In a move that should gain him some sympathy from the Indian Malaysian community, DAP leader Lim Guan Eng said he is trying hard to meet imprisoned Hindraf de facto leader P Uthayakumar.

lim guan eng interview 160813 03 However, Lim ( right ), denied his motive was political and said he would appeal to the home minister since his request to meet with Uthayakumar was turned down by Prison Department director-general Zulkifli Omar.

"As an ex-convict myself, I know the needs that are not met and I plan to see Uthayakumar as a humanitarian gesture, " Lim told reporters at the DAP headquarters today.

This would including helping to meet Uthayakumar's medical needs, he said.

Lim presented reporters with copies of letters he had written to the Prison Department and Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi in his official capacity as Penang chief minister.

Lim wrote the letters at the end of July and received a rejection letter on Sept 6.

He stressed that he had no previous relationship with Uthayakumar and that DAP has no ties with Hindraf.

Uthayakumar suffers a prolapsed disc

Utayakumar is currently at Kajang Prison, serving a jail term of two years and six months, after being convicted of sedition last June.

S Indra Devi Uthayakumar's wife, S Indra Devi ( left ), said last month that Uthayakumar had shown her his swollen leg and hands , caused by a prolapsed disc, which could leave him paralysed if he is not given proper medical treatment.

When contacted today, Indra said Lim has not been in touch although her husband previously welcomed Lim’s gesture to meet.

“My husband just called me today but he didn’t mention anything about this,” she said, adding, “Lim didn’t contact me at all... if he can talk to me, we can work out something,” she added.

Indra said her husband’s request for temporarily leave to see a neurosurgeon at Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (HUKM) for his prolapsed disc was still denied and his lawyers’ visits were also lately being blocked.

Indra, however, said that she has just received news that Uthayakumar’s case would be up for appeal on Sept 24.

Lim, who himself was once jailed for violation of the Printing Presses and Publications Act, said he sympathises with Uthayakumar.

The prison restricts the monthly visits to inmates to family members and lawyers, he said.

Uthayakumar is the elder brother of P Waythamoorthy, the deputy minister in the PM's Department.

He was sentenced to prison in June for making seditious statements in 2007.

The court imposed the sentence just hours after Waythamoorthy was sworn into office as a senator.