COMMENT In 2007, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) shook the nation in a spectacle unparalleled in the history of Malaysian political protest.

Despite threats from the police and pro-Barisan Nasional groups, more than 30,000 primarily underclass Indian Malaysians took to the streets of Kuala Lumpur, unafraid and resolute in their demands that the government looks into the sufferings and the deprivations of the community.

They marched in anger, hoping that they would be noticed and heard by the BN government for their near-60 years of neglect. But it was all in vain.

The head of Umno and the BN did what he was good at, which was to divide and fracture the movement. In this, he was more than successful. Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar was sent to jail. His brother P Waythamoorthy was made a deputy minister, while other Hindraf leaders were willing to abandon their struggle and meekly became apologists for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak...