By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider
The Federal Court today ruled to uphold the detention of five ethnic Indian leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force under the Internal Security Act (ISA) for the next two years.
The apex court dismissed the application to review the habeas corpus suit, leaving the five leaders of the banned Indian rights movement — better known by its acronym Hindraf — stuck behind the high security walls in Kamunting, Perak, where a constitutional crisis is crippling the daily administration of the state government. The Hindraf 5, as they have come to be known, are lawyers M. Manoharan who is also Selangor state lawmaker for Kota Alam; P. Uthayakumar, brother to self-exiled Hindraf leader P. Waytha Moorthy; V. Ganabatirau; R. Kenghadharan; and former bank officer K. Vasantha Kumar. They were arrested under the ISA two years ago on Dec 13 for taking part in an illegal mass protest in Kuala Lumpur. It was a unanimous decision among the three-member panel of judges. An appeal was made to the same court last May. The Federal Court then, like today, denied release to the Hindraf 5. The panel then headed by Datuk Alauddin Mohd Sheriff (who is now the President of the Court of Appeal), ruled that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi had acted lawfully as the then Internal Security Minister when he ordered the detention of the Hindraf 5. In reading out the Federal Court verdict, Justice Datuk Nik Hashim Nik Abdul Rahman, explained that the apex court’s earlier ruling was made based on a previous court decision involving Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, once Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s right-hand man in the early days of Reformasi I. Nik Hashim noted: “Whether the Federal Court was right or wrong is not for us to decide. If we decide to do so, it will lead to another appeal. “Thus, we find that this case is not a fit case for review. Therefore, we dismiss the motion,” he added.
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