MIC seeks immediate release of detained Hindraf leaders

Jaishree Balasubramanian
Kuala Lumpur, Sept 21 (PTI) A party of ethnic Indians in Malaysia Sunday appealed to the Abdullah Badawi government to immediately release five leaders of a Hindu group detained under a draconian security act since December last year for organising an illegal rally complaining of racial inequality.

"The government should not hold them any longer as it
will prolong the Indian community's ill-feelings towards the
government," the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) chief Samy
Vellu said in a statement here.

The five members of the non-governmental Hindu Rights
Action Force (Hindraf) were arrested under the Internal
Security Act for organising an anti-government rally last
November to protest against the alleged marginalisation of
ethnic Indian community in Malaysia.

"It's about time that they are released as they pose no
danger to the security of the country," said the chief of the
MIC, which is also part of the ruling Barisan Nasional
coalition.

He said the five -- R Kengadharan, 41; M Manoharan, 47; V
Ganabatirau, 35; P Uthayakumar, 47; and K Vasantha Kumar, 35
-- should also be released unconditionally.

"I had asked the Prime Minister to release them on
several occasions and also raised the matter in two Barisan
Nasional Supreme Council meetings previously," he said.
Samy Vellu felt that the punishment meted out to the
five Hindraf leaders did not correspond with their actions.

"They only voiced out the problems and the frustrations
of the Indian community. Similarly, the MIC has also been
doing the same for the past few decades. "So, why detain them
any longer," he said.

The MIC President said many Barisan Nasional "die-hards"
among the Indian community had voted for the opposition in
the last general election as they felt the five Hindraf
leaders were detained unjustly.

"It is not because they loved the opposition or they
wanted a change but rather, they vented their anger on the
government," he said.

He said the Barisan Nasional could regain support
if the five Hindraf leaders were released.

Interestingly, Samy Vellu was the MIC President and an
influential cabinet minister in the last government when the
five were arrested. The March 8 general elections saw the MIC
winning only three of the nine parliamentary seats it
contested.

Samy Vellu lost the Sungei Siput parliamentary seat he
had held for three terms. Though not in parliament any more,
Samy Vellu still heads the MIC, which he has lead for nearly
three decades now. PTI JB