Parti Sosialis Malaysia chair Dr Mohd Nasir Hashim called on the police to immediately release ailing MP Dr D Jeyakumar “if for no other reason than there could be another fatality which would be placed on their conscience.”

Alluding to the death of PKR party activist Baharuddin Ahmad on Saturday, which oppositionists attribute to the indiscriminate use of force by the police against marchers for electoral reform pressure group Bersih, Nasir said:

psm dr nasir hashim uncensored 010808 04 “Heaven forbid another death as a consequence of actions taken by the police against supporters of the Bersih movement, but if it does in the case of Jeyakumar, it’s not hard to imagine how it would go down with the public.”

Jeyakumar, MP for Sungai Siput, was detained in Penang two weeks ago with a host of PSM activists while they were on a campaign swing in the north.

Yesterday, the chest physician, renowned for his activism on behalf of marginalised groups, was taken to the National Heart Institute (IJN) from his place of detention in Kuala Lumpur after complaining of palpitations.

“Jeyakumar has a long-standing heart problem. It clearly has been exacerbated by the conditions he has been subjected to while in detention for unsustainable reasons,” said Nasir.

“Heaven forbid the worst happens to him, but if it does, it would be attributed to police brutality. After what happened to Baharuddin, rightly or wrongly, the police would be blamed again.”

Nasir, however, emphasised that Jeyakumar’s precarious health was not the only reason for PSM wanting him to be released.

“We want all six PSM detainees released because there are no sustainable grounds for their detention under any ordinance whatever,” he claimed.

Candlelight vigil - party still in the dark

While arresting Jeyakumar and several other PSM activists on June 25, police had seized campaign materials from the detainees, including posters, leaflets and T-shirts, parts of which were connected to the march planned for July 9 in Kuala Lumpur by Bersih.

Initially, police cited Section 122 of the Penal Code, which involves rebellion against the king, as grounds for their action.

Later, the police shifted tack and said the detainees were being held under the Emergency Ordinance, 1969.

psm candlelight vigil 050711 PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvam says till today the party is in the dark as to what exactly are the grounds for the detention of what has come to be called the ‘PSM Six’.

The party now suspects the detainees are being held under the Internal Security Act, 1960.

Last night a group of party members, led by Nasir and Arutchelvam, held a candlelight vigil for the detainees outside the police headquarters in Bukit Aman.

They were joined by Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan, Selangor state assembly speaker Teng Chang Kim and other politicians and members of NGOs.

VIDEO | 11.23 mins