Opposition MPs barred from visiting Jeyakumar

Teoh El Sen | July 12, 2011

Police said they can't allow the opposition leaders into Jeyakumar's room as they needed permission from the Inspector-General of Police.

KUALA LUMPUR: Policemen guarding the ward of Sungai Siput MP, Dr Michael Jeyakumar, stopped 10 opposition leaders from visiting him.

Jeyakumar, who is warded at the National Heart Institute (IJN), is being detained without trial under the Emergency Ordinance.

The Members of Parliament were M Manogaran (Teluk Intan), Nurul Izzah Anwar (Lembah Pantai), Khalid Samad (Shah Alam), Tian Chua (Batu), R Sivarasa (Subang), Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (Kuala Selangor), Dr Mohd Hatta Ramli (Kuala Krai), Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid (Kuala Langat), Fong Po Kuan (Batu Gajah) and Senator S Ramakrishnan. They spent two hours negotiating with the police and hospital staff this afternoon.

“We were stopped by the Special Branch officers at the door of his room. And one Inspector Cisco Anak Garing told us we needed permission from the Inspector-General of Policé,” said Manogaran, who was the leader of the delegation.

“We’re disappointed. We could not even send a representative in or even wave to him from the door. It makes us suspect something is not right,” he said.

“If you can’t open the door, then we have reason to believe he is unwell,” he added.

However, the officer did agree to hand over to Jeyakumar some fruits and a get-well note the parliamentarians passed to him today.

But he apologised, saying he was instructed by his superior, Bukit Aman Special Branch (E6B) division head Supt Choo Waa Lit not to allow anyone in today.

‘Unreasonable behaviour’

Tian Chua said that the hospital and police were being unreasonable.

“When I was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA), the public and my family had the opportunity to visit me whenever I was in the hospital. This is not right; the police and IJN should know better,” he said.

Dzulkefly also expressed his disappointment. “… it is sad we are not allowed to see our own colleague even though we came in good faith,” he said.

“On July 9 we were elated by the enlightenment of all Malaysians; today we were saddened by not being allowed to meet a comrade, a parliamentarian who is unwell.

” It is so draconian… really shameful… the extent of the Inspector-General of Police’s (Ismail Omar) highhandedness in totally denying us parliamentarians to see our colleague.”
“Jeyakumar won’t even step on an ant; he is not the type of person who is subversive,” said Manogaran.

Jeyakumar, 56, who is also a PSM member, was admitted to IJN on Saturday for his second hospitalisation since his arrest.

He was among 30 people arrested on June 26 and remanded on suspicion of waging war against the King, an accusation that his party and other quarters have criticised as ludicrous.

After the expiry of the seven-day remand period on July 2, he and five other PSM members were detained without trial under the Emergency Ordinance (EO) 1969. They were alleged to be involved in “foreign and subversive elements”.

‘No reasons for further detention’

The MPs today also urged authorities to free all the six PSM detainees.

Jeyakumar’s wife, R Mohana Rani, yesterday warned the authorities that she will hold them accountable if “something happens” to Jeyakumar. She said she was told his condition was stable.

Rani will visit her husband today.

Rani believed his current condition was caused by the ordeal of his arrest and ill-treatment under detention.

On June 28, he was rushed to the Penang General Hospital for a heart condition. Friends and family members said he fell sick because he did not get his regular doses of medicine.

PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan said there was no longer any reason to imprison the six PSM members now that the Bersih 2.0 rally was over.

PSM alleged that the Special Branch officers tried to force him and the other detainees to “admit to things they have not done”.

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