The feeling is mutual, says Thanenthiran
THE newly-formed Makkal Sakthi party does not want to be affiliated with Hindraf, its founder R.S. Thanenthiran said.
The former Hindraf coordinator lambasted his former mentor and Hindraf founder P. Waythamoorthy for saying that the new party may not represent the original ideals of Hindraf.
“The party (Makkal Sakthi) does not want to be associated with Hindraf either. We do not want to be associated with somebody who is tarnishing the country’s image abroad,” Thanenthiran told Malay Mail yesterday.
“Waythamoorthy is nothing but a self-centred man. During Hindraf days, he only gave orders. I carried them out as I was his Thalabathy (General). He did not know what was happening at the grass-roots level.
“When the five Hindraf members were detained under ISA, I was instructed to leave the party by Waythamoorthy,” Thanenthiran said.
“Once upon a time, he told me that I could open a political party but now he does not acknowledge it.
“The Indian community wants to know what has happened to the case he took to the British government.
He should explain this to them.”
When asked about the motives and ideology of the Makkal Sakthi party, Thanenthiran said: “We are working to regain the trust of the Indian community and to do so we need political
clout.
“That is why the Makkal Sakthi party was formed and will be launched next month. If the previous Indian political parties had been a champion for the Indian community, we would not be here.”
He said there was no point blaming the government when it is willing to listen to the grouses of the Indian community and act on them.
“The previous government did not do so but Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is willing to hear us out. We should take this as a positive sign.
“We met with the prime minister and requested that the five members detained under ISA be released and it was done,” he said.
According to Thanenthiran, Makkal Sakthi has 50, 000 registered members and will be launched by the Prime Minister on Oct 10.
Thanenthiran also refuted talk that his party would be joining Barisan Nasional.
“I leave that to Barisan Nasional and its component parties. I am willing to talk to anybody, be it Pakatan Rakyat or BN,” he said.
Hindraf was declared an illegal organisation on Oct 15, 2008, by then Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar. The decision was made under Section 5(1) of the Societies Act after the ministry was satisfied with facts and evidence that Hindraf had and was being used for unlawful purposes and posed a threat to public order and morality.
