Posts Tagged ‘Waytha’

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Waytha clarifies coordinator suspension

April 19th, 2009
|  Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email


Received via email:

PRESS STATEMENT 190409

On the 17th April I had released a statement on the urgent need to restructure HINDRAF and the setting up of a New Committee and Working Groups.

This statement has been misinterpreted and misunderstood by certain segment of the public which read it as though we are replacing our coordinators. This is not the case as it merely a restructuring exercise.

The original 10 member committee was set up to oversee the campaign and demands for the release of HINDRAF leaders and since then those appointed to the position of coordinators have moved on to undertake other key responsibilities which is far more challenging with the increased need of the society.

Manoharan and Manickavasagam have since been elected members of Parliament, which requires them to positively contribute to the country and their constituents.

Surendran solely has been mounted with the uphill task of handling the burden of all legal matters which was previously handled by 3 of the HINDRAF Lawyers (Uthaya, Manoharan and Genga).

Tanendran has since indicated that he is serious about forming his own political party.

With the recent change of the country’s leadership earlier this month, I am of the opinion HINDRAF have to “cave in” for a longer period to struggle for the society to pressure the Government to meet our demands as well as working together in co-operation with all opposition parties to prepare for the next General Election.

As chairman of HINDRAF, I can state that the valuable and sound advice, support and contribution from the aforesaid Politicians, Members of Parliament and Legal advisor has been vital in spearheading HINDRAF in its struggle. The continuous support from them would only strengthen the movement’s direction in fulfilling the demands of the Indian community

The expectations and aspirations of the Indian community are beyond the original demands and HINDRAF needs to keep up with the needs and changes to be relevant and “a player” in the field of Human Rights in Malaysia.

In these circumstances a complete revamp and restructure is needed to face the new challenges.

The new structure would be announced within the next few days.

P.Waytha Moorthy

CHAIRMAN

There’s some problem arising now.  Even though coordinator are asked not give out statements, we find Thanenthiran doing so:

R. Thanenthiran, who was a national coordinator until Waytha- moorthy issued the suspension order, said the movement was now taking steps to become a formal political party.

He said an official statement about the formation of the new party was expected at the end of this month or early next month.

“Since Hindraf was banned, we have been facing difficulties and we need to continue being mobile to take care of the welfare of the Indian community,” he said, adding that it would be the alternative to existing Indian parties.

He said the process to form a new party is nearly completed.

The movement’s new structure is expected to comprise a non-government organisation and a political party.

Thanenthiran’s goal, which had earlier appeared in an online news portal, seemed different from what Waythamoorthy was pushing for.

Yesterday, Waythamoorthy, who has maintained that Hindraf/Makkal Sakthi should remain a non-political pressure group, said: “It is Thanenthiran’s right to become involved in politics or to set-up a political party. I cannot stop him and will not stop him.”

Another former national coordinator, S. Manikavasagam, agreed with Waythamoorthy’s stand, saying Hindraf should remain apolitical.

“Waythamoorthy had from the very beginning stressed that Hindraf/Makkal Sakthi will not be involved in politics but function as a pressure group,” said Manikavasagam.

Waytha clarifies the original reason for the setup of the coordinators:

He said that the original 10-member committee was set up towards the end of 2007 to oversee the movement’s campaign in fighting for the rights of the Indian community and to demand for the release of Hindraf leaders held under the Internal Security Act in December 2007.

Malaysiakini also quoted from Malaysia Nanban:

And highlighting the widening rift in the movement, leading Tamil daily Malaysia Nanban today carried a headline which asked ‘Who is Waythamoorthy?’.

The daily quoted some grassroots supporters questioning Waythamoorthy’s decision to remain overseas while faulting the local coordinators.

“He should have been here fighting with us for our cause rather than issuing statements from overseas,” they said.

Now, I wonder which grassroots members are asking him to fight for their cause in Malaysia. Don’t they know ISA is waiting for him? Must be a bunch of misinformed grassroots supporters.

This is a big risk indeed for HINDRAF. The restructuring can backfire bigtime. I’m not sure how thing will turn out. We have to wait for more information from Waytha. Another factor will be the action of the coordinators like Thanenthiran – would they start to badmouth Hindraf in case they are not in the new setup? For a fledgling body, any sort of scandal or exposure will bury it.

But, I still remember Waytha’s newspaper interview in 2007 which he said that HINDRAF may cease to exist in the future, maybe something else will replace it, or there won’t be a reason for it to exist.

No comments »

Posted in Others

Tags:

Waytha suspends HINDRAF coordinators

April 17th, 2009
|  Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email


In a surprising move, HINDRAF chairman Waythamoorthy suspended all coordinators of HINDRAF with immediate effect, to be replaced with a 3-man interim committee (no info on who they are). Initial response from Thanenthiran is that he supports the move made by Waytha.

