{"id":1647,"date":"2008-03-30T23:49:53","date_gmt":"2008-03-30T15:49:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/indian\/2008\/03\/30\/samy-tries-to-free-hindraf-5\/"},"modified":"2008-03-30T23:49:53","modified_gmt":"2008-03-30T15:49:53","slug":"samy-tries-to-free-hindraf-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/indian\/2008\/03\/30\/samy-tries-to-free-hindraf-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Samy tries to free Hindraf 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, after Syed Hamis insulted<\/a> Gerakan indirectly by saying government will not listen to political parties when asked about releasing the 5 Hindraf ISA detainees, Samy Vellu throws his weight and asks the government to release 4 out of the 5 detainees. He specifically mentions that one of the is sick while another has been elected as assemblyman. 2 others are not much involved in the rally organisation. He did not mention about Uthayakumar.<\/p>\n

So far the comments I’ve got from fellow Indians is “cheap publicity seeking”. A person who was vehemently condemning HINDRAF and its leaders, is now asking them to be freed. Easy for him to say since he is not in the cabinet. Can make more noise la!<\/p>\n

He mentions that he will meet PM, Syed Hamid, and Musa Hassan. Whether they got time to meet him or not…<\/p>\n

And the reason he wants to get the 2 guys released is because their wives approached him for help. Well, one should not wait for people to ask for help. That is what I learnt.<\/p>\n

Its very clear that this is cheap trick indeed. For over 3 months, there were no “fairness” or “sympathy” or “we being Indians must do something” crap. And suddenly, MIC (or is it just Samy) had realised that they must do something.<\/p>\n

But wait, this statement came after launching the rebranding<\/a> MIC workshop. Maybe he wanted to preempt any request from division leaders to release the detainees.
\nWell, he can continue his drama, as long as the detainees get released. But don’t ever think MIC will win back the support by doing so.<\/p>\n

Release Hindraf 5, says Samy … yes, you read that right!<\/strong><\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has urged the government to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders who are being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).<\/p>\n

He said two of the leaders — R. Kenghadaran, 40, who is very sick and M. Manoharan, 46, who had won the Kota Alam Shah state seat in Selangor on a DAP ticket on March 8 — should be freed sooner. He said another two, V. Ganabatirau, 34, and K. Vasantha Kumar, 34, had not been very much involved in the rally organised by Hindraf in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 last year.\u00a0 The fifth leader being detained under the ISA is P. Uthayakumar.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters after opening a workshop on “Rebranding the MIC” here Sunday, Samy Vellu said the wives of Kenghadaran and Manoharan had approached him for his assistance<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“I have decided to raise it with the government<\/span><\/strong>. I will raise it (the issue of their release) with Prime Minister<\/span><\/strong> Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after he returns from Sabah.\u00a0 “I will also meet Home Minister<\/span><\/strong> Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and Inspector General of Police<\/span><\/strong> Tan Sri Musa Hassan. I have already made some moves on this earlier but I did not tell anyone. I will now make a firm move<\/strong><\/span> to see what can be done by the government with regard to their plight,” Samy Vellu claimed.<\/p>\n

He said Ganabatirau, and Vasantha Kumar were “not very much involved (in the rally), so the government has to make a decision.”<\/p>\n

Samy Vellu claimed that this was not a publicity stunt or a move to win back Indian support for the party<\/strong><\/span>. “This is done in fairness, sympathy and, also, we feel that we as Indians have to do something about it. It is not a publicity stunt<\/strong><\/span>,” he said.<\/p>\n

Samy Vellu said that he was harshly criticised by certain people when he spoke to Abdullah and the Attorney General about reducing the attempted murder charges against the 31 people detained during the Hindraf rally, but he had continued to assist them.<\/p>\n

Samy calls for Hindraf 5’s release<\/strong>
\nRK Anand | Mar 30, 08 12:14pm<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.malaysiakini.com\/news\/80593<\/p>\n

In a dramatic about-turn, MIC president S Samy Vellu today called for the release of the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders held without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The veteran politician said he will meet Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi soon to discuss this matter.<\/p>\n

He also urged Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy – who is currently in London on self-exile – to return to the country and be reunited with his family, saying that the latter should not be a political refugee.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Samy Vellu was speaking to reporters after opening the MIC divisional leaders workshop at the party’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.<\/p>\n

The Hindraf leaders detained under the security law are Waythamoorthy’s brother, Uthayakumar, V Ganabatirau, M Manoharan, T Vasantha Kumar and R Kengadharan.\u00a0 The five – four of whom are lawyers – were arrested shortly after organising a mammoth street rally in Kuala Lumpur which drew some 30,000 people on Nov 25 last year.<\/p>\n

Approached by detainees’ families<\/strong><\/p>\n

Samy Vellu revealed that the families of Manoharan and R Kengadharan had approached him for assistance<\/span><\/strong>. “Because they made an approach, I will talk to the PM<\/span><\/strong> (about securing their freedom),” he said, adding, “We also don’t want them to be kept inside<\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

