It has been a rough eight-month ride for Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy (pic) who finally threw in the towel when he announced his resignation as deputy minister in the Najib administration today.
Hindraf adviser N. Ganesan said the central committee had unanimously decided that Waytha resign, as it was felt the government had been dragging its feet in delivering the aid promised to the Indian community.
Hindraf had signed an MOU with Barisan Nasional (BN) just before the general election last year, whereby the ruling coalition had promised to resolve the chronic socio-economic problems afflicting the Indian community if BN was returned to power with Hindraf's support.
Lawyer R. Kengadharan said Waytha was a "broken man" as the Barisan Nasional government had failed to implement any of those pledges.
"He joined the prime minister's administration on the basis that the government will encourage the implementation of programmes for poor Indians and that he could oversee them," he told The Malaysian Insider.
Kengadharan, who was once Hindraf legal adviser, said Waytha’s resignation served to show that Putrajaya was not serious in resolving problems faced by Indians over the last 50 years.
"This includes education, housing and economy," he said, adding that more socio-economic problems cropped up when Indians were displaced about 20 years ago upon the conversion of rubber estates into oil palm plantations.
He said this caused the unskilled workers to be displaced when their families moved to urban centres in search of employment.
"We spoke about a month ago and he indicated his frustration," said Kengadharan who was among the five Hindraf leaders who were arrested in December 2007 under the Internal Security Act which has since been repealed.
All were freed soon after Najib was appointed prime minister in April 2009.
Kengadharan said BN could not boast that it could protect the interest of Indians following Waytha's departure.
"All their pledges before the election have proved to be hollow," he said.
He pointed out that Hindraf, which was formed in June 2007, was founded on the principle that it would represent the Indians in general.
"We made no distinction between the poor and rich," he said.
He said after their release from Kamunting, Hindraf was reduced to a mere mouthpiece for the voiceless poor.
Waytha had a public spat with his brother Uthayakumar when he signed the MoU with BN for the betterment of the Indian community, as Uthayakumar did not agree on the pledging of the support of the Indian community to BN.
"Waytha hijacked Hindraf and pledged support to BN, which is against the founding principles of Hindraf," Uthayakumar, who was one of the five who served time under the ISA, had said at the time.
"Do not vote for BN. Whether they want to vote for Pakatan Rakyat (PR) is up to them, but Hindraf will not take responsibility for Pakatan's non-delivery if they get to Putrajaya," Uthayakumar said.
Uthayakumar is currently serving a 30-month sentence in jail after he was found guilty of sedition last June.
Waytha's appointment as senator was also questioned along with four others who were made minister and deputy ministers.
However, the High Court ruled that the appointments of Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar and Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan as ministers in the Prime Minister's Department, and deputy ministers Waytha, Dr Loga Balan Mohan Jaganathan and Ahmad Bashah Hani were constitutional.
In August last year, the Hindu rights activist came under fire when he alleged that five Indian criminals in Penang were shot "execution-style" by police.
Waytha was admonished by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Cabinet members Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamid and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to toe the line and reminded that he was a member of the government.
Waytha's resignation as deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department will take effect Monday, according to media reports. – February 8, 2104.
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