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P. Uthayakumar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In this Indian name, the name Ponnusamy is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Uthayakumar. The abbreviation "s/o" or "d/o", if used, means "son of" or "daughter of" respectively.
Uthayakumar Ponnusamy
உதயகுமார் பொன்னுசாமி
Born
Uthayakumar Ponnusamy

(1961-11-07) 7 November 1961 (age 63)
Johor, Federation of Malaya
NationalityMalaysian
Other namesP. Uthayakumar
Uthaya
Occupation(s)Lawyer
Activist
Political partyHuman Rights Party Malaysia
ParentPonnusamy s/o Arunasalam
RelativesWaytha Moorthy Ponnusamy, P. Waytha Nayagi

Uthayakumar s/o Ponnusamy (Tamil: உதயகுமார் பொன்னுசாமி) (born 7 November 1961) is a Malaysian lawyer of Tamil origin. He is the older brother of P. Waytha Moorthy, with whom he founded the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF). He is also the leader of the Human Rights Party and HINDRAF 2.0.[1]

Early life

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Uthayakumar was born on 7 November 1961 to Ponnusamy s/o Arunasalam, a train driver[2] and first generation immigrant. Uthayakumar's paternal grandfather, Arunasalam was a citizen of British India. Arunasalam was brought to British Malaya to work as a labourer in a rubber estate.

Uthayakumar was brought up in Kelantan, where the majority of its inhabitants were Malays and is able to speak Kelantan Malay fluently.

Describing himself as patriotic, Uthayakumar claims to have worn the Malaysian flag on his blazer while a student despite belittlement from his friends, and kept a Malaysian flag on his desk after starting his legal firm. Uthayakumar took off the flag after the 2001 Kampung Medan riots, saying:

I believe that as much as I want to be Malaysian, the Malay majority Muslim do not want me as a Malaysian, they do not recognize me as a Malaysian, they do not accept me as a Malaysian.[3]

Political career and activism

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Uthayakumar was the former leader of Parti Reformasi Insan Malaysia (Prim), which broke off from Parti Keadilan Nasional, which it accused of being anti-Indian,[4] and was most recently the leader of the Human Rights Party.[5]

As leader of Prim, Uthayakumar was involved in calling for an inquiry or formation of a royal commission to look into the 2001 Kampung Medan riots, an episode of sectarian violence between the Malay and Indian community.[6]

In 2004, Uthayakumar was threatened and assaulted at gunpoint by unidentified assailants. He applied for asylum in the United Kingdom and was placed in a safe house by the British government.[7] He returned to Malaysia after the government publicly guaranteed his safety.[8]

in 2006, the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF) was formed as a coalition more than 50 Hindu organisations in response to increasing Islamisation and the ineffectiveness of the Malaysian Indian Congress in advocating for the interests of Malaysian Indians.[9]

In 2007, Uthayakumar participated in the HINDRAF-led mass rally on 25 November against, broadly, racial and religious discrimination, with the ultimate goal of submitting a petition to the British High Commission addressed to Elizabeth II.[10] This rally, participated by an upper estimate of 50,000 people, was preceded by a series of smaller rallies in previous months across the country. The police obtained a court order banning the rally and it was violently dispersed with the use of tear gas and chemical-laced water cannons.[11][12] The rally and the government's response to it is understood to have contributed to its electoral setback in the 2008 Malaysian general election, where Malaysian Indian support for the government plummeted.[13]

Arrest and imprisonment

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Uthayakumar was arrested on 11 December 2007 on the charge of sedition for authoring a letter addressed to United Kingdom prime minister Gordon Brown accusing the Malaysian government of ethnic cleansing. A few hours after posting a RM50,000 bail, Uthayakumar was re-arrested for a separate sedition charge and brought to Pudu Prison.[14] The latter charge was dropped and Uthayakumar released the day after.[15]

Two days later on 13 December, Uthayakumar and other HINDRAF leaders, including M. Manoharan, V. S. Ganapathy Rao, K. Kengadhadran and T. Vasantha Kumar were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for their role in organising the HINDRAF rally.[16] Uthayakumar left two parting videos stating that he had expected his arrest under the ISA, thanked HINDRAF supporters, and urged them not to resort to violence.[17][18] He was detained under the act until 2009.

He was sentenced to 2.5 years in prison under the charge of sedition in 2013. He refused to submit a final defence as a protest against "institutionalised racist government policies".[19][20] He was released from prison after successfully appealing for a shorter 24-month sentence.[21]

Personal life

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Uthaykumar is married to Indradevi and lives in Kuala Lumpur with his children.[22] He is also the elder brother of Former HINDRAF chairman and Malaysian Advancement Party (MAP) leader Waytha Moorthy Ponnusamy.

