A Malaysian court on Thursday refused to grant bail to 31 ethnic Indians charged with attempted murder of a policeman during a massive protest against alleged marginalisation in Kuala Lumpur last month, saying the case involved ‘national security’ and not ‘racial and religious issues’.Sessions Court Judge Azimah Omar said the court had taken into account the fact that public interest precedes the interests of all the accused."This case is not an ordinary case but involves the accused who are alleged to have participated in an illegal gathering and a gathering does not involve only the accused but also the general public. The gathering also involves national security and does not involve racial and religious issues and on these grounds, the court is not allowing bail for all the accused," the Judge declared.She also noted that bail could not be given as all of them were facing a charge under Section 307 of the Malaysian Penal Code, namely attempted murder, which is non-bailable except at the court's discretion.Also refusing to entertain the bail application of three accused ethnic Indians on grounds of bad health, the Judge said the defence had failed to furnish clear evidence.
