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Recently there has been renewed discourse amongst Malaysian Bar members about the legality, ethics and necessity of preventive detention laws, in particular the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA).

While there are currently more than 70 ISA detainees held in the Kamunting Detention Camp (some held in excess of 6 years already), it is the most recent of detentions which have perhaps touched us the most: 4 members of our own legal fraternity, detained due to their involvement with the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

Without attempting to detract from the importance of a healthy legal debate on this issue, I thought I would share my perspective on the human aspects of the matter.

I set foot in the Kamunting Detention Camp for the first time on Wednesday 30 January 2008 accompanied by 8 other members of the Bar (Ragunath Kesavan, Lim Chee Wee, George Varughese, Edmund Bon, Arumugam a/l Kalimuthu, Chan Weng Keng, Dipendra Harshad Rai and Ravindra Kumar) on a Human Rights Committee (HRC) initiative to address the Bar’s growing concern for the ISA detainees, and the HRC’s continued monitoring of the detainees. I must admit that at the time, my motivation for ‘tagging along’ was more out of curiosity than anything else.

After a 3-hour drive from Kuala Lumpur, we had to wait about 15 minutes to ‘check-in’ at the Detention Centre’s outer gate and had to endure another 2 hours of waiting outside the main entrance while security personnel informed us that they ‘needed to verify whether their Head had been informed of our visit’ even though telephone calls had been made and letters detailing our intention had been sent since early that week. When we were finally allowed entry, we were first informed that we would not be allowed access to the 5 Hindraf detainees since our documentation did not state that we were lawyers appointed to represent them. We were also told we would be given a mere 1 hour to meet with the other detainees who are alleged to be involved with Jemaah Islamiah (JI).

The office bearers of the Bar Council: Ragunath and Chee Wee with Ravindra Kumar then demanded to speak to the most senior officer at the Detention Centre to address this issue. After explaining that they represented the Bar Council on official business, requiring to discuss with the 4 Hindraf detainees who were members of the Bar concerns regarding their legal practice, the officer relented and the 3 of them would be allowed to see the Hindraf 5 while the rest of us met with the other detainees. The rest of us were subsequently allowed access to the Hindraf 5, a change of heart which none of us questioned.

While Ragunath, Chee Wee and Ravi were brought to a room on the ground floor, the rest of us were led through a school-like building to a room on the first floor. While waiting for the JI detainees to arrive, I took the opportunity to view the rows of single-storey rectangular barracks surrounded by barbed-wire fences and reflected on its general quiet and gloom. Upon arrival, the JI detainees, accompanied throughout by 4 security personnel greeted Edmund Bon as a familiar face exclaiming their frustration that he and other lawyers did not manage to find the time to visit them more often, since this would be a welcome break from their daily routine. They were evidently pleased to see such a good turnout of visitors this time and were even more excited when we announced that we would be buying them lunch from the Centre’s canteen (which they informed us was otherwise a mere weekly opportunity for them, since otherwise they had to contend with the regular bland 3 daily meals). After dealing with preliminary questions on their detention status and legal efforts on their behalf, the JI detainees chatted with us, relating their experience in detention.

It was very apparent that the JI detainees (a few of whom had recently received their detention renewal notice extending their already 4 year incarceration for another 2) were almost resigned to their plight. They explained that as conscientious objectors, their refusal to sing the National Anthem ‘Negaraku’, as was required at the camp every morning, was one reason for their continued detention. It soon dawned on me that many of them were ‘prisoners of conscience’.

It naturally touched me when the detainees related how much they missed their wives, children and families, since visits were infrequent due to cost considerations, and short, as per the Centre’s visitation rules. When they saw we brought notepads and pens, they eagerly asked if they could keep them after the visit, since no writing materials were provided to them. Their excitement when the ordered food arrived was very telling of how such simple pleasures were rare indeed. When I inquired how they spent their time, the detainees related that they were given a few hours daily to exercise in the enclosed yard, playing simple games and given access to free-to-air TV and the library. To my subsequent query of what books were available, one of the more senior detainees immediately exclaimed: “Please bring some books on your next visit, I’ve read almost all the books in our small library”.

The Hindraf detainees looked weary and tired upon recovering from a recent hunger strike. They have started to have beards, and were cheerful to see us, eager to hear about what was happening outside Kamunting.

Though brief, the visit was certainly a humbling and eye-opening experience for me.

It shamed me that I took my own unrestrained freedom for granted. I had the use of a car to move around freely, play with my children, spend time with friends, surf the internet, visit the cinema, play tennis and swim, read any number of novels and books of my choice, and am able to go on a holiday anytime. Upon further reflection, the things that I had previously considered a daily grind of my professional practice: attending court, meetings with clients, answering telephone calls and e-mails, attending numerous Bar committee meetings and events, are actually a pleasure that I had never truly appreciated.

It was clear that there was so much that we could do to ease these detainees’ quiet suffering: awareness campaigns, fundraising for the benefit of the detainees’ dependents and used book drives, to name a few. Furthermore, since it has been documented that the family members suffer great emotional trauma after visiting their loved ones, it is imperative that members of the Bar, in exercise of our civic duty, at least contribute by organising frequent scheduled visits to the detainees, on a rotation basis.

In addition to the legal battle and policy lobbying, efforts by the Bar Council are on-going to address these concerns, in cooperation with the Gerakan Memansuhkan ISA (GMI). Resolutions are also sought to be passed at the upcoming AGMs pertaining to this issue.

However, none of these efforts can achieve fruition without foremost having the awareness, support and resolve of our members. You can care and make a difference!

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