Detained Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader P Uthayakumar will not be contesting in the coming general election, said the movement’s chairperson today.

In a statement, Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy, who is currently in London, explained that this was because the movement wants to maintain its non-partisan role.

uthayakumar interview 051207 correction "Though we had many appeals for Uthayakumar to contest in the elections, we regret we are unable to adhere to their requests.

"With this we hope Malaysians would understand that ours is a genuine struggle for the protection of minority Indian rights and we never had any ulterior political motives from the beginning," he said.

Waythamoorthy - who is Uthayakumar’s brother - reiterated that Hindraf’s struggle is beyond elections.

"We will continue to struggle until the five Hindraf leaders are released and the rights of the minority Indians are protected.

"However, Hindraf will fulfil its obligations and promises made to our ‘political friends’ who had been ardent and loyal to the cause and stood by us," he said.

Endorsed candidates

The self-exiled lawyer added that Hindraf will soon release its list of endorsed candidates and ask supporters to throw their weight behind them.

hindraff isa detainees 141207 It was previously reported that the community has demanded for Uthayakumar to run in the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat which is currently held by MIC president S Samy Vellu.

Meanwhile, there were also reports that two other detained Hindraf leaders M Manoharan and v Ganabatirau may contest under DAP tickets but this has not been confirmed

They would not be the first ISA detainees to contest in the polls. Chan Kok Kit and Chian Heng Khai contested on DAP tickets in 1978 when under detention.

The five Hindraf leaders, who also include R Kengadharan and K Vasantha Kumar, are currently detained without trial under the Internal Security Act for alleged terrorist links.

The Hindraf leaders gained fame when they organised a protest that saw 30,000 people hit the streets of Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 last year.

This was followed by the movement’s leaders and supporters being charged for a slew of offences, including sedition, causing mischief and attending an illegal assembly.