KUALA LUMPUR, 7 May 2009: The Sessions Court here today dismissed the appeal of Hindu Rights Action Front (Hindraf) legal advisor PUthayakumar to be free from his sedition charge.
Judge Sabariah Othman retained the charge after ruling that the defence had failed to show that the consent to prosecute from the Attorney-General was based on suspicion or prejudice.
She then fixed five days starting 3 Aug for trial.
On 11 Dec 2007, Uthayakumar, 46, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to publishing on the Police Watch website a letter from Hindraf adressed to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street, which was said to have seditious contents.
The offence was allegedly committed at No.8-10-5, Menara Mutiara Bangsar, Bangsar, between 15 Nov and 8 Dec 2007.
The charge under section 4(1)(c) of the Sedition Act 1948 carries a maximum RM5,000 fine or three years jail, or both, on conviction.
Deputy public prosecutor Raja Rozela Raja Toran appeared for the prosecution while Uthayakumar was represented by counsel N Surendren. — Bernama
Gopal Raj Kumar says
Uthaya Kumar and trhe Hindraf five true to the criticisms leveled at them have squandered a golden opportunity (now seen for what it was, “a flash in the pan”) to re-write the script of the disaster of Greek tragedy proportions, that being the plight of Tamils in Malaysia.
Instead of seizing on the momentum of that opportunity that arose out of a spontaneous uprising against the years of abuse through neglect of their community at the hands of various administrations not least of which was that of the MIC, they allowed cult worship, photos of “dying Hindraf members” in hospital beds to consume them and subsume the theme of their cause.
None of the Hindraf leadership had or possess any leadership qualities capable of carrying their struggle anywhere past their own individual egos. There was no succession planning which would have been expected in such an environment in such an organisation.
That claim drafted and supposedly lodged at the High Court in England against the British government which was the genesis of their troubles, was at the very least poorly drafted (and that too by lawyers from amongst their ranks), failed to disclose a proper cause of action, was not particularised to support any cause of action, carried no substantive or evidential argument that could have in any way supported their long-winded claim. It provided no reference to evidence of any value.
Hindraf is a spent force. Incapable of furthering their own individual interests let alone the complex historically-distorted plight of the Tamils in Malaysia.
Unless they collectively acknowledge that Hindraf have no place in their midst, the Tamils of Malaysia will be trading one slave master in the MIC for another in Hindraf.
Hindraf must be relevant. Those on the inside can do nothing. They have played their part and must now allow upcoming aspirants to pick up the cudgels and move the organisation along another path towards the same objective.
For that to happen the Uthayakumars of this world need to say, “We’ve done our bit, the rest of you must now come forward and do yours. It is for a common cause.”
They failed to pursue the Kugan murder through galvanising the community and harnessing its emotions during the height of that incident instead choosing to compete for attention with Uthayakumar’s and his fellow travellers’ plight behind bars or in exile as being paramount to the situation.
Call for new leadership and a new direction.