Opposition leaders held in Malaysia

By Amit Baruah

SINGAPORE, DEC. 22. Malaysian police have detained two leaders of the National Justice Party (Keadilan), the group's deputy president, Mr. Chandra Muzaffar, said from Kuala Lumpur today.

Mr. Tian Chua, vice-president of the Justice Party, and Mr. Ruslan Kassim, information chief, were arrested by the police on charges which will be specified tomorrow in court. The arrests are said to be linked to the recent by-election for the Lunas Assembly seat, which the ruling Barisan Nasional (National Front) lost.

The allegation against the Opposition is that on November 29, polling day, party activists obstructed Government supporters from entering Lunas town. Mr. Chandra told this correspondent that after the loss of the Lunas by-election, the Government was ``trying to humiliate'' the Opposition. ``This also shows they are bad losers. They also don't understand the basic tenets of democratic competition,'' the Justice Party leader said.

According to Mr. Chandra, the arrests were also a signal to the people about ``who was in charge'' of the country. He felt that the arrests of the two leaders was linked to the Lunas by- election incident as four other Opposition supporters were charged with rioting in a court on Thursday. They face up to two years in jail if convicted.

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Section  : International
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