Malaysian court denies bail for 31 ethnic Indians
A Malaysian court Thursday denied bail to 31 ethnic Indians facing up to 20 years in jail for the attempted murder of a policeman during anti-discrimination protests last month.
"We are not allowing bail," Sessions Court judge Azima Omar told a packed courtroom. "The offences committed by the accused are serious," she said.
The judge said her decision to deny bail in the case -- which has heightened ethnic tensions in multicultural Malaysia -- was not racially motivated.
"This involves national security and has nothing to do with race," she said. "The larger interest of public and national interest are at stake."
The 31 are accused of wounding officer Dadi Abdul Rani during a demonstration at Batu Caves, the site of an important Hindu temple on the fringes of Kuala Lumpur, on the eve of a mass rally in the capital.
At least 3,000 ethnic Indians gathered in the temple grounds on November 24, drawing a stiff response from police who used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd and made 69 arrests.
More than 8,000 people gathered the following day to protest against discrimination by Muslim Malays, who dominate the population, and the crowd again faced tear gas and water cannons.
The government brought in its top legal guns for the politically-charged court case, with Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail making submissions along with his head of prosecution Yusof Zainal Abiden.
The top prosecutor rarely turns up for Sessions Court cases and his presence caused concern among defence lawyers who said the high-powered delegation could intimidate the court.
The defence team said they would file an immediate appeal with the High Court.
"We will try to secure bail so that they can be freed pending the trial and we will do everything possible to get them free," lawyer G.K. Ganesan told reporters. "I am personally unhappy with the court's decision."
Family members who had thronged the courtroom expecting their relatives to be released were openly dismayed at the decision, and several cried openly.
S. Viswanathan, 58, whose 18-year-old son S. Suresh was one of those detained, rejected the allegations.
"They are not criminals and my son has a hole in the heart, he was in the temple to pray, so this is very unfair," he said as tears streamed down his face.
The accused will be held in jail until their trial begins on January 14.
"All this shows that the government is underestimating the Indian anger," lawmaker M. Kulasegaran from the opposition Democratic Action Party said at the court.
"They think by punishing this few (the protests) will fizzle out. It will not fizzle out," he said.
Muslim Malays make up 60 percent of the population and control the political scene, while ethnic Chinese population at 26 percent are dominant in business.
Malaysia's Indians, a minority with 8 percent of the population, complain they are marginalised and lack access to education and job opportunities.
For more news and views that matter, subscribe and support independent media for only RM0.36 sen a day:
Subscribe now