Politics 101 Malaysia

P Waythamoorthy, who has been living in self-imposed exile after organising the mammoth Hindraf rally last November, denounced the government for allegedly revoking his passport. MCPX

The Hindu Rights Action Force chairman, who has been in London since he fled the country last December, said he has sought asylum in Britain after learning that Kuala Lumpur had cancelled his passport.

“Technically, I am now without a state and am asking Britain for asylum,” the chairman of rights group Hindraf told AFP in a phone interview.

“This is a very cowardly act by the Malaysian government against me in order to undermine me, but it really undermines their credibility locally and internationally.”

Waythamoorthy said immigration officers at Gatwick airport told him that Kuala Lumpur had revoked his passport when he last entered Britain.

“The revocation of my passport is a last desperate attempt by the government in crippling my international lobby for the cause of Malaysian Indians and this unwarranted act has given me strength to continue the fight,” he said from London.

Immigration: He should come back

Malaysian immigration officials told AFP they were unaware of the passport cancellation and said Waythamoorthy should return home to check the status of his travel document.

But Waythamoorthy said Kuala Lumpur intended to force Britian to deport him so he could be arrested under Malaysia’s Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

Waythamoorthy, along with his brother P Uthayakumar and four other Hindraf leaders, angered the government in November by mounting a mass rally alleging discrimination against minority ethnic Indians.

Waythamoorthy fled Malaysia in December to lobby the international community for support, while the other five were detained under the ISA.

The Federal Court on Wednesday refused to release the five.

Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific advocacy director T Kumar called on Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to give a “full explanation on the rationale for the cancellation.”

“This is the first time I have heard of a political activist’s passport being revoked by his own country’s government,” he told AFP.

The following is the full statement from Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy

I was travelling back to London from Geneva after the Hindraf briefing with the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights on April 21, 2008 and was totally shocked to be informed by the UK immigration officer at Gatwick Airport that the Malaysian government had revoked my passport thus making me de facto stateless.

hindraf waythamoorthy united nations un 220408 01I see only one purpose. The Malaysian government had intended that I be deported back to Malaysia by the British authorities so that I too could be arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act and be detained for unspecified period of time without trial and be subject to torture and inhumane treatment for my political beliefs.

I have not committed any offence or crime other than to champion the cause of the systematically marginalised, discriminated and alienated ethnic Indian community in Malaysia who remained a permanently colonised community despite achieving independence 51 years ago.

It is most distressing to learn that, the land that my forefathers toiled as indentured labourers and one that I had been made citizen by the will of the unavoidable circumstances has decided to banish and exile me for speaking and advocating the truth that was never spoken off before.

The government has once again acted according to its whims and fancy without a second thought of the public or for the good of the public.

The Malaysian government repetitively had oppressed, suppressed and persecuted all causes of Hindraf by their act of totalitarianism from the very beginning but nevertheless the will and spirit of the Hindraf supporters have been the beacon of hope for the new strength founded upon our new found ‘Makkal Sakthi’ (people’s power).

The callous and cowardly acts of the government against me not only undermine their credibility domestically but also internationally. The government needs to realise that the Malaysian public can no longer be cowed as the public are no longer the sheep that begets the government wolves.

The government may use its best weapon in attempting to stall and break me but they fail to realise that I derive my strength from my ‘Makkal Sakthi’, and that is all that I need to carry on the torch and fight for the unjust cause of the ethnic Indians in Malaysia even if it means championing my cause from exile.

As much as I have been coerced, castigated by the Malaysian government, so have the Hindraf supporters. Hindraf supporters have shown unprecedented courage and character for the truth. It only motivates me further to pursue our goals.

They will never break my spirit

The revocation of my passport is probably the last ditch desperate effort by the Malaysian government in crippling my international lobby for the cause of the Indian Malaysians.

This unwarranted act has given me a greater “inner” strength to continue to fight for the struggle of Indian Malaysians and for the unconditional release of my fellow brothers held unjustly in Kamunting.

The government can unleash all the man made mechanism to stifle and silence me, but I have the backing of ‘Makkal Sakthi’ and that alone is sufficient for me to continue my fight for the people.

In ‘Makkal Sakthi’, I have found the truthness of my cause for the people. In today’s world, utterance of truth is seen as a revolutionary action, and my quest for the truth is considered as a hindrance for the government. My judge is the people not the government.

I will continue this struggle until my last breath. They may break me but they will never be able to break my will and spirit that is derived from the people for the truth is in it.

I shall continue the struggle for the “freedom” of the ethnic Indian Malaysians from London and urge all Hindraf supporters to remain calm as they have always been. I shall forever remain a loyal Malaysian and will return to Malaysia soon to continue and accomplish what I had started.