Exercise restraint, Hindraf leader tells supporters

Supporters of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) have been urged to exercise restraint and caution during the 12th general election.

In a statement from London, Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy said the movement’s supporters should not engage in personal attacks of any particular leader from the Barisan Nasional (BN).

"Let us not give them an opportunity to point and blame Hindraf supporters as provokers. I was saddened to hear that a party leader was insulted by a ‘sandal throwing incident’.

"Hindraf does not encourage nor preach this sort of actions," he said.

Although Waythamoorhy did not name the leader, rumours have it that a shoe was thrown at MIC president S Samy Vellu during a function in Penang recently.

However, Samy Vellu has since denied this. The MIC president explained that an argument erupted between him and the local Indian community when he visited Perai two weeks ago.

Argument over arrest

According to rumours, an Indian woman had thrown the shoe at him when he was speaking to the crowd.

It was said that the shoe did little to unnerve the seasoned politician, who purportedly replied to the crowd that he was not afraid of an atomic bomb, let alone a shoe. This was said to have resulted in a second shoe being thrown at him.

The media had reported that some 60 people blocked Samy Vellu’s car while he was leaving the function and criticised him for not helping the Indian community.

It was also reported that the MIC president was stuck in the car for about 30 minutes before being whisked away to safety by policemen.

The 72-year-old politician said there was an argument over the mass arrests in connection with the ‘roses’ demonstration organised by Hindraf this month.

"They wanted me to tell the prime minister to release all of them, I said I can’t do that because I don’t have the power, so that’s the argument."

On Nov 25 last year, Hindraf shot to prominence when it organised a mass protest which saw some 30,000 Indians taking to the streets.

Following this, five of its leaders had been arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) while Waythamoorty is in self-imposed exile in London.

Malaysiakini