Detained Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah requested for a Quran, reading materials and to see her family.

She made these requests during a visit by Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) members yesterday, commission chairperson Razali Ismail said in a statement.

Maria was arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 on the eve of the Nov 19 Bersih 5 rally, which attracted at least 40,000 people in Kuala Lumpur.

The rally was to demand clean elections, clean government, empowerment of Sabah and Sarawak, strengthening of Parliament and the right to dissent.

She is being held for 28 days, as provided by Sosma, but her habeas corpus application will be heard by the court tomorrow.

Razali said although Maria is in good health, she is held in solitary confinement with only a wooden bed with no mattress to sleep on and has only cold water to wash.

"She indicated she would like a mattress, at the very least, to cushion the discomfort of the wooden bed," he said.

It is understood that Maria is being held at the Batu police camp, where Internal Security Act detainees were previously held before moved to the Kamunting Detention Centre.

Suhakam was also given the assurance that a medical doctor is available at all times, Razali said.

The interview with Maria took 1.5 hours and was not impeded by attending police personnel, he said.

Requests relayed to police

Maria's requests were also relayed to the "polite" police representatives, but the personnel said they were not in the position to inform their superiors about the requests.

"Suhakam continues to hold the position that Maria is unjustifiably incarcerated and would like to reiterate that in accordance with Article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, detention or exile," Razali said.

Meanwhile, Centre for A Better Tomorrow (Cenbet) said Maria's arrest goes against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's pledge of openness when he announced the repeal of the Internal Security Act.

"Failure to give a satisfactory explanation is not only unprofessional, it constitutes an abuse of power and may be a criminal misconduct in itself.

"Worse, it may open the floodgates to similar abuses.

"This goes against the spirit of openness pledged by Najib during his Sept 16, 2011, speech where he announced the repeal or review of regressive laws like the ISA, Restricted Residence Act and Printing Presses and Publications Act," Cenbet said in a statement.

The think-tank said the inspector-general of police should explain Maria's arrest under Sosma, which is meant to counter terrorism.

The government had declared when Sosma was passed in 2012 to replace the ISA that it would only be used against terror suspects, Cenbet said.

"We do not see any justification at all to detain her under Sosma," it said.

Umno information chief Annuar Musa today claimed Maria has links to the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States, through its work on electoral rights.

MPs and activists have marched against the detention, while solidarity vigils at Dataran Merdeka have attracted more than 1,000 people.

Concurrent vigils are also held in Penang and Johor.

As a result, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall has closed off Dataran Merdeka from 5pm every day.