Uthayakumar finds a new office, still looking for his way

A controversial man and his new vision is taking shape at No. 6 Jalan Abdullah — the ground floor of an ordinary looking five-storey office block off Jalan Bangsar.

One thing however is striking — the bright orange/saffron colour that is newly being applied outside and inside the office when The Malaysian Insider team visited on Wednesday.

The bold Hindraf colour stands out in the pastel surrounding announcing the arrival of lawyer Uthayakumar Ponnusamy, recently released from ISA detention and still undecided what he wants to be — activist lawyer or pioneering politician.

“I am unhappy with both terms,” he says as supporters paint the wall and bring in old files, photographs, banners and plaques, all memorabilia from nearly 20 years of activism, since his return from London as a lawyer in 1990.

“The word politician gives me the creeps because politicians make promises that they seldom keep. I am also abandoning my law practice because law does not give justice to the people... not in this country,” he said.

“Besides Umno has no respect for the law,” he said taking a dig at his favourite adversary. “People here can’t get justice through the law and the courts are unreliable.”

No. 6 is where the Hindraf founder is setting up shop and hoping to recapture the magic of the Makkal Sakthi movement that he had sparked with his Nov 5, 2007 mass protest here.

Everywhere on the floor of his new office are the clutter of his past — books, file, banners, photographs — that tell the story of his life and the choices he had made.

As a student in London in the mid-1980s he was a leading light in the MIC Club of London.

He was also a pro-Barisan Nasional (BN) and pro-Anwar Ibrahim student although he now tries to skirt around that period.

On his return in 1990 he started a successful law practice but soon was caught up in the political maelstrom that followed the sacking of the former deputy prime minister.

In fact he was in Anwar’s house that day — Sept 20, 1998 — when balaclava-clad policemen stormed the house and took him away.

He was a Keadilan member but soon fell out with Anwar because he blamed him for not doing enough for the Indians.

After that Uthayakumar ventured into his own, forming the Party Reformasi Insan Malaysia or PRIM, which with a dozen loyalists, was a complete non-starter.

He again moved on to forming the Police Watch NGO to fight police brutality and death in custody in which many of those affected were poor Indians.

Here he had greater success and managed to make his mark as a grassroots Indian leader. He also brought international condemnation onto the government and managed to force changes.

Then came the Nov 25 protest that made world headlines and turned him into a hero to some and a enemy to others.

After over 500 days in detention, Uthayakumar was released last month and is now trying to find his bearings in a cluttered and changed political landscape.

The other Hindraf leaders held with him have also all been released and are not keen to associate with Uthayakumar and his schemes anymore.

Some of his core lieutenants who kept the flame alive when the leaders were in Kamunting have also parted ways. The so called co-coordinators have all split.

National co-coordinator R.S. Thanenthiran has formed his own Makkal Sakthi Party of Malaysia, strangely in quick time and ironically without the involvement of any of the core Hindraf leaders.

Uthayakumar’s only consolation is that his brother Waythamoorthy is making final preparations to return from self-imposed exile in London and to an uncertain fate.

"We will work together... he is the brains. I often defer to him," Uthayakumar said.

After his release last month Uthayakumar held a series of meetings with key supporters and the one topic that dominated the discussions was, what next?

They had a choice — a grassroots-based NGO or a full fledged political party to gather all the loose strands and unite them under one umbrella.

“The debate was fierce and is still raging,” said Uthayakumar, declining to elaborate on the final choice.

“A decision has already been made and a formal announcement will be made at the Hokkien Hall in Klang on July 19,” he said, refusing to divulge what shape his new movement would take. “It will be a unique movement with a vision and a total plan of action."

Sources close to him however said he is expected to announce the setting up of a new political party, a field already crowded with numerous old, new and expired political parties.

It would be a multi-racial party, his aides said, but concentrating on alleviating the critical problems faced by the Indian community.

Uthayakumar refused to confirm or deny this.

“We will be a third and an independent force and will not join either Pakatan or Barisan,” he said.

Uthayakumar also visited key areas in the country where Hindraf had previously enjoyed significant support like in Batu Caves, Kulim in Kedah and Georgetown in Penang.

“The crowd was smaller but the people still came and thanked me profusely for fighting for their rights,” he said. “Some want to fall on my legs but I did not allow it.”

The smaller crowd is not significant, he said, adding the March 8 tsunami is over and unlikely to return any time soon. “It took 50 years of discrimination to build up the Nov 25 type of anger.”

“The point is we have to tackle the issues that confront our community — poverty, lack of skills, ill treatment and so forth,” he said. “Although the tsunami gave Pakatan big victory, but despite that the Indian woes remain.”

“This is what the third force will tackle… force Pakatan and Barisan to tackle our woes in return for our votes,” he said.

His plans seems to be to undercut the Pakatan Rakyat allies — PKR and DAP and other newer rivals like the Makkal Sakthi Party — and corner the Indian vote.

After that to use his influence as a bargaining chip with PR to get the best for the community.

He has written off the MIC, Gerakan and PPP as rivals for the Indian vote.

"They are well past their shelf lives."

If this is his dream vision, then he has his work cut out for him — as a start-up new party he has to slogged it out and build a network, gather members, form branches and divisions.

Relying just on the emotional support he now enjoys from some sections of the community could be short-lived as other competitors, some credible like Datuk T. Murugiah, are entering the field and making waves among the Indian grassroots.

Besides, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin are not idle. They are giving priority to minorities' concerns and are quietly winning over the hearts and minds of the Indians.

Uthayakumar's other choice is to join either the DAP or the PKR and try to work with them to get the results he desires.

His answer to this is an emphatic No! “I will not join them… they have betrayed the Indians,” he said.

The reaction on the other side is equally firm.

“We don’t want him… he is a wild fellow impossible to tame,” said a top DAP leader.

Baradan Kuppusamy