Election results

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Parliament of Malaysia[23][24][25]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 P111 Kota Raja Uthayakumar Ponnusamy (IND) 2,364 2.58% Siti Mariah Mahmud (PAS) 59,106 64.51% 92,719 29,395 87.55%
Murugesan Sinnandavar (MIC) 29,711 32.43%
Azman Idrus (IND) 280 0.31%
Selangor State Legislative Assembly[26]
Year Constituency Candidate Votes Pct Opponent(s) Votes Pct Ballots cast Majority Turnout
2013 N49 Seri Andalas Uthayakumar Ponnusamy (IND) 614 1.26% Xavier Jayakumar Arulanandam (PKR) 31,491 64.43% 49,552 15,633 87.30%
Mohan Thangarasu (MIC) 15,858 32.45%
Hanafiah Husin (IND) 871 1.78%
Kottappan Suppaiah (IND) 41 0.08%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Reporters, F. M. T. (29 May 2018). "Hindraf vs Hindraf 2.0 as original body denies making new demands". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  2. ^ Lawyer fears arrest. Straitstimes.com.
  3. ^ Uthayakumar: "I'm no racist!". YouTube.com (5 December 2007).
  4. ^ Hooi, Ng Boon (11 May 2001). "Prim pulls out from Teluk Kemang fight". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  5. ^ Reporters, F. M. T. (29 May 2018). "Hindraf vs Hindraf 2.0 as original body denies making new demands". Free Malaysia Today | FMT. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  6. ^ Yi, Beh Lih (24 March 2003). "Kg Medan tragedy still unresolved two years on, complains Prim". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  7. ^ Yen, Leong Kar (2 June 2004). "Lawyer in British safe house pending asylum request". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  8. ^ Yen, Leong Kar (7 June 2004). "Govt pledges safety of human rights lawyer". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  9. ^ Shekhar, Vibhanshu (2008). "Malay Majoritarianism and Marginalised Indians". Economic and Political Weekly. 43 (8): 22–25. ISSN 0012-9976.
  10. ^ Cangià, Flavia (2014). "The Hindu Rights Action Force and the Definition of the 'Indian Community' in Malaysia". Sociological Research Online. 19 (4): 3. ISSN 1360-7804.
  11. ^ Bunnell, Tim; Nagarajan, S.; Willford, Andrew (2010). "From the Margins to Centre Stage: 'Indian' Demonstration Effects in Malaysia's Political Landscape". Urban Studies. 47 (6): 1257–1278. ISSN 0042-0980.
  12. ^ Tsin, Soon Li (23 November 2007). "Cops obtain rare court order against Hindraf". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  13. ^ Singh, Bilveer (2009). "Malaysia in 2008: The Elections That Broke the Tiger's Back". Asian Survey. 49 (1): 156–165. doi:10.1525/as.2009.49.1.156. ISSN 0004-4687.
  14. ^ "Uthayakumar nabbed, freed on bail, nabbed again" Archived 21 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine. The Star (11 December 2007).
  15. ^ "After 'missing' for 24 hrs, Uthayakumar is freed" Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Malaysiakini.tv.
  16. ^ 5 leaders of HINDRAF namely P.Uthayakumar, M.Manoharan, R.Kengadharan, B Ganabathi Rao and Vasanthan has been arrested under ISA.
  17. ^ Uthaya's ISA message to supporters Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Malaysiakini.tv.
  18. ^ Part 2: Uthaya's ISA message to Hindraf supporters Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Malaysiakini.tv.
  19. ^ "Uthaya sentenced to two-and-half-year jail term for sedition". The Edge Malaysia. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  20. ^ Lin, Koh Jun (5 June 2013). "Hindraf founder defies sedition charge with silence". Malaysiakini. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  21. ^ "Hindraf's Uthayakumar freed after completing shortened sentence". www.malaymail.com. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
  22. ^ "Hindraf leader faces fresh sedition charge". Archived from the original on 5 February 2008. Retrieved 15 December 2007.
  23. ^ "my undi : Kawasan & Calon-Calon PRU13 : Keputusan PRU13 (Archived copy)". www.myundi.com.my. Archived from the original on 31 March 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  24. ^ "Keputusan Pilihan Raya Umum ke-13". Utusan Malaysia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 26 October 2014.
  25. ^ "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  26. ^ "KEPUTUSAN PILIHAN RAYA UMUM 13". Sistem Pengurusan Maklumat Pilihan Raya Umum (in Malay). Election Commission of Malaysia. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
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