25 Nov 07 Hindraf Rally which I ordered. I will continue with the Hindraf anti BN crusade which (BN) is the Hindraf no 1 enemy as is evidenced in our website postings @ www.humanrightspartymalaysia.com”
Uthaya, whatever his grouses if any, should not personally knock Waytha. Since blood is thicker than water, the suspicion would be that they are in cahoots with each other and engaged in an elaborate sandiwara to pull the wool over the public’s eyes. It’s not true of course but not many people will see beyond their blood ties.
Uthaya appears to be distracted when it’s more important to focus on the issues which concern us all.
Uthaya’s statement in malaysiakini was equally distressing as the text message. The media is an unthinking animal.
After all the duo are brothers.
It’s counter-productive to the cause if Uthaya not only knocks Waytha in public but keeps repeating that the latter is another Samy Vellu. This is not the first time that Uthaya have done it.
He knows that's not true.
There's only one Samy Vellu. After Samy Vellu, there cannot be another Samy Vellu. Indians will not accept it.
To be fair to him, Samy Vellu meant well and acted in good faith despite being a political mandore.
I know him.
We have been friends for a very long time.
It's unfortunate that he was not very educated -- Year 6 is Year 6 --and couldn't see beyond his nose. He no longer speaks to me after my story in malaysiakini that he will run AIMST and MIED, among others, after stepping down as MIC President. He didn't mind the story at first but couldn't handle the public criticisms on his retirement plans and blamed me for it.
It’s a fairy tale that Waytha has been sacked from Hindraf. No one can get a few guys together and claim to be the Supreme Council and sack anyone. Even if Waytha can be sacked, and I am not saying he can, he wasn't given a show cause letter; there was no hearing and no Appeal. Also, Hindraf doesn't have members. So, no one can be sacked from Hindraf.
Waytha is the chairman of Himas (Hindraf Malaysia Association) and they claim ownership of the ad hoc Hindraf Makkal Sakthi. I remember him saying that no one, except Himas, can claim the Hindraf brand name. The Jury is still out on this.
There’s no reason why Uthaya, as part of the Hindraf ISA Group, can't be de facto Hindraf Makkal Sakthi Chief although Waytha is the chairman. But there should be recognition by Hindraf activists. Self-appointment won't do. There’s no need for Uthaya to get into the nitty gritty details in the media on his version of history. It will only serve to simply confuse the issue further.
Let's see what Waytha can do as Deputy Minister on the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between Himas and BN. This is not a mandore job like that of the MIC Ministers. There’s a need to get the Ministry of Orang Asal and Minority Affairs going as well, as agreed in Kota Kinabalu recently between Hindraf and Star. Both Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Barisan Nasional (BN) can accept the proposed Ministry which will buy political protection for the 45 per cent non-Malay minorities in line with the Federal Constitution.
The Hindraf 18 Points, raised by Uthaya, can be added by extrapolation and logical deduction to the MOU. After all, BN is talking about being inclusive.
There can be no compromise on the deviations and distortions on Articles 153 and 3 of the Federal Constitution and the New Economic Policy (NEP). PR's needs-based approach is also the way to overcome the politics, rhetoric and polemics on these issues.
Both BN and PR still need to address the issue of creeping Islamisation in the country.
Then, there’s Sabah/Sarawak's 20 Points/18 Points as pushed so long by Star chairman Jeffrey Kitingan. Waytha might be able to help do something here. Otherwise, another Class Action Suit is going to surface in the London Court.
Then, there’s Sabah/Sarawak's 20 Points/18 Points as pushed so long by Star chairman Jeffrey Kitingan. Waytha might be able to help do something here. Otherwise, another Class Action Suit is going to surface in the London Court.
Let’s hope Waytha keeps his peace in the face of provocations. After all, he's now in Government.
Uthaya also needs to rein in his Gurkha Jayathas and his Hindraf component in the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR). He's running amok for no rhyme or reason. Did the Indian political mandores in PKR put him up to this or did he get Uthaya’s blessing? Jayathas means well but that doesn't change the fact that he's basically a Gurkha. He should remain one and not pontificate sanctimoniously on things he doesn't understand.
Granted that Uthaya’s group was incarcerated under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) for some 500-odd days. But Waytha was also part of this group which is now also in PR. He was specifically told by the Group to push the Hindraf agenda and the plight of the ISA detainees in international forums. Why flog him in public for not being locked up too? What good would that do? I am sure he will consult with the ISA Group for their input. He won't be co-opted by the system because Hindraf is much bigger than him or the ketuanan Melayus.
Finally, it's not the done thing for Uthaya to keep insisting that those who don’t agree with him have been brainwashed by Waytha. There's no such thing! I criticized Waytha for urging Indians to help return the two-thirds majority to BN. No Government in Putrajaya should have a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
Next, Uthaya will claim Waytha brainwashed Najib to get the MOU signed.
In that case, why didn't he brainwash Anwar as well and get the Hindraf Blueprint signed?
What choice did Waytha have when BN agreed to sign the MOU?
Something is better than nothing for a start. The Umno Government continuing to withdraw the recognition of foreign universities with Malaysian students of Indian origin and fiddling with public examination marks, under state secrecy laws, to hand out free degrees even in critical disciplines to undeserving students are serious issues to be resolved immediately along with the issue of statelessness. The point of no return must not be reached.
Himas signing the MOU doesn't mean that it claimed to represent all Indians. The Government can sign any MOU with any NGO. This is not hijacking. The fact that the Government did not sign anything with the Hindraf ISA Group should not continue to remain a sore point.
Waytha: Give me five years
FMT Interview with P. Waythamoorthy Part 1
FMT Interview with P. Waythamoorthy Part 2
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