KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - AN ETHNIC Indian activist on Tuesday described the move by the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) to seek the freedom of five Indians being held under a tough security law as a political gimmick.

The MIC party, which is part of the multi-ethnic ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, on Sunday said it would ask the government to free the activists who are being held under a law that allows indefinite detention without trial.

'I will raise it with the prime minister. If he wants to release all of them...we have no objections. We also don't want them to be kept inside for too long a period,' MIC president S. Samy Vellu had told reporters.

The move came as an about-face from the MIC's earlier position.

'It is plainly clear the initiative now is to gain popularity and to repair the damage done to his reputation as an obsolete leader,' said P. Waytha Moorthy, chairman of Indian rights group Hindraf.

The MIC was punished by the minority Indian community in the March 8 polls for deriding a protest last year by ethnic Indians, with a majority of its candidates losing, including the 72-year-old Mr Samy.

'He (Samy) was part of the system that incarcerated those messengers of truth and suppressed the legitimate voice of democracy,' Waytha Moorthy said.

The five activists - leaders of the rights group Hindraf - were detained last December for organising an unprecedented mass rally in November to protest alleged discrimination against ethnic Indians in Malaysia.

Syed Hamid Albar, the home minister responsible for internal security, rejected opposition calls last Friday for the activists' release, citing security concerns. -- AFP