Samy wants Hindraf 5 released

Monday March 31, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has urged the Government to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders detained under the ISA.

He said his call was not a publicity stunt or a move to win back Indian support for the party.

“This is done in fairness, sympathy and, also, we feel that as Indians, we have to do something about it. It is not a publicity stunt,” he said.

Samy Vellu said two of the leaders – R. Kenghadaran, 40, who is very ill and M. Manoharan, 46, who won the Kota Alam Shah state seat in Selangor on a DAP ticket on March 8, – should be freed sooner.


Important speech: Samy Vellu stressing a point at the MIC divisional leaders workshop in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Samy Vellu said the wives of Kenghadaran and Manoharan approached MIC for help to get their husbands released.

He said another two, V. Ganabatirau, 34, and K. Vasantha Kumar, 34, had not been that involved in the Hindraf rally in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 last year. The fifth detainee is P. Uthayakumar.

Speaking to reporters after opening a workshop on Rebranding the MIC here yesterday, Samy Vellu said: “I will raise it with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after he returns from Sabah.

“If he wants to release all of them, it is up to him. We have no objections and we don’t want them to be kept inside for too long a period,” he said.

“I will also meet Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.

“I had already made some moves on this earlier but I did not tell anyone. I will now make a firm move to see what can be done by the Government with regard to their plight,” said Samy Vellu.

Samy Vellu said he was harshly criticised by certain people when he spoke to Abdullah and the Attorney-General to reduce the attempted murder charges against the 31 people detained during the Hindraf rally but had still continued to assist them.

“If they (those detained) had gone ahead with the advice of their lawyers, many things could have happened.

“They should not simply be attracted to those people who want to argue for them. Many people like to argue for them so that they can get publicity. We don’t want the publicity, we want the truth,” he said.

On claims by P. Wathyamoorthy, who is overseas, that he would face a murder charge if he returned home, Samy Vellu said this was not true and Wathyamoorthy had nothing to be afraid of.