Abolish the Internal Security Act in Malaysia!!!

1. The Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) and all other laws which provide for detention without trial are obnoxious and oppressive instruments of state maintained by the ruling government as instruments of control over our public life and civil society.

2. Similar laws like the ISA giving power to detain without trial were first enacted by our British colonisers to oppress, intimidated and control our people in their struggles during the earlier part of this century against British exploitation of our resources and in our fight for our independence. The British then detained thousands of nationalists fighters without trial and also executed some of them.

3. Laws such as the ISA which allow the government to use the police to detain a person indefinitely without trail would not have been tolerated by British citizens at home. But of course, a foreign and colonised population was another matter.

4. Internationally accepted human rights standards all recognise that one of the most important protections for individuals' liberty and personal protection is the right not to be detained or punished in any way without a fair and public trial. All the major religions which are practised in Malaysia recognise this very basic and fundamental right and condemn its violation. Any person with any sense of moral right will agree that detention without trial is an immoral and cruel practice. It means the severe punishment of detention is handed out without having to prove any offence. Since detention without trial means that there is no access to court or lawyers, frequently the detainee is subjected to mental and physical torture. For authoritarian leaders, detention without trial is very convenient for instilling fear and controlling a people.

5. Unfortunately, after our country's independence in 1957, our own leaders imitated their British predecessors, then recreated laws like the ISA in 1960 allowing them to detain a person indefinitely without trial. The ISA was then used to detain and abuse thousands of our people of all races, religions and walks of life in the last few decades. In the sixties, the labour movement and political opposition were attacked systematically using the ISA. In the seventies, besides trade unionists and political activists, leaders of the then active student movements were also attacked using this law.

6. The use of the ISA has continued through the eighties and nineties. We stand here today on the 10th anniversary of an infamous round of arrests of over a hundred Malaysians in "Operasi Lalang" crackdown which started on 27 October 1987. Those arrests included persons such as the Leader of the Opposition and a wide range of political, religious, social and environmental activists. No credible evidence of any wrong doing has ever been produced against those detained as with all other ISA detainