TAIPING: The advisory board which reviews the detention orders of Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees has recommended that the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders continue to be detained under the act.
Yesterday, Home Minister Da-tuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar said the board, which conducts reviews every three or six months, had found that the views of the so-called "Hindraf 5", detained since December, remained unchanged.
Thus, the board recommended to the ministry that the detention order of the five in Kamunting be extended.
The five -- P. Uthayakumar, M. Manoharan, K. Vasantha Kumar, V. Ganabatirau and R. Kengadharan -- are among 62 ISA detainees being held at the Kamunting detention centre.
Others include two separatists from south Thailand, seven foreign intelligence agents, 17 Darul Islam and 25 Jemaah Islamiyah militants.
Speaking after visiting the centre, Syed Hamid said Hindraf was an extremist group because it was not registered.
He said action under the ISA would be taken against those who threatened national security and public order, and also against those who caused chaos and economic sabotage.
"Charging someone in court will mean putting all the evidence and testimony in the open.
"To avoid exposing intelligence-based information, we will detain a person under the ISA," he said.
During his visit yesterday, he met with Manoharan, Vasantha Kumar and Ganabatirau.
When he suggested that their release would continue to cause public disturbance, the three did not agree.
Syed Hamid, however, did not meet with Uthayakumar or Kengadharan.
He said the former did not mix much with anyone, while the latter was spending time with his family members who had come for a visit.
On another matter, Syed Hamid said British authorities were considering scrapping the visa-on-arrival system for Malaysians travelling to Britain.
He said this was because many Malaysians were found to have overstayed there.
He said British authorities had issued several notices since the end of last year, warning that the country might consider requiring Malaysians to apply for visas before travelling.
He said between 150 and 200 Malaysians were being turned away at British airports every month for fear that they would overstay.
He urged Malaysians to comply with the conditions in their visas.
"In Malaysia, we also have visitors who number in the tens of thousands who overstay.
"The number of those who overstayed in Britain is not much, but they view it very seriously."
Brenda Lim
New Sunday Times
PEOPLE'S POWER
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