K Vasanthakumar has been called many things by Hindraf's top echelons, including a special branch agent as well as a traitor to the movement's cause.

hindraf second anniversary 251109 anwar ibrahim After all, soon after his release from ISA along with four other Hindraf members, Vasanthakumar chose to break ranks and lead his own splinter group, also called Hindraf.

While the group led by Hindraf founder P Uthayakumar has chosen to remain independent, Vasanthakumar chose to align his side with the Pakatan Rakyat coalition. Last night, they received their official endorsement from none other than PKR supremo himself, Anwar Ibrahim.

Speaking at a function to commemorate Hindraf's second anniversary in Klang, Anwar heralded Vasanthakumar as a "hero".

His move may be a tactical effort to address disgruntlement over Pakatan's handling of issues concerning the Indian community.

"How long have BN ruled the country? 52 years. In Selangor, we have not governed for even two years. If you want us to resolve all problems, we cannot," said Anwar.

Anwar thanks Indians for support

Anwar and his Pakatan cohorts has come under fire, particularly from Uthayakumar's Hindraf faction, for failing to keep its promises. One example of their perceived 'failure' is in saving Kampung Buah Pala in Penang from demolition.

hindraf second anniversary 251109 anwar with vasantha He acknowledged and expressed appreciation for the Indian community's strong support for the opposition parties last year and stressed that the coalition has not abandoned them.

Anwar said that Pakatan MPs of all races have stood by the five Hindraf leaders detained under ISA in parliament and would continue to serve the interests of the community.

At the function, Anwar reminisced on his own experience with the Hindraf rally. He recalled seeing the people from the estates, poor and on foot, who "walked for miles just to express their views".

‘Umno the real enemy'

Though thorny issues levelled at Pakatan were not addressed specifically, Anwar appealed to the crowd, saying ruling party Umno was the main cause of their grievances.

hindraf gathering 251109 p ramasamy He said in order to topple Umno, the Indian community needed to discard mono-ethnic causes and embrace other ethnic groups as Malaysians to keep their struggle alive.

"Our political landscape has changed. Indian, Hindu and Tamil problems must be seen and projected as a Malaysian problem.

"Why do we fight Umno? It is because they are cruel. We want to fight Umno properly, we cannot just fight for our own races. We can't say we have Chinese or Indian blood so we can't fight Umno.

"We must fight as a society which says they have Malaysian blood and lift Malaysia together," said Anwar, to loud roars of approval from the estimated 1,500 in attendance.