Cheras police chief Ahmad Amir Mohd Hashim has obtained an unprecendented court order banning all Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) supporters from attending Sunday's gathering at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur.

The order, obtained from the Kuala Lumpur magistrates courts yesterday, named lawyers P Waythamoorthy, M Manoharan, P Uthayakumar, VS Ganapathy Rao, R Kengadharan and all Hindraf supporters as defendants.

The immediate order was issued under Section 98 of the Criminal Procedure Code, applicable to urgent cases of nuisance, and is effective for seven days from the date of issuance.

The order may be directed at a particular person or to the public in general when frequenting or visiting a particular place.

According to a copy of the order:

  • It is the finding of the court that urgent action must be taken to prevent acts that would disrupt public order or endanger lives or rioting or fight if the gathering is held.

  • It is the finding of the court that this ex parte restraining order is urgently needed due to the impending date of the gathering, which is on Sunday.

  • With that, the gathering in front of the British High Commission is forbidden and you are ordered not to attend, be present or participate in any part of the illegal gathering.

    • Those who defy the order are liable to face contempt proceedings, which usually lead to a jail term determined by the court.

    Hindraf's application for a police permit was rejected for technical and safety reasons four days ago, while an appeal to Kuala Lumpur police chief Zulhasnan Najib Baharuddin was rejected yesterday.

    Roadblocks in place

    Rally organisers had planned to gather 10,000 Indian Malaysians to hand over a memorandum addressed to the Queen of England to support a class-action suit against Her Majesty's government for bringing Indians to Malaysia as indentured labourers and exploiting them for 150 years.

    A total of US$4 trillion (RM14 trillion) is being sought for US$2 million for every Indian residing in Malaysia.

    The suit is based on '50 years of Violations of the Federal Constitution by the Malaysian Government', a booklet that has been deemed seditious. Police had raided the offices of Uthayakumar ( photo ) and Waythamoorthy on Monday in search of the booklet, with a warrant obtained under the Sedition Act but did not find it.

    Uthayakumar was arrested this morning at his Jalan Bangsar office under the same Act and is believed to be currently held at the Shah Alam district police headquarters.

    Police have been screening motorists into Kuala Lumpur since yesterday, resulting in traffic havoc on all major arteries into the capital city.

    Roadblocks and a heavy police presence are being continued today on several highways including the Silk Highway (from Kajang and Semenyih to Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya), near Sungai Ramal, KL-Seremban Highway and Sungai Way on the Federal Highway.

    Other areas include Ampang (at Taman Dato Ahmad Razali before Ampang Point and another at Gleneagles Intan Medical Centre), Jalan Puchong (near Bintang supermarket), Klang (Bukit Tinggi and Bukit Raja) and Bukit Mertajam in Penang.