Life in Kajang prison is worse than being incarcerated in the Kamunting Detention Centre, said Keadilan Youth leader Mohd Ezam Mohd Noor.

"My cell is 12 by 10 feet and I am given only a mattress to sleep on. No desk to write, no chair, nothing else.

"I am only let out to walk or exercise twice a day for two hours," said the opposition leader who is serving a two-year jail term after being found guilty recently of contravening the Official Secrets Act.

His jailing has been criticised by various rights group and members of the civil society as politically motivated.

Ezam, 35, was charged under the act for leaking classified documents concerning a probe into the alleged corrupt practices of International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz and former Melaka menteri besar Rahim Tamby Chik.

Human rights NGO Suaram had questioned in a statement why no action had been taken against the two Umno leaders when the documents leaked showed probable cause for investigation.

"Should this type of information which is of interest to the public be classified as confidential or official secrets in the name of 'national security? Whose security are we talking about here?"

Ezam, a former political secretary to jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, yesterday related to malaysiakini the conditions of his cell when met at the Kulim Magistrates' Court in Kedah.

He was in Kulim for three days since Monday to attend another trial. He and 10 others were charged for allegedly preventing buses from reaching their destinations and for participating in an illegal assembly with the intention to riot during the Lunas by-election in the state two years ago.

However, they have maintained their innocence and claimed that the buses were ferrying phantom voters.

Prior to being sent to the Kajang prison, Ezam had been held at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak under the Internal Security Act since last year.

He was among six reformasi activists slapped with a two-year detention order for allegedly wanting to topple the government through militant means, a charge which the six have denied.

Legal action

Meanwhile, Ezam has instructed his lawyers, Sankara Nair and Christopher Fernando, to initiate legal action against the Utusan Group which publishes the leading Malay daily, Utusan Malaysia .

He is seeking RM5 million in damages against the daily for allegedly disseminating false news which led to his arrest.

When contacted in Kuala Lumpur, Sankara said his client was suing the publishing company for disseminating false news.

Ezam was arrested and charged with sedition following the newspaper's report last March which quoted him as saying that his party would stage massive street rallies to oust the government.

He had strongly denied making these remarks, adding that he had merely commented on plans to hold peaceful protest meetings nationwide.

Last Thursday, Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail withdrew the charge, stating: "In view of the conviction and sentence that has been recently passed against the accused and a pending trial in Lunas, the Attorney-General's office is now exercising its discretionary power to withdraw the charge against the accused today."