Twenty-nine members of the Al-Ma'unah group claimed trial today over their alleged involvement in waging war or abetting to wage war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

Their trial will begin on Sept 11.

The 29, led by Mohd Amin Mohamed Razali, were charged at the Taiping Sessions court yesterday and their case was mentioned again today at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, where their pleas were taken for the first time.

The prosecution, led by Attorney-General Mohtar Abdullah, informed the court that the prosecution will be done in accordance with the 1975 Essential (Security Cases) Regulations (Escar) and not the commonly used Criminal Procedure Code.

He said the reason for using this special procedure was due to the sensitive nature of the case. He also said the prosecution will produce 15 witnesses and needs two weeks to complete its case.

Karpal Singh, appearing for Mohd Amin, told the court he will be objecting to the use of the "draconian" Escar. Presiding judge Augustine C Paul told him to raise the matter at hearing.

Karpal told reporters later that Escar allows the prosecution to deviate from the normal procedure, hearsay evidence and all statements made by the accused will be admissible, "hooded" witnesses will be allowed and testimony can be given without the presence of the defence lawyer during the trial.

"The last time this regulation was used was in the 1983 murder trial involving former minister Mokhtar Hashim. Escar was declared unconstitutional by the Privy Council in 1978," he said.

The 29 were jointly charged under section 121 of the Penal Code which carries the punishment of death or life sentence, or a fine, if found guilty of waging war or abetting to wage war in the country.

(Waging war in the context of the Penal Code is purely a technical term which means nothing else but acts of treason against a democratically elected government, Mohtar said in a statement yesterday. Such acts included armed insurrections, destroying properties or places of worship or building, resisting arrest by the authorities, using arms against the security forces where its objective is to go against the establishment, he added.)

They are alleged to have committed the offence between June and July 6 at Pos 2, Km 19, Kuala Rui, Jalanraya Timur-Barat, Grik; Batalion 304, Infantri (AW), Kem Grik, Grik; and in Bukit Jenalik, Sauk, all in Perak.

The case against the 29 was re-mentioned at the High Court today following an application made by the prosecution for the case to be transferred to Kuala Lumpur for security reasons.

The accused persons were brought to court today amidst tight security both in and outside the court room.

The pleas of innocence were taken before Paul, who fixed the hearing date to start on Sept 11.

He also asked some of the accused persons who were not legally represented to ask their families to hire lawyers, or if they cannot afford one, to inform the court so that legal aid will be made available for them.

Karpal Singh and Gobind Singh Deo also appeared for four others while another 11 had Kamarul Hisham Kamaruddin as their counsel. Zaini Zainur appeared for one while the other 12 were not represented.

Also present in court today were the relatives of the 29.