Authorities at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak have come under heavy fire from the families of six Internal Security Act detainees for alleged maltreatment of the detainees since they started a hunger strike last week to seek their release.

The authorities had allegedly disregarded a medical experts order to release one of them, Dr Badrulamin Bahron, who was said to be in "seriously ill", for treatment.

Dr Santhindran of the Taiping Hospital, who examined the hunger strikers, was accompanying Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam)s Prof Hamdan Adnan when the commissioner went to check on the six last Saturday.

The families also slammed hospital officials who had attended to the detainees for not revealing the medical records of the hunger strikers and urged them to be neutral and fair.

They said the six Write to Home Ministry

Following reports of Badruls failing health, his wife Zumrah Hassan tried to see him yesterday but failed.

I wanted to see my husbands health condition for myself but they said he could not come out to see me as he was sick, she told reporters yesterday at the Taiping PAS headquarters.

When I requested the camp authorities for my husbands medical report, the assistant supervisor said I must write to the Home Ministry, she said.

One of the legal advisers of the detainees, Cheah Kah Peng, who accompanied the families to the centre yesterday, slammed this condition as absurd and politically motivated.

The last reading of Badruls blood pressure, taken by Santhindran on Saturday, was as high as 150/100 mm Hg. A normal reading is less than 130/ 85 mm Hg whereas a stage one hypertension reading starts from 140/90 mm Hg.

According to the families, the health of the other detainees is rapidly deteriorating and most of the detainees said they experienced dizzy spells when attempting to stand up.

Chua, Ezam and Saari were reported to have lost between 1.5kg and 2kg. Lokman has lost 7kg, Hishammuddin 4kg and Badrul 5kg.

Ezam was reported to be constantly trembling whereas Hishamuddin was still suffering from migraine.

Ezam's wife Bahirah Tajol Aris called for the immediate attention of Suhakam commissioners on the health of the hunger strikers.

Hamdan has gone to Geneva and we wonder if he had really filed a report as promised. The hunger strike is not something that can be delayed. It needs immediate attention, she said.

According to the commissioner, the six were fine when he saw them on Saturday, but he expressed concern that a prolonged strike could have an adverse effect on their health.

Echoing Zumrahs concern, Bahirah claimed that her husbands medical record were taken away by the camps medical assistant.

Democracy is dead

Meanwhile, about 30 people yesterday visited an exhibition on the ISA at the PAS headquarters in Gombak, Selangor, organised by the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI).

The organisers said the low turnout was due to the fear instilled in the hearts and minds of the people by the authorities.

Four wreaths carrying messages of Democracy is dead", "Dictatorship rules","No compromise and no giving up" and "Reformasi must continue" were displayed outside the premises.

Anti-ISA activists led by Parti Sosialis Malaysia pro tem vice-president Dr D Jeyakumar, Suaram director Dr Kua Kia Soong and GMI co-ordinator S Arutchelvam distributed flyers about the ISA to shops and houses nearby.