Hindraf founder wants to teach and study in the US

Having failed in his political struggle, Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) founder P. Uthayakumar who was freed from Kajang prison yesterday after serving a two-year jail term for sedition, is set to leave for Washington in the United States to "teach and do some research".

"My family and I will be there for a couple of years. I want to do some research and teaching," he told The Malaysian Insider in a telephone interview.

He declined to divulge details.

Uthayakumar, who claimed that he is still Hindraf's de facto leader, expressed hope the government, Pakatan Rakyat and the private sector would halt all racially discriminatory policies and practices, especially against the Indian poor.

"I must confess that I failed to convince the Indians on Hindraf's projected 15/38 as the only way forward in marginal seats in last year's general election," he said.

Under this plan, Indians who made up between 10% and 30% of voters, could decide the winners in 15 parliamentary and 38 state seats in the west coast of the peninsula.

"I accept the people's verdict when they voted overwhelmingly for Pakatan candidates," said Uthayakumar who contested the Kota Rajah parliamentary seat and Seri Andalas state seat, and lost both.

The Human Rights Party Malaysia of which Uthayakumar was its pro-tem secretary-general, fielded candidates in some of the seats but all lost badly.

He has now urged Indians to take their problems directly to key Pakatan leaders like Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Guan Eng and Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, instead of going through intermediaries.

He said Indians did not progress much in the economic and social development of the country despite voting en-bloc for the BN prior to the 2018 election.

The son of railway employee, Uthayakumar said that he has been fighting for the rights of Indians over the last 16 years. He had no regrets having been detained under the now repealed Internal Security Act in 2007 and sent to prison after being found guilty of sedition.

"I was only interested in the welfare of the Indians. The Orang Asli in the peninsula and Bumiputera community in Sabah and Sarawak have a social safety net as provided in the Federal Constituton and other written laws.

"There are non-governmental organisations, prominent lawyers like Datuk Dr Cyrus Das and Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan who championed the right of natives and indigenious people. It was only Hindraf who repeateadly higlighted the plights of the Indians," he said.

He also declined to discuss his relationship with younger brother Waytha Moorthy who is now Hindraf chairman.

"Hindraf is heavily tainted after it associated itself with the Barisan Nasional just before the general election last year.

"We only met during our mother's funeral and memorial service, and no contact beyond that," he said of his brother Waytha Moorthy.

Waytha, who was made senator and deputy minister in Datuk Seri Najib Razak's administraton, resigned from public office in February, citing that the prime minister had betrayed the Indians by not fulfilling the promises made in the memorandum of understanding signed prior to the 13th general election.

Waytha said Najib did not have the will and courage to meet the demands made in the memorandum.

Uthayakumar said while he would have used Hindraf to champion the cause of Indians, the present leadership is also highlighting the plight of non-Malays and the rights of the people of Sabah and Sarawak.

"The Indians are much worse off than any other community. The Chinese are economically well off. The 56 Sabah and Sarawak BN and opposition MPs can voice the frustration of the two states. Who do we have to give an effective voice to the marginalised Indians," he said.

While refusing to directly acknowledge Hindraf's strategy of being inclusive, he said there may be many ways of skinning a cat.

"I am glad that for the past 15 years, Hindraf has been voicing out issues that affects the Indians. Initially we were not heard but later got noticed," he added.

The Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur on June 5 last year convicted Uthayakumar for publishing remarks on the Police Watch website through a letter to then British prime minister Gordon Brown.

The then deputy public prosecutor Noorin Badaruddin had said t‎he words used by Uthayakumar in the letter, such as "mini genocide" and "ethnic cleansing", gave the impression that grave crimes and racial oppression were committed by the government against the Indians here.

On September 17, the Court of Appeal upheld the Uthayakumar's sedition conviction, but reduced his jail sentence from 30 months to 24 .

Hindraf rose to prominence in 2007 when about 30,000 people gathered in a rally held in Kuala Lumpur over alleged discriminatory policies.

At least 240 people were detained, but half of them were later released. Soon after, Uthayakumar and four others were detained under the ISA and were only freed after Najib became prime minister in April 2009. – October 4, 2014.

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