A DAP lawmaker questioned the need to arrest two politicians over their alleged links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when the separatist movement had been defunct for a decade.
Although he acknowledged there were Malaysians sympathetic towards the LTTE, Charles Santiago, however, said there have been no attempts to revive it, even in Sri Lanka.
"So this is shocking, a bit strange and why now? I mean nobody talks about the LTTE. Nobody talks about it in Malaysia," he told a press conference in Parliament this evening.
Earlier, Malaysiakini reported that DAP assemblypersons G Saminathan and P Gunasekaran were arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) which allows for 28 days of detention.
Saminathan (left, below) is a Malacca exco member whereas Gunasekaran is the Seremban Jaya assemblyperson in Negeri Sembilan.
The LTTE was disbanded in 2009 after the group was defeated and its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was killed, marking the end of the Sri Lankan civil war.
Meanwhile, Charles said the arrests of the two DAP leaders were a waste of public funds.
"This is silly actually and a waste of public money... There is no network in Malaysia, no attempts to raise money in Malaysia (for LTTE)," he added.
He also questioned why sympathising with the LTTE was grounds for arrest if the group were struggling for autonomy and freedom just like the Palestinian Liberation Order was.
The LTTE was formed in 1976 with the goal of forming an independent state of Tamil Eelam in the north and east, in response to discriminatory policies against Tamils by the Sri Lankan government.
However, the group was branded a terrorist organisation for alleged human rights violations and war crimes, including ethnic cleansing.
Previously, dozens of police reports were lodged against Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy, after a photograph surfaced depicting him and DAP's Bagan Dalam assemblyperson Satees Muniandy paying tribute to a Kalashnikov assault rifle.
However, Ramasamy (photo) said the two of them had attended a memorial service for victims of genocide in Sri Lanka.
Arrests likened to Operasi Lalang
In a related development, NGO Malaysian Tamilar Kural condemned the arrests and likened it to the Operasi Lalang crackdown in 1987 during Dr Mahathir Mohamad's first tenure as prime minister.
Describing the police's action as “Operasi Lalang 2.0”, its president David Marshel also noted that the LTTE is no longer active.
He claimed that the arrests could be carried out to cover-up controversies surrounding Muslim preacher Dr Zakir Naik and the recent Malay Dignity Congress.
"We stand in solidarity with those arrested, we will organise vigils to show our support.
"We hope the police would focus on real criminals especially those who sow seeds of discord among the different races in the country," he told Malaysiakini.
Responding to the arrests, human rights organisation Suaram urged Putrajaya to honour its promise to repeal Sosma.
The NGO said police can use existing provisions under the Criminal Procedure Code instead of using Sosma.
Pakatan Harapan had promised in its manifesto to abolish draconian laws, including Sosma.
However, the government has since taken a stance that it would amend Sosma instead, although a bill to do so has not been tabled in Parliament. - Mkini
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