Wednesday, May 13, 2009

MCA wants apology over the arrest of lawyers

TheStar- Wednesday May 13, 2009

MCA wants apology over arrest of lawyers


PETALING JAYA: MCA has called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to take action against the OCPD who authorised the arrest of five lawyers and other supporters of Wong Chin Huat last week.

Education Bureau chairman Gan Ping Sieu said peaceful assemblies should be respected and not handled in a high-handed manner, or treated as a threat against the police.

He also said an apology from the police must be offered in order to restore the public’s confidence in them.

“Without any imminent physical threat, the dispersion order and forcible manner of arrest would be construed as an abuse of police power,” said Gan.

He added the lawyers were entitled to free access to their clients in custody.

“Without any reasonable grounds that they (lawyers) were aiding the detainees in any alleged criminal activities, their arrest is unlawful and a blatant disregard of the law,” he said.

Police arrested 20 people who held a candlelight vigil for Wong for allegedly being an obstruction to justice and for failing to disperse.

..(()))...

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Hindraf's Uthayakumar: No more street protests

StarOnline
Published: Tuesday May 12, 2009 MYT 3:32:00 PM
Updated: Tuesday May 12, 2009 MYT 3:42:41 PM
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2009/5/12/nation/20090512153316&sec=nation

KUALA LUMPUR: Hindraf leader P. Uthayakumar, who spent 17 months in ISA detention for leading a massive anti-government protest, promised Tuesday his group won't go back to the streets to fight for Indian minority rights in Malaysia.

"Armed struggle is out of the question," Uthayakumar told The Associated Press in his first interview after being freed from jail on Saturday.

But he vowed to carry on his struggle through a "landmark plan" he had crafted in prison, which he said would force the government to address the grievances of Indians, including lack of jobs, poor living conditions, decrepit schools and greater religious freedom.

He refused to elaborate on the plan, except to say it was a strategic 50-page proposal that involved "social" solutions. He said he would reveal it in four to six weeks.

It would make "not only the government (but) also the opposition" work for the Indian community, he said.

"With this plan we will become a force to be reckoned with. It does not involve street demonstrations, definitely not."

"It is a legal, constitutional, democratic and peaceful plan," he said. He also refused to say if he plans to start a political party, but rejected joining any party.

Uthayakumar and four other activists of the Hindu Rights Action Force, or Hindraf, were arrested in December 2007 after they led an unprecedented protest by tens of thousands of ethnic Indians in downtown Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 to demand equality.

"Nov 25 was a shocker to me. The balloon burst, the banks burst, the seams burst. They (the Indians) said enough is enough," Uthayakumar said.

The five Hindraf leaders were detained under the Internal Security Act.

Prime Minister Najib Razak freed two of the Hindraf activists the day he took office on April 3. The other three key leaders, including Uthayakumar, were freed Saturday.

Sporting a ragged beard and unkempt, tangled hair, Uthayakumar, 48, said he had no regrets about spending time in prison, which he said had provided him the opportunity to reflect, read and write.

A lawyer by training and profession, Uthayakumar said that before going to prison he could not have imagined a life without cable TV, air conditioning, hot water showers, cell-phones and holidays.

But prison made him realise that "you don't need the luxuries. You can live without it," he said, adding his possessions were a one-inch foam mattress, a pillow, a blanket and a toothbrush.

He shared a dormitory at the Kamunting detention centre with two other Hindraf detainees.