Coming hot on the heels of P Waythamoorthy's resignation is a call from a coalition of Indian NGOs for MIC to also sever its ties with Umno.

Malaysian Indian Progressive Association (Mipas) secretary-general S Barathidasan ( left ) said MIC and other BN component parties should join the opposition bloc instead.

With Umno being a stumbling block to change, he noted that these parties cannot represent their respective communities effectively.

"When the backbone (Umno) of the coalition insists on playing the race and religious cards while its leaders constantly remind non-Malays that they are ' pendatang ' (immigrants), what is the point of remaining in BN?" he asked.

Barathidasan said if the BN component parties are truly interested in safeguarding the position and welfare of their communities, they must exit BN and enter Pakatan Rakyat.

"But if the leaders of these parties insist on remaining in BN, then it is obvious that the motive is selfish with regard to government positions and contracts.

"Otherwise, there is no reason to be part of a family where their 'big brother' (Umno) has no respect for them and keeps them for token purposes," he added.

Barathidasan made the call in response to Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia (PHM) chairperson Waythamoorthy resigning as a senator and deputy minister.

Community lost faith in Hindraf

Similar to MIC, the Mipas leader said, the Indian community has also lost faith in Hindraf, whose leaders spend too much time bickering among themselves.

"So his resignation is not a big deal. It has no impact on the Indian community.

"Just like MIC and its representatives in the cabinet, Waythamoorty also failed to make the government listen to the plight of the community," he said.

In view of this, Barathidasan advised Indian voters to stop backing such individuals and throw their support behind Pakatan.

"If we don't do this, unscrupulous people would continue to take the community for a ride and use us for their personal benefit.

"At the end of the day, all that the community would be left with are sacks of rice and cans of milk while the leaders roll in millions," he added.

Prior to the last general election, Waythamoorthy ( right ) had inked a pact with Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak with subsequently saw the former being appointed as senator and deputy minister.

However, the lawyer resigned from all his posts on Monday, and the movement issued a statement, which read: "We (Hindraf) did the most unthinkable – signing a pact with our one time nemesis, entirely in the interest of the Malaysian Indian poor, and in the honest belief that the BN leadership would fulfil its promises.

"We have now given up any hope of that happening, eight months of trying. Hence, the central committee of Hindraf has unanimously decided that Waythamoorthy tender his resignation from all government positions and the senate."

But these strong words failed to convince Barathidasan, who said that Hindraf should have realised that it was walking into a brick wall from the start.

"There is a track record of neglect that spans for more than five decades and Hindraf thought that Najib, who is the president of Umno, would right the mistakes overnight.

"Waythamoorthy and his people must also  believe in fairy tales as well," he added.