Hindraf’s London-based leader P Waythamoorthy has suspended the movement’s 10-member coordinators with immediate effect and replaced them with a three-man interim committee.

Among those dropped from the line-up included the movement’s national coordinator RS Thanendran who was helming the show for Hindraf locally while Waythamoorthy was leading from London.

Waythamoorthy has also put a gag order on these dropped coordinators.

“All Hindraf coordinators are to refrain from issuing statements in the name of Hindraf though they are free to express their personal opinions on any matters they choose,” he said.

He also said that the reason for the change was to allow the movement to move forward with its original cause and aims.

The 10-member coordinators were appointed at the end of 2007 after Waythamoorthy had left the country to seek international lobby in the face of government arrests…

Since then Thanendran (photo) and the other nine coordinators have been keeping the Hindraf movement alive and relevant, including successfully turning the Indian voters to support the opposition in the 2008 general election.

However there have been complaints recently that the movement and some of its coordinators have become politically ambitious.

The final fallout was apparently the showdown the movement had with PKR’s leader Anwar Ibrahim after he decided to pick someone from outside of Hindraf to contest for the Bukit Selambau state by-election early this month.

Hindraf supporters had originally proposed that Thanendran was given that seat.

The matter came to a close only after a phone call from Anwar to Waythamoorthy, who then instructed his coordinators to stand down and throw their support behind PKR, which eventually won the by-election.

At the same time, there were other coordinators who had started acting on their own and without any coordination with the Hindraf leadership.

Waythamoorthy told Malaysiakini today that he had to make the startling changes in order to keep Hindraf in the mainstay of fighting for the community’s rights.

“Hindraf’s struggle has entered a new phase where the situation in the country has qualitatively changed since our mass protest on Nov 25, 2007,” he said.

He said that the needs, expectations, desire and the aspiration of the Indian community from Hindraf has developed beyond the initial demands and seeking the release of its leaders currently held under the ISA.

“In light of these developments and the need to restructure the working groups, Hindraf with immediate effect suspends its 10-member coordinators team including its national coordinator, event coordinator and publicity coordinators and all state and district coordinators,” he added in a statement.

He also said that a new committee of volunteers and working groups would be set up nationwide to meet the need of the Indian community.

He said this would be done after consultations with the grassroots supporters of Hindraf/Makkal Sakthi.

When contacted Thanendran said he accepted Waythamoorthy’ decision and that he will continue to fight for Hindraf’s struggles.

“I will continue to back the movement. This is a good strategy to ensure that Hindraf remains apolitical in its struggles,” he added.

No comments »

Posted in Indian

Tags:

Waytha Press Statement on Bukit Selambau

April 3rd, 2009
|  Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email


received via email from Waytha:

HINDRAF – BRIEF PRESS STATEMENT 030409

1) 1. HINDRAF acknowledges that our grass root supporters are disappointed that the Bukit Selambau seat was not offered to any of the 5 short listed candidates (two of whom were HINDRAF coordinators and remaining 3 were reputable KEADILAN local leaders) and urge our supporters to remain focussed and calm.

2) 2. I had spoken to HINDRAF National Coordinator RS Tanendran and he confirms that most of his statements had been taken out of context and manipulated by the government run media to portray that HINDRAF does not support PAKATAN to create confusion and anxiety amongst supporters.

3) 3.The discretion of candidate selection in Bukit Selambau was within the prerogative of Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim along with the other leaders of the PAKATAN coalition. However we hope in future there would be some level of consultation with HINDRAF to avoid any unwarranted confusion.

4) 4.Our mutual “Political Enemy” would be no other than the BN imperialist government. Our goal is to create awareness of the depleted state of her subject, to stay focussed by initiating actions by working together hand in hand in fairness to ensure we successfully get rid of our “common enemy” in the next elections. After 50 years HINDRAF created the awareness that changed the mindset of 80% traditional Indian BN voters who had always been loyal to BN.

5) 5. It is time all Pakatan leaders-Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Mr.Lim Kit Siang and Dato Seri Haji Hadi Awang realise that the current Political climate has to be maximised. If we fail to work and act together to get rid of BN in the next GE (2012) then the hope of opposition ever taking over the reign of the Country will die permanently and I honestly envisage the crack and crumble of PAKATAN from then on.

6) 6. I had the opportunity to discuss pertinent questions raised by grass root supporters of HINDRAF with Dato Seri Anwar Ibrahim and we had come to an understanding that matters affecting the Indian community would be further discussed and resolved at a later date with leaders of all 3 PAKATAN coalition.

7) 7.The Indian voters in Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau are aware of the predicament of the society and are now politically mature thus they could not be fooled by BN and their “peanuts” often thrown during elections.

8) 8.HINDRAF reiterates its commitment to campaign and support PAKATAN candidates in both Bukit Gantang and Bukit Selambau.

