Court rejects Hindraf leader's plea to drop sedition charge

Ethnic Indian activist of a Hindu rights group, held under a tough internal security law in Malaysia, on Thursday failed in his bid to get a local court strike out the sedition charges against him.

P Uttayakumar, 48, who is under detention since December 2007 under the controversial Internal Security Act (ISA) has been charged with publishing a letter with seditious contents on the Police Watch Malaysia website in 2007.

The letter, dated November 15, 2007, was addressed to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, blaming British colonists for the condition of ethnic Indians in Malaysia.

Uttayakumar, who is leader of the banned Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), had sought quashing of the sedition charge on the technical ground that the consent signed by the country's attorney general was invalid.

In rejecting Uttayakumar's application that the issuance of consent had been done with prejudice, Sessions Court judge Sabariah Othman ruled that the consent signed by the A-G was proper.

Uttayakumar and four other Hindraf members were detained in 2007 for organising an illegal rally that was attended by over 20,000 ethnic Indians to protest against alleged marginalisation of the minority community.

Prime Minister Najib Razak has recently ordered the release of two of the Hindraf members after but three others including Uttayakumar continue to be under detention.