Poser over ‘multi-millionaire’ Thanendran

A former Hindraf national coordinator RS Thanendran has allegedly amassed wealth much to the shock of his ex-comrade KVasantha Kumar.

KUALA LUMPUR: How did former Hindraf national coordinator RS Thanendran, who was once an odd-job worker, become a “multi-millionaire” within a short period of time?

It’s a question which is bothering his former colleague K Vasantha Kumar.

Both have since moved out of Hindraf. Thanendran double-crossed Hindraf when Vasantah Kumar and four other Hindraf leaders were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

He aligned himself with the Barisan Nasional (BN) and went on to quickly establish Malaysian Makkal Sakthi Party (MMSP), which was launched by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

According to Vasantha Kumar, Thanendran, who was recently awarded a datukship by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, was planted by Umno to confuse the Indian community.

“He is an Umno plant to confuse the Indians. He succeeded in confusing the community. But my question is, how did he become a multi-millionaire in a short time?

“It is not possible to become a multi-millionaire overnight, especially if you know his background… I want to challenge him to an open debate. Let him clear his name,” said Vasantha Kumar who is with Kedah PKR.

According to him, Thanendran, a son of a plantation worker who at one time was doing odd-jobs to survive before he eventually ended up in the restaurant business, was now rolling in millions.

Millions revealed
Vasantha Kumar said that thousands of leaflets with details of Thanendran’s alleged wealth had surfaced in Sungai Petani during the Thaipusam festival.

According to the leaflet, Thanendran allegedly renovated his house which was worth RM800,000. He is also said to allegedly own a RM1.4 million house in Penang and a Mercedes Benz car worth RM800,000.

The leaflet also disclosed that Thanendran allegedly owned 80 hectares of an oil palm estate in Kedah, a 25-hectare land in Hulu Selangor and another 10 hectares in Bagan Pinang.

It was learnt that the federal government had awarded RM25 millions worth of contracts to Thanendran under his brother Ramesh’s name. Ramesh is also the vice-president of MMSP.
The revelation has shocked Hindraf and members of Thanendran’s own MMSP party which incidentally is mired in internal conflict.

Said Vasantha Kumar: “Thanendran must explain his wealth to the public, especially the Indians.
“He is not from a wealthy background… his family is poor. But today there are allegations that Thanendran is a multi-millionaire.

“I challenge him to a debate. Let him explain to the public and Indians about his wealth.
“I am giving him one week to reply to my challenge. If he fails to reply, I will expose his malpractice one by one,” he said.