P.Waytha Moorthy

Hindraf- Chairman

1 comment »

Posted in Indian

Tags:

Waytha free to return but…

March 12th, 2009
|  Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email


Since Waytha was diagnosed with heart-related problem (rare heart condition known as Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC), an inherited heart muscle disorder where damaged heart muscle is gradually replaced by scar tissue and fat. A recognised cause of sudden death in the young, the condition may cause abnormal electrical heart rhythms and weakening of the pumping action of the heart), he has expressed his intention to return to Malaysia (“tanah tumpah darahku” – place of birth, I guess) to be with his family while he get more treatment and recovers. 2 days ago, the proposed surgery has been postponed to today due to his deteriorating health.

MCPX

He has since been quarantined at a specialist heart centre on a 48-hour observational period, after which doctors will decide on whether or not to carry out the operation to place an implant in his heart. He had been advised that he would run the risk of complications such as cardiac arrest and puncture of the heart should the surgery proceed.

There some issues regarding the status of Waytha’s passport. Waytha said that his passport was revoked (and I got a comment posting the content of a memo supposedly ordering the revocation – but its unverified). This is rebutted by Syed Hamid who said that Waytha has returned his passport to the Malaysian High Commission in London and is travelling with British travel documents (issued by the British government so that he can move around). I still remember the home minister saying that the passport had expired and now saying its been returned to the High Commission. In fact, he was quoted in NST as saying “We have just sent his new passport to the Malaysian High Commission office in London but he has yet to collect it.” Which is which now? Our minister also goes off-tangent by saying that Waytha is still a citizen. Of course he’s still a Malaysian citizen. The issue is with is travel documents, not citizenship.

There were few “guarantees” that HINDRAF wanted from the government in order to ensure Waytha’s safe passage back and subsequent freedom from persecution. However, I reiterate that its wishful thinking. Its not possible for Home Minister Syed Hamid to offer any sort of concession, nor can his words be believed by Waytha’s team. The Home Minister gave a grim reminder (or warning):

Asked today at the Parliament lobby if action would be taken against Waythamorrthy if he returns, Syed Hamid declined to give a direct answer.

“Everyone is subject to the law… everyone has to face the consequence,” was all he would say.

So, Waytha is free to return but… he’ll be sent to Kamunting under ISA as it was already mentioned before. That’s what I think will happen.

1 comment »

Posted in Indian

Tags:

Waytha want to return home due to heart problem

March 6th, 2009
|  Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe to poobalan.com by Email


According to HINDRAF coordinator (New York) Shan (press statement via email):

P.Waythamoorthy had undergone an emergency angioplasty at a heart center in London on March 2, 2009. (Upon his request, we are withholding the name of the hospital).

During the said procedure cardiologist had found that he has a very rare heart condition ie enlarged heart on the right and abnormal heartbeat (ventricular tacha cardia) which in most cases can lead to ventricular fibrillation or sudden death.

The doctors are unsure on the cause of the swelling on the right part of his heart and have confirmed that there are abnormal formations of tissues in the said area.
On March 4, 2009, the doctors have confirmed that bearing the rare condition of his heart, he will need an implant and the said operation is now scheduled for next week.

Bearing the rare condition of his heart, further investigation and operations would be carried out by the doctors in London to look into the cause and treat P. Waythamoorthy accordingly.

In lieu of the risky heart operation that P.Waythamoorthy would undergo, and the subsequent need for him to be cared by his family member and loved ones, we call upon the Malaysian government to urgently and immediately address the following issues;
  1. The Malaysian government to issue a new Malaysian passport to replace the revoked passport to P.Waythamoorthy and this to be made available for him or his representative to collect from the Malaysian High Commission in London.
  2. The Malaysian government guarantees the safe return of P.Waythamoorthy to allow him to recuperate with his family members and loved ones.
  3. The Malaysian government guarantees that P.Waythamoorthy will not be subjected to any arrest, harassment or charges upon his return including under those under ISA.
  4. The Malaysian government’s assurance and guarantee that he will be allowed to return to London for follow up checks and possible further operations.
  5. Lastly, the Malaysian government’s unconditional guarantee that his life will be protected from any form of persecution upon his return and no harm shall befall him.

According to Malaysiakini, his wife K Nageswary has flown to London on Tuesday to be with him.

waythamoorthy in hospital in london 050309 01 waythamoorthy in hospital in london 050309 02 waythamoorthy in hospital in london 050309 03

Note:Photos from Malaysiakini.

I don’t think its a good idea to bring him back. Knowing the flip-flop nature of decisions lately, he may be given immunity now, but once he is in Malaysia it can be recalled, leaving Waytha exposed to ISA detention. Of course arresting him under ISA would cause a major loss  for BN in by-elections if he returns before April 7. Not to mention, it will hamper the rebranding work of MIC.

No comments »

Posted in Indian

Tags: