Malaysian court rejects freedom bid of five Hindraf members

KUALA LUMPUR: Five ethnic Indian leaders, detained indefinitely under a draconian security law in Malaysia for organising a rally to demand racial equality, on Tuesday failed to get any reprieve from the High Court which turned down their application for freedom.
    
Dismissing the habeas corpus (wrongful detention) application of the five members of the non-governmental Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), Kuala Lumpur High Court Judicial Commissioner Zainal Azman Ab Aziz ruled that the detention order issued against them on December 13 last year was valid under the law.
    
Hindraf, spearheading protests against the alleged discrimination of ethnic Indians, had organised a massive rally, declared illegal by the government, on November 25 last year in which over 20,000 people participated. Following the rally, Premier Abdullah Badawi in his capacity as Internal Security Minister issued the detention order on December 13 under the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA).
    
The Hindraf leaders held under the law allowing indefinite detention without trial are M Manoharan, P Uthayakumar, V Ganabatirau, R Kengadharan and K Vasantha Kumar.
    
Zainal said the ISA section under which they were held was independent and could be operated on its own without relying on arrest and inquiries under any other section of the act.
    
"It has given the minister the power to make his own decision," he said, adding the detention of the five was valid.
    
"It is clear from the minister's (Abdullah) affidavit-in-reply which stated that he (Abdullah) had received a complete investigation report on December 10 last year about the case from his ministry's assistant secretary Mohamad Irza Dahari," Zainal said.
    
He said that Abdullah had also stated in his affidavit that he (Abdullah) had read and observed the content of the report and found that there was basis that the five were involved in activities that could be detrimental to public order and prejudicial to the country's security.
    
Lead lawyer for the five, Karpal Singh, said he would be filing an appeal against the court decision at the Federal Court tomorrow.
    
The four Hindraf lawyers and a former senior executive have claimed that their arrest and continued detention under ISA were unconstitutional and unlawful.
    
The five who named the Internal Security Minister and Kamunting Detention Centre's superintendent as respondents in their petition, had sought a declaration that the order is null and void.
    
Since the November 25 rally, the ruling Barisan Nasional party including its component Malaysian Indian Congress, has tried to woo ethnic Indians promising to seriously look into their grievances.
    
Abdullah has called for snap general elections on March 8 after dissolving Parliament earlier this month.