Malaysian Hindu group rife with divisions ahead of polls

With general elections around the corner in multi-ethnic Malaysia, the country's leading Hindu group responsible for changing the voting pattern of ethnic Indians in the last polls, is today in disarray.
The largely disgruntled ethnic Indian community chose to vote for the opposition, prompted by a massive anti-government rally organised by HINDRAF or Hindu Rights Action Force, just months before the 2008 polls.
The last general elections saw a huge swathe of Malaysia's ethnic Indians voting for the opposition parties after years of supporting the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition.
Hindraf led by two brothers - Wayathamoorthy and Uttayakumar, had alleged that ethnic Indians were being marginalised.

But Wayathamoorthy fled the country after the rally was declared illegal while Uttayakumar was detained for several years.
Today the two brothers are at loggerheads.

Wayathamoorthy has decided that Hindraf will support Premier Najib Razak's ruling coalition Barisan Nasional at the May 5 general polls.
But he is now being challenged by his brother Uttayakumar.
The Hindraf that joined Barisan Nasional recently is not the same organisation that organised the 2007 mammoth rally, Uttayakumar alleges.
Waythamoorthy had inked the memorandum with Barisan Nasional earlier this month and urged the nation's eight per cent ethnic Indians to support the ruling coalition.

"He has pledged free votes in exchange for empty promises," Uttayakumar, who is contesting for the Kota Raja parliamentary and Sri Andalas state seats as an independent, told a press conference.
He said the original Hindraf had convened a supreme council meeting on Thursday and unanimously decided to sack Waythamoorthy from the movement.
"Waytha has deviated from Hindraf's 18-point demands which were never about pledging support to either Barisan or the opposition alliance. We disassociate ourselves from his action," said Uttayakumar adding Waythamoorthy's conduct had earned the wrath of those who had supported Hindraf.
He said Waythamoorthy was only involved in Hindraf activities during 2007 and cannot be regarded as the movement's leader.

The Registrar of Societies had approved the registration by Wayathamoorthy.
Waythamoorthy denied yesterday that he had been sacked, adding that no Hindraf "supreme council" existed and that Uttayakumar had no say in Hindraf as he was no longer a member.
"He (Uttayakumar) left Hindraf to form his own human rights group," Waythamoorthy said.
Waythamoorthy maintained that Hindraf would continue to support Barisan in the elections.