The Dewan Rakyat today rejected a motion to debate the fate of five reformasi activists whose initial 60-day detention under the Internal Security Act was ruled by the Federal Court recently to be in "bad faith".

In a letter dated Sept 10 to Opposition Leader Abdul Hadi Awang, Speaker Mohamed Zahir Ismail said the issue was "not urgent and can be debated anytime".

"Therefore, I reject the motion in chambers and will not allow it to be read in the Dewan," added the speaker.

Abdul Hadi who is acting president for PAS and MP for Marang applied for a motion to debate the matter on Monday.

He urged the government to "release the detainees immediately, take action on the police for their unlawful and mala fide (bad faith) behaviour, and compensate the victims for their wrongful imprisonment".

'Extremely disappointed'

The PAS leader, who is also Terengganu menteri besar, justified his application, saying that the Federal Court's decision was "historical and has caught the attention of many".

He added that the matter was urgent as the five have been illegally incarcerated for about 17 months under the security law which provides for indefinite detention without trial.

"This is also a case of public interest as it involves the abuse of power by the police who have detained opposition leaders with false accusations.

"The police have wrongly advised Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and further wronged the victims," he said.

In an immediate response to the rejection, Abdul Hadi said he was "extremely disappointed" with the speaker's decision.

He said the further detention of the detainees showed that the Barisan Nasional government did not adhere to the principles of democracy.

He claimed that government machineries such as the police were "used to protect BN's position".

"The whole world will condemn this cruel act (the continued detention of the five)," he stressed.

Last week, a Federal Court panel unanimously decided that the initial detention of Keadilan leaders Tian Chua, Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor and Saari Sungib ( not pictured ), malaysiakini columnist-cum-filmmaker Hishamuddin Rais and Free Anwar Campaign director Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin was done in "bad faith".

Raja Petra was released before the expiry of the 60-day period while Ezam is currently serving a two-year jail term at the Kajang prison for violating the Official Secrets Act.

The rest, including two other Keadilan leaders Dr Badrulamin Bahron and Lokman Noor Adam, are undergoing a two-year detention at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak.

Although not named as appellants in Tuesday's appeal, their lawyer R Sivarasa had explained that the decision applied to them as well since they were detained for the same reason and subjected to similar circumstances.

All seven were detained for allegedly planing to topple the government through militant means, a charge which they denied.

The court however ruled that another habeas courpus application must be filed to determine the legality of their subsequent detention since April last year following an order signed by the home minister.

Habeas corpus is a writ which challenges the legality of one's detention.