Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email The Klang people are anxiously waiting for their assemblyman to come home and serve them. Anyone with ears big enough to listen to their pleas? Listen only is not enough, need to take action as well!
Manoharan getting a YB’s respect at Kamunting detention centre
By CHRISTINA TAN
KLANG: M. Manoharan, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) legal adviser detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), is a celebrity at the Kamunting detention camp since he won a state seat in Selangor.
His wife S. Pushpaneela said his peers in the camp cheered and congratulated him when they saw the general election results via news on TV on March 8. “Several camp warders also patted his back. It was a touching moment for him. “Many who did not know him well in the camp would come up to him and greet him by calling him YB (Yang Berhormat) whenever they see him,” she said.
Manoharan and four other Hinadraf leaders P. Uthayakumar, V. Ganabatirau, K. Vasantha Kumar and R. Kengadharan are under a two-year detention for their role in the Nov 25 protests in Kuala Lumpur.
Manoharan had stood on a DAP ticket and won the Kota Alam Shah state seat by a 7,184-vote majority over incumbent Ching Su Chen of Barisan Nasional.
Pushpaneela said when she visited her husband at the camp the last two Sundays, she was surprised to see several detainees calling him YB and showing the thumbs-up sign.
“Although he was not given any extra facilities by the camp after becoming YB, he has Ganabatirau, Vasantha Kumar and Kengadharan, who are living in the same dormitory with him, as his assistants,” she said.
His peers in the camp, especially the dormitory mates, had given him a lot of ideas and advice on how to run the constituency, she added.
Pushpaneela said everyone in the camp had been nice to her husband and he did not complain about any ill treatment.
She added that Manoharan’s service centre has been set in Southern Park here and is expected to start operations next month. Pushpaneela said she has only one hope and that is to see her husband’s release and take over his duties as state assemblyman here.
Lawyer Karpal Singh said the hearing on the appeal against the High Court’s decision last month to strike out the order for release of the five ISA detainees has been fixed for hearing at the Federal Court on April 2.