“The government has to make a decision. Kenghadharan is very sick, Manoharan is an elected member. So I think it is quite reasonable. I am going to ask PM (to release them) and meet the Internal Security Minister<\/span><\/strong> (Syed Hamid Syed Albar).<\/p>\n

“I made some moves on this earlier, but I didn’t tell anybody. I will now make a very strong move<\/span><\/strong> to see what can be done,” he added<\/p>\n

Manoharan won the Kota Alam Shah state seat in Selangor under a DAP ticket in the March 8 elections.<\/p>\n

In the past, Samy Vellu had been critical of Hindraf and the Nov 25 demonstration. The movement, in return, also accused MIC and its party boss of failing to uplift the status of the Indian community.<\/p>\n

Not a publicity stunt<\/strong><\/p>\n

Responding to a question, Samy Vellu denied that the move to call for the five’s release was a publicity stunt. Describing it as being motivated by “fairness”<\/span><\/strong>, he said: “At the same time, we feel that as Indians, we have to do something about this<\/strong><\/span>.”<\/p>\n

The MIC president also revealed how he had helped secure the release of four students detained with scores others in the wake of the Hindraf rally. Thirty-one detainees were later charged with the attempted murder of a policeman, but this was subsequently dropped. Samy Vellu said this happened because he spoke to the prime minister and attorney-general<\/span><\/strong> Abdul Gani Patail.<\/p>\n

“But one of the detainees’ fathers scolded me like hell<\/span><\/strong>… (the father said) ‘Who the hell are you?’, ‘Where were you when my son was arrested?’ “He ashamed me, it was very unreasonable. But I didn’t take it to mind, as long as the students were released and the (attempted murder) charge against the others was reduced,” he added.<\/p>\n

The MIC president said “many had argued for them because they want publicity<\/span><\/strong>.” “We only want the truth<\/span><\/strong>,” he said.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Samy Vellu calls for release of Hindraf leaders<\/strong>
\nBERNAMA
\nsource<\/a>
\nKUALA LUMPUR, Sun.:<\/p>\n

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu today asked the government to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders under detention, saying two of them should be freed sooner because one was ill and the other was now an elected representative.
\nHe said R. Kenghadaran, 40, “is very sick” and M. Manoharan, 46, had won a seat in the March 8 general election. Manoharan had won the Kota Alam Shah state seat in Selangor on a DAP ticket.<\/p>\n

Samy Vellu also said that V. Ganabatirau, 34, and K. Vasantha Kumar, 34, had not been very much involved in the massive rally organised by the unregistered Hindraf in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 last year, which was a reason for the five to be detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The fifth Hindraf leader under detention is P. Uthayakumar.<\/p>\n

The MIC president spoke at a news conference after opening a workshop on “Rebranding the MIC” attended by the party’s 150 divisional leaders, here.<\/p>\n

He said Ganabatirau, and Vasantha Kumar were “not very much involved (in the rally), so the government has to make a decision.”<\/p>\n

The MIC supremo also said that his asking the government to release the five Hindraf leaders was not for publicity or a move to win back Indian support for the party<\/strong><\/span>, touted to be the largest Indian-based political party in the country. “This is done in fairness, sympathy and, also, we feel that we as Indians have to do something about it. It is not a publicity stint<\/span><\/strong>,” he said.<\/p>\n

He said that though the party had received harsh criticism from certain quarters for failing to safeguard the welfare of Indians in the country, it would continue to do what it can on matters concerning the community. “I<\/span>f they (those detained) go ahead with the advice of their lawyers, many things could happen. 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<\/span><\/strong>,” the MIC chief said.<\/p>\n

The Hindraf leaders were detained in December last year. Hindraf had also made several claims, which had been described as preposterous by most people and which were subsequently denied by the authorities.\u00a0 Hindraf also submitted a memorandum containing various baseless accusations to the British High Commission here. The five Hindraf leaders were detained under the ISA after the authorities found that they had touched on sensitive religious and racial issues and had made seditious statements against the government.<\/p>\n

Manoharan has become the third ISA detainee to contest and win a seat in a general election. Chan Kok Kit and Chian Heng Khai contested the Sungai Besi (Selangor) and Batu Gajah (Perak) parliamentary seats, respectively, on a DAP ticket in 1978 and won.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, after Syed Hamis insulted Gerakan indirectly by saying government will not listen to political parties when asked about releasing the 5 Hindraf ISA detainees, Samy Vellu throws his weight and asks the government to release 4 out of the 5 detainees. He specifically mentions that one of the is sick while another has been […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[21,133,24,225,105],"class_list":["post-1647","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-indian","tag-hindraf","tag-isa","tag-mic","tag-politicians","tag-uthaya"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1647","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1647"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1647\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1647"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1647"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poobalan.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1647"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}