Former Hindraf activist S Jayathas today revealed that Hindraf was officially registered as an organisation last month and questioned why this fact was not made public.He said the registration could not have been done without the approval of the Home Ministry and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s blessing.

“What is shocking is that (Hindraf chief) P Waythamoorthy and his associates deliberately concealed the fact of registration from the Malaysian public and particularly the Indian community.

“This was clearly intended to keep negotiations between Hindraf and BN secret from the public and Indian community,” Jayathas (right) said in a statement today.

According to the registration certificate provided by Jayathas, the movement was registered on March 8, 2013 under the name “Persatuan Hindraf Malaysia” (Malaysia Hindraf Association).

The document, which was signed by Registrar of Societies (ROS) director-general Abdul Rahman Othman, states Hindraf’s registration number as PPM-016-14-08032013 with an address at 36, Jalan Puchong, Batu 6 1/2, Ladang Bukit Jalil, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.

It stated that Waythamoorthy was the organisation’s chairperson while its deputy chair was W Sambulingam. There were nine other members listed on the committee.Jayathas pointed out the registration happened two days before Waythamoorthy’s hunger strike (right) and claimed the protest action was intended to justify a later meeting with Najib.

“This is proven by the fact that just two weeks into the so-called hunger strike, Waythamoorthy rushed to Putrajaya to meet Prime Minister Najib,” said Jayathas, who is now PKR human rights and legal bureau deputy chief.

‘Reveal what was discussed’

Jayathas called on Hindraf, under Waythamoorthy, to explain the secrecy behind Hindraf’s registration and for the movement to disclose the contents of its negotiations with BN.

“It should be noted that this (negotiation) is against the founding principle of Hindraf to remove the Umno-BN regime from power.

“Such a collaboration by Waythamoorthy with Umno-BN will be a betrayal of Hindraf’s grassroots and supporters throughout the country,” he said.The government had on January 25 this year lifted a more than four-year ban against Hindraf before subsequently engaging the movements in talks last month.

Waythamoorthy, who had returned from exile in August last year, had offered talks with BN and Pakatan on uplifting the Indian poor community and to garner endorsement for the movement’s blueprint on tackling the issue.

Hindraf N Ganesan at a press conference this morning, said talks with both sides were still ongoing and whoever endorses Hindraf’s blueprint to uplift the indian community by April 18, will receive the movement’s backing.Hindraf: Registration natural after banWhen contacted, Ganesan said Hindraf’s registration was a natural process after the ban on the movement was lifted.

He added that Hindraf did not make an announcement at the time because they were preparing for Waythamoorthy’s hunger strike and wanted attention to be on that event.”We have nothing to hide, it’s just a registration.”In fact, Jayathas got that information from me. I told him three days ago that there are no factions in Hindraf and we are a registered organisation now,” he said.Ganesan (above) added that Hindraf had been transparent in its meeting with BN and Pakatan, pointing out that the movement had even called for a press conference this morning to update the public on the progress of negotiations.