Ethnic Indians held in Malaysia under security law

Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia): Malaysian authorities arrested five ethnic Indian activists on Thursday under a security law that allows indefinite detention without trial, a lawyer said.

The activists are key officials in the Hindu Rights Action Force (HINDRAF), which held a street protest November 25 that drew about 20,000 ethnic Indians complaining about alleged racial discrimination.

''They were told that they're being detained under the ISA,'' lawyer N Surendran said, referring to the Internal Security Act, a law that has occasionally been used by the government to detain suspects regarded as threats to national security.

Two police officials, who declined to be identified, citing protocol, confirmed that several HINDRAF activists had been arrested. They declined to elaborate.

The arrests escalate a government crackdown on HINDRAF since it organised last month's rally - the biggest protest involving ethnic Indians in more than a decade and one that triggered fears of ethnic unrest in this multiracial country.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi earlier this week said the government will not tolerate street demonstrations because they could lead to violence. He warned that if necessary, he would invoke the ISA.

HINDRAF has demanded equality and fair treatment for Indians, saying an affirmative action program that gives preferential treatment to the Muslim Malay majority in business, jobs and education is tantamount to racial discrimination.

The government denies it discriminates against Indians and has accused HINDRAF leaders of trying to create ethnic trouble.

Ethnic Indians make up about 8 percent of Malaysia's 27 million people and are at the bottom of the social and economic scale. Malays make up about 60 percent of the population and control the government. Ethnic Chinese are about a quarter of the population and dominate business.

(Associated Press; Thu, Dec 13, 2007 )