Cries of ‘hidup rakyat’ greet news of reduced remand

After an afternoon of bad news – six political activists freed only to be re-arrested under emergency era laws – a ray of hope as dusk fell: two teens to be released tonight, a woman freed and the remaining 22 to be remanded only until Monday.

After news broke that six including Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj are to be detained under an ISA-like law, Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance 1969 (or POPO), the crowd of some 100 relatives and supporters outside the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court appeared glum, fearing the worst i.e. another seven-day remand extension for the remaining 24 detainees on top of the initial seven days granted last Sunday.

Detention without trial for Dr Jeyakumar and five others after all the hard work among the marginalised they have put in? It is surreal; I still find it hard to believe this is happening. They didn’t use the ISA, which has been thoroughly discredited by now. But the emergency ordinance? It is still detention without trial – 60 days plus two years. In the past the emergency ordinance has been used on suspected criminals, drug lords and secret society members detained in Pulau Jerejak and other places.

The six political activists were re-arrested moments after being freed at the Kepala Batas Police Station. Family members spent a few minutes with them before the detainees were taken to separate cars, each with four police officers inside, two in front and two at the back. They were whisked away at high speed to Bukit Aman in two convoys, each with about half a dozen cars, blue lights flashing. The six taken away were Sungai Siput MP Dr Jeyakumar Devaraj, PSM deputy chairman M Saraswathy, central committee members Choo Chon Kai and M Sugumaran,  national youth chief R Sarathbabu and Sungai Siput branch secretary A Letchumanan.

Earlier in the morning, by 8.00am, all 30 detainees had been brought to the Butterworth Magistrates Court from four police stations (the men from Penang Road and Butterworth, the teens from Sungai Dua and the women from Kepala Batas). Everyone was in court by 9.00am, but then, for reasons unknown at the time, the detainees were all transported to Kepala Batas Police Station at around 10.30am. The hearing was to to be postponed to 3.00pm. By 1.45pm the reason for this sudden turn of events became clear: six were freed at Kepala Batas only to be re-arrested under emergency laws.

A team of 22 pro bono lawyers, led by Haji Sulaiman Abdullah, had been deployed at various locations in the morning to ensure the remand hearing was properly carried out in court. When the hearing finally began at 3.00pm at the Butterworth court, lawyers Haji Sulaiman, Agatha Foo, Ravin Singh, Karen Lai and Chandrasegaran put forward their reasons why the 24 should not be remanded any further beyond the initial seven days. Sulaiman made a special plea for the release of the two minors.

The hours passed and the crowd outside the perimeter of the court – they were not allowed past the front gate – resigned themselves to the worst, their concern heightened after hearing news at 3.45pm that the Deputy IGP had announced the police were seeking further remand.

By then a dozen Pas supporters, a few in white haj caps and attired in baju Melayu, about 10 PKR supporters and half a dozen rights activists had turned up to express their solidarity with the crowd.

A Pak Haji seated on a grass verge sighed, “Allah yang maha kuasa melihat semua yang berlaku. In the afterlife, everyone has to account for what he or she has done.” He nodded in the direction of the anxious relatives of the detainees, seated on a pavement outside the court perimeter. “Lihat mereka, mereka dizalimi. What have the detainees done? They haven’t committed any serious crime like murder or armed robbery. I don’t care what race they belong to. That’s why I am here.”

A couple of men from a local taxi drivers association turned up, bringing a large bundle of nasi bungkus for the waiting relatives, many of them senior citizens, probably parents, and supporters, their faces etched with anxiety.

As the evening rays cooled the sweltering afternoon heat, news filtered out at around 6.30pm that two teenagers would be released tonight while the remaining 22 would be remanded only until Monday.

The crowd erupted jubilantly, “Hidup hidup, hidup rakyat!” And then some uncertainty. Could it really be true? Confirmation soon arrived – and the crowd celebrated.

Soon, the now familiar convoy of trucks carrying the detainees rumbled out from the heavily guarded court premises. Relatives and supporters pumped their hands in the air to more cries of “hidup rakyat!”

Then the lawyers emerged – and the crowd surged forward and mobbed them, shaking their hands and expressing their gratitude. All that shuttling to and fro from Kepala Batas to Butterworth and the long and arduous wait had yielded some result.

Later, at a restaurant in a nearby hotel, I asked Haji Sulaiman what would happen to the 22 detainees on Monday.

One of three things, he replied: they may be charged, they may be freed or they may be released on police bail.

Other options don’t bear thinking.

Later, news emerged that about a hundred people had gathered outside Bukit Aman for a vigil in solidarity with the six detainees. Police warned them to disperse. Lawyers were again barred access to the detainees.

Back in Penang, a woman, Choong Mooi from Perak, was freed. The two teens also were finally released late into the night. But they, along with the other 21 detainees, will have to report at the Butterworth Magistrate’s Court on Monday morning to find out their fate.