Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee and Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leader M Manoharan was allowed to visit his daughter at a hospital in Petaling Jaya today.

m manoharan visiting daughter in um hospital 130209 01 Manoharan, who is also Kota Alam Shah state rep, arrived at the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre at 2.50pm and spent two-hours with his daughter and wife.

Dressed in a white shirt, Manoharan appeared well although visibly thinner.

He has been incarcerated without trial under the ISA since Dec 13, 2007 for his involvement with the now outlawed Hindraf movement. His family is only allowed to visit him once a week.

Manoharan did not speak to reporters after the meeting and was quickly whisked away by the authorities.

'Emotional stress'

His wife S Pushpaneela said that their 11-year-old daughter Shivaranjani was warded after suffering breathing difficulties from hearing that the Federal Court dismissed her father's habeas corpus application on Wednesday.

Pushpaneela attributes Shivaranjani's condition to "emotional stress".

According to Pushpaneela, Manoharan presented Shivaranjani with a hand-written get-well-soon card made out of writing paper.

However, she concedes that the meeting was a bittersweet experience as Shivaranjani had to see her father leave after the meeting.

"Shivaranjani has always been very close to her father and she has been suffering great emotional distress since her father's detention.

"In fact, she loves her father so much that she would insist on visiting her father at the Kamunting detention center every Sunday even when I tell her that I am occupied," she said.

Pushpaneela also related an incident on Dec 6 where Shivaranjani took a bus from Kuala Lumpur to Kamunting without her family's knowledge to visit her father.

"She has put on tremendous weight in the past year and has been unable to concentrate on her studies. I am worried about her as she will be sitting for her UPSR examination this year," said Pushpaneela.