The police should issue a permit to the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) to hold a gathering slated for Sunday, said an opposition MP today.

During a press conference at the Parliament lobby, M Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) said the government must respect the constitutional right to hold peaceful assemblies.

On Monday, the police rejected the application for a permit. Cheras district police chief Ahmad Amir Mohd Hashim explained that this was because the application was made by an individual and not the organisation.

Under Section 27 of the Police Act 1967, any application for a permit to assemble in a public place must be made by an organisation or jointly by three individuals.

The police also questioned the applicant's ability to control the crowd and expressed concern that the gathering, which is to be held outside the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur, could disrupt traffic.

'Police harassment'

Meanwhile, Kulasegaran said it is the democratic right of all Malaysians to express their views and concerns peacefully.

"Human rights and civil political rights guaranteed in the Federal Constitution mean nothing to the police as seen by the police raids on the offices of two Hindraf lawyers," he said.

He said the lawyers, P Uthayakumar and his brother Waythamoorthy, are active in civil rights campaigns and in defending free speech.

Therefore, he stressed, raiding their offices is a clear example of police harassment.

"Suhakam (Human Rights Organisation of Malaysia ) has said time and again that a peaceful gathering does not need a police permit. Nevertheless, they want the police to be informed because they are responsible to take care of the traffic," he said.

"The threat from Deputy Internal Security Minister Mohd Johari Baharom warning Indians against participating in the gathering is yet another example of how the authorities routinely trample on the basic liberties of Malaysians," he added.

Newspapers today quoted the deputy minister as saying that the gathering would be illegal and the public should not attend.

The gathering is expected to attract 10,000 people to hand over a petition to the Queen of England to support a class-action suit against the British government for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years.

The quantum being sought is US$4 trillion (RM14 trillion) - or US$2 million for every Indian currently residing in Malaysia