Waytha hospitalised with heart problems

Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy has been hospitalised in London for some heart-related problems.

According to his wife K Nageswary, Waythamoorthy was suffering from abnormal heartbeat as well as swelling of the heart.

The Seremban-based lawyer said her husband was admitted earlier today after complaining of feeling very weak.

"He is placed at the coronary care unit. A friend is with him now and from what I heard, he is very weak.

"He has been very stresssed in the recent weeks. I spoke to him yesterday and he did sound very tired," she told Malaysiakini .

"The doctors have said (to the friend) that Waytha needs to be admitted for a few more days to get complete rest. At the moment, his situation is quite bad, I am told.

"I am not sure what to do next. I am just hoping that Hindraf supporters in the UK will take care of him," said Nageswary, who is also known as Shanti.

In London since Nov 2007

Hindraf co-ordinator RS Thanenthiran also said that Waythamoorthy sounded very weak and tired when he last spoke to him.

"I tried calling him since this morning but he had not picked up his telephone. And then I was told that he had been hospitalised," he said.

It is learnt that Waythamoorthy was planning to visit India later this month to lobby for support. The visit now looks set to be postponed.

Waythamoorthy has been in London since November 2007. He left Malaysia in the heat of a government crackdown on Hindraf, stating that he was going to garner international lobby for the movement. He has not been back to Malaysia ever since.

Waythamoorthy and his brother Uthayakumar were the main leaders of Hindraf which organised a massive 30,000-people rally in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25, 2007 to oppose the marginalisation of the Indian community in the country.

Uthayakumar and four other Hindraf leaders were detained under the Internal Security Act in December 2007. They are still under detention. The government banned Hindraf last October.