Another reason for RELA to be abolished...

2008/04/18 (NST)

Spotlight: Indian nationals' holiday trip that turned into a nightmare

By : Suganthi Suparmaniam

Indian nationals (from left) P. Murugesan, Sheikh Rajendran and K. Meenakshi with the police reports they lodged over their arrest by Rela and Immigration officers even though they claimed they had valid travel papers.

KUALA LUMPUR: All that they wanted to do was to see what Malaysia is all about.

Instead, the three Indian nationals on their first visit to Malaysia, ended up being arrested and detained at the Semenyih camp for 18 days despite having valid travel documents, they said.

Farmer K. Meenakshi, 52, tailor Sheikh Rajendran, 40, and carpenter P. Murugesan, 24, had been saving up for a long time to visit Malaysia, a country that they had heard so much about from friends who had been here.

All three were at the Selangor Mansion block of flats in Jalan Masjid India when Rela conducted a raid on March 15.

"I was sleeping in a room when they came at 1.30am. I had a copy of the passport in my pocket and showed it to them. I kept telling them that the original was inside my bag which was in the same room. But they did not understand me," Meenakshi told the New Straits Times.
Sheikh was together with him in the room when he was also arrested.

Murugesan said he had just finished eating and had gone downstairs to throw away the paper used to pack food when he was stopped by a Rela member.

"I told him my passport was upstairs but he refused to let me get it or come with me to take it. He told me to wait with others and later took us to the camp in a lorry," said Murugesan.

They spent 18 days in the Semenyih camp which they described as the worst place that they had ever been.

"The conditions in the camp were bad. The food was terrible and I was so afraid to eat. I spent days not touching the food at all. It was not fit for human consumption," said Sheikh.

They were "rescued" when a Malaysian businessman, T. Kamalanathan, came to the camp and negotiated for their release.

"I was at my shop when a few Indian nationals approached me and told me to help bring out their friends from the camp," Kamalanathan said.

He added that the Indian nationals should have been produced in court within 24 hours or even after the 14 days' remand. He claimed that the Immigration officers had also been unhelpful.

A bigger shock awaited the three men when they went back to the apartment on April 3 and found their belongings missing.

"I had about RM2,500 inside the bag. The money and my return flight ticket were also missing," said Meenakshi, adding that the other two also lost their money and belongings.

Sheikh said his friends found his torn passport in a nearby dustbin.