Police have initiated investigations against two groups over their presence at the Hari Raya ‘open house’ hosted by the prime minister and Muslim cabinet ministers last Wednesday.

Four members of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) have received a written notice under Section 111 of the Criminal Procedure Code to report to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters on Tuesday to give their statements.

p waytha moorthy The four are K Shanti, wife of Hindraf leader-in-exile P Waythamoorthy (right) , Hindraf information chief S Jayathas, Selangor coordinator K Tamilselvam and national events coordinator R Kannan.

According to the notice signed by ASP Sydney Clyde Jeremiah, they are being investigated for illegal assembly under Section 27 (5) of the Police Act, as well as trespass under Section 447 pf the Penal Code.

The four were among 200 orange-clad Hindraf supporters who had gone to the Putra World Trade Centre, where the event was held.

The police initially had denied them entry, even trying to snatch a Hari Raya card for the premier. However following talks 20 of them were allowed to enter the premises where they gave Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi the Hari Raya card and a teddy bear in a symbolic gesture urging him to abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA).

pm open house 011008 02 hari raya card

Hindraf legal advisor N Surendran described the action against the activists as a form of harassment against the movement’s supporters.

n surendran “It was an open event. It is absurd to call it an illegal gathering and (to call it) trespassing is even more ridiculous. The authorities have really scraped the bottom of the barrel this time,” he said.

Five Hindraf leaders are currently being held under the ISA at the Kamunting detention camp in Perak. They were arrested on Dec 13 last year on grounds that they pose a threat to national security.

RPK’s supporters also targeted

Another group being investigated are those who wore t-shirts with the slogan ‘I’m with RPK’ when they attended the same ‘open house’.

raja petra and isa internal security act 230908 This was in support of blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin (left) , who was sent to Kamunting on Sept 23 on a two-year ISA detention order that can be renewed indefinitely.

Blogger and commercial banker P Surind Raj told Malaysiakini that he and two others - lawyers Haris Ibrahim and Amarjit Sidhu - will have to report to ASP Sydney tomorrow afternoon.

However, there was no information as to which provisions of law they are deemed to have breached.

When contacted, Haris said that he has been summoned to give a statement but the police did not inform him if he was being investigated.

"I will not presume that I am being investigated," he said, adding that he would be at the Dang Wangi police station at 2.30pm tomorrow.

Amarjit could not be contacted today.

Dang Wangi police chief ACP Zulkarnain Abdul Rahman said the case is being handled by the Kuala Lumpur contingent police, but did not elaborate.

Raja Petra was arrested after publishing articles on his news portal Malaysia Today , which have allegedly tarnished the image of national leaders and insulted the sanctity of Islam.