Hindraf coordinator S Jayathas who has been on a hunger strike with 14 others to protest the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) was admitted to hospital today, organisers said.
P Waytha Nayagi, another participant in the hunger strike which began on Sunday, said Jayathas was taken by ambulance to hospital.
She said that Jayathas, 41, collapsed while performing a special 24-hours prayer or yagam which started at 8.30am today.
The hunger strike is being staged at a small Hindu temple in Seri Gombak. Participants are consuming only water.
P Waytha Nayagi, another participant in the hunger strike which began on Sunday, said Jayathas was taken by ambulance to hospital.
She said that Jayathas, 41, collapsed while performing a special 24-hours prayer or yagam which started at 8.30am today.
The hunger strike is being staged at a small Hindu temple in Seri Gombak. Participants are consuming only water.
"Jayathas became weak after four days. He also missed two rounds of dialysis treatment. He is a kidney patient," Waytha Nayagi said.
"He missed his treatment on Monday and today... his last
dialysis was on Friday and he was very weak," she added.She said that Jayathas avoided his dialysis treatment as he would have to consume food after undergoing the treatment.She also told Malaysiakini that Jayathas had initially refused medical care because he wanted to continue with the strike but the others had convinced him to change his mind. Undergoing dialysisWhen contacted at about 4pm, Jayathas told malaysiakini that he was being treated at the emergency ward in Selayang Hospital."I'm feeling much better now and I will be undergoing dialysis in a while," he said.Explaining his earlier condition, Jayathas said that he first felt giddy while performing the prayers and that his legs began to cramp.
"He missed his treatment on Monday and today... his last
dialysis was on Friday and he was very weak," she added.She said that Jayathas avoided his dialysis treatment as he would have to consume food after undergoing the treatment.She also told Malaysiakini that Jayathas had initially refused medical care because he wanted to continue with the strike but the others had convinced him to change his mind. Undergoing dialysisWhen contacted at about 4pm, Jayathas told malaysiakini that he was being treated at the emergency ward in Selayang Hospital."I'm feeling much better now and I will be undergoing dialysis in a while," he said.Explaining his earlier condition, Jayathas said that he first felt giddy while performing the prayers and that his legs began to cramp."My blood had become toxic because I had avoided the (dialysis) treatment," he said.Nevertheless, he is determined to continue the strike once he is well enough to return to the temple.The strike began on Sunday at the Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple in Seri Gombak to commemorate the first anniversary of the detention of five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders under the ISA.
Waytha Nayagi is the sister of P Uthayakumar, one of Hindraf 5, who are being detained without trial.
The five, one of whom is a state lawmaker, were arrested last December after enraging the government by mounting a mass rally alleging discrimination against Indian Malaysians.
Ending the fast tomorrow
Waytha Nayagi said the group would end their hunger strike tomorrow.
"But we will continue our struggle in other forms until the ISA is abolished and all detainees are freed," she said.
Waytha Nayagi is the sister of P Uthayakumar, one of Hindraf 5, who are being detained without trial.
The five, one of whom is a state lawmaker, were arrested last December after enraging the government by mounting a mass rally alleging discrimination against Indian Malaysians.
Ending the fast tomorrow
Waytha Nayagi said the group would end their hunger strike tomorrow.
"But we will continue our struggle in other forms until the ISA is abolished and all detainees are freed," she said.
The strike was initially planned to take place in Shah Alam but the organisers failed to secure the location.Waytha Nayagi explained that they had also approached over 30 temples in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur and Selangor but were denied permission."They were afraid and some of them were threatened by the police...when they (temples) face demolition, makkal sakthi (people power) is always there... that's the irony of this, you see," she added.
The yagam is being held for "divine intervention in securing our goals", said Waytha Nayagi. 
Indians make up less than eight percent of the population of 27 million.
The ISA, a relic of the British colonial era when it was used to fight a communist insurgency, allows for renewable two-year periods of detention without trial.
The government says it is a vital tool to fight terrorism, but rights groups say the law has been improperly used to silence government critics, and that detainees are mentally and physically tortured.
Indians make up less than eight percent of the population of 27 million.
The ISA, a relic of the British colonial era when it was used to fight a communist insurgency, allows for renewable two-year periods of detention without trial.
The government says it is a vital tool to fight terrorism, but rights groups say the law has been improperly used to silence government critics, and that detainees are mentally and physically tortured.
Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said last week that since he took over the portfolio in March, the number of ISA detainees - most of them alleged Islamic militants - had been reduced from 70 to 46.
(with additional details from AFP report)
No comments:
Post a Comment