The Malaysian Indian Business Association has backed calls for exiled Hindraf leader Waythamoorthy to be allowed to return home.

G Vinod, FMT

Malaysian Indian Business Association (Miba) has urged the Home Ministry to reissue Hindraf chairman P Waythamoorthy a passport to facilitate his return to Malaysia.

The association president P Sivakumar said that as a Malaysian citizen, Waythamoorthy should be accorded his right to return to his homeland and reunite with his family.

“He should be allowed back to Malaysia. This is the general consensus among the Indian community,” said Sivakumar.

Last month, Waythamoorthy said that he would return to Malaysia from United Kingdom on Aug 1, irrespective whether the Malaysian authorities would reissue his passport or otherwise.

The Hindraf leader is in exile since 2008 following his involvement in the Hindraf rally in November 2007. The Malaysian authorities subsequently revoked his passport.

Sivakumar said that Waythamoorthy’s only “fault” was to champion the plight of the Indian community.

Even if the government thought the Hindraf leader had broken the law, the authorities should still allow Waythamoorthy to return home to defend himself in an open court, Sivakumar said.

“This is the government’s opportunity to prove that it had transformed itself to become more democratic. Let Waythamoorthy return and face trial in the court if he had broken any law,” he said.