©The Sun (Used by permission)
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite deafening calls to abolish the Internal Security Act, there was no indication this year that it would be abolished or replaced with new legislation.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) had proposed that the ISA be replaced with an anti–terrorism law, stressing on the rights of the detainee such as to appoint a lawyer and to judicial review.
Calls to abolish the act gained momentum after several leaders of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) were detained on Dec 13 last year for holding a protest in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 and making “slanderous” statements against the government.
Matters came to a head when Malaysia–Today editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin, Seputeh member of Parliament Teresa Kok and Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng were detained under the ISA on Sept 12.
Blogger Raja Petra was detained for an article with elements deemed insulting to Islam that could spark anger and affect the peace.
Kok, who was held under section 73 (1) for sparking racial and religious conflict over the azan call to prayer, was released after a week.
Tan was detained by police in Penang for her report on a speech by the then Bukit Bendera Umno chief Datuk Ahmad Ismail who had allegedly said “the Chinese are squatters”.
The Bar Council of Malaysia had passed six resolutions at an extraordinary general meeting, asking the government to abolish the ISA and other laws allowing detention without trial.
Former minister in the prime minister’s department Datuk Zaid Ibrahim had said the government should not have used the act on the trio as there were other laws to punish people who sparked racial tension such as the Sedition Act and the Penal Code.
He said the ISA was still relevant, provided it is used for its original purpose to detain terrorists conspiring to topple the government, and not misused for political interests.
People’s Progressive Party president Datuk M. Kayveas said the party would leave the Barisan Nasional if the government failed to amend the act before the next general election.
Despite the perception that the ISA is repressive, detainees can challenge their detention by fi ling a writ of habeas corpus in court.
On Nov 7, the Shah Alam High Court ordered Raja Petra’s release, ruling that his detention by the home minister under section 8 of the act did not fall within the scope of the section.
On Sept 6, 2002, the Federal Court released five opposition leaders and activists after finding that their arrest and detention on April 10 and 11, 2001 under Section 73 (1) was unlawful.
They were PKR information chief Mohamad Ezam Mohamed Nor and vice–president Tian Chua, reform activist Hishammudin Rais, Free Anwar Campaigndirector Raja Petra Kamaruddin and Jemaah Islamiah Malaysia president Saari Sungib.
Former chief justice Tun Mohamed Dzaiddin Abdullah told a seminar on the Constitution and human rights in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 30, 2003, that although the court had no authority to review the power of the home minister to detain under Section 8, it could review arrest and detention by the police under Section 73.
A former ISA detainee was awarded compensation of RM2.5 million last year after he successfully filed a suit against the police and government for his detention and torture since 1998.
Judge Datuk Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus said Abdul Malek Hussin had a right to compensation because his 10–day detention on Sept 25, 1998, and 57–day detention under the ISA was unlawful and mala fide (in bad faith). It was held that his interrogation at the federal police headquarters in Bukit Aman was to gain information for political purposes and was not concerned with national security.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the government had no plan to review the act as it was still relevant. Countries such as the United States and Britain had also implemented such laws for security reasons, he said.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar rejected claims that the ISA is used freely, stressing that the government had used it wisely and fairly.