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The Bar Council fully supports the call made by the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to the Government on the 20th December 2002 not to proceed with its proposal to amend the Internal Security Act in a manner that would further enhance the powers of the Executive and consequently limit the civil liberties of ISA detainees. The 'War Against Terrorism’ cannot be used to justify any amendments to the ISA or indeed the use of the ISA. Other laws with more substantial checks and balances already exist for the purpose of maintaining peace and security, and these should be utilised in relevant cases.

The Bar Council is concerned that the Executive is not only using the threat of terrorism as a reason to detain persons without trial under the ISA, but is also considering amending the ISA to remove judicial review for the reasons for detention. The Government’s perspective on the ISA is based on an erroneous perception that the rights of Malaysians can justifiably be restricted or denied by the discretion of the Executive only.

The Bar Council is of the view that there must be a fair balance between legitimate national security concerns and fundamental liberties. Steps must be taken to ensure that this balance exists in practice and actions by the Executive must be carried out in strict conformity with international human rights standards. The mere fact that some other members of the international community are also introducing anti-terrorist laws similar to the ISA cannot and should not be used as an excuse to continue application of that law.

The Bar Council reiterates its stand that the ISA is a draconian piece of legislation and should be repealed. For too long now, it has been used as a convenient law to circumvent the usage of other just and sufficient laws that deal properly with serious crime by affording suspects the benefit of judicial scrutiny in the exercise of discretion by the authorities.