PETALING JAYA: There is nothing wrong with MIC providing free legal assistance to suspects who were arrested for alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terror group, according to PAS.
Its secretary-general Datuk Takiyuddin Hassan (pix) said the action by the Barisan Nasional (BN) component party did not mean that it was in support of terror activities conducted by any quarters.
“For PAS, the move to provide legal assistance is just to ensure that those arrested obtain their rights as enshrined under the country’s laws, and is also in line with the principle of ‘innocent until proven guilty’.
“If they are proven guilty and convicted in court, then all parties have to accept this and leave the matter up to the legal process,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Takiyuddin was commenting on MIC’s decision to provide free legal assistance to the five arrested suspects, which it said was done because they (suspects) could not afford their own legal representation.
MIC legal aid chief T Rajasekaran had said that seven lawyers representing MIC’s legal bureau would help the suspects “as per the instruction of the MIC president”.
To date, 12 suspects have been arrested by the police over possible links with LTTE, with two DAP assemblymen – P. Gunasekaran of Seremban Jaya and G. Saminathan of Gadek – among the more prominent individuals.
Meanwhile, Takiyuddin said PAS would continue to push the government to present a White Paper in parliament on support given to terror activities in the country.
He said this was done in public interest and national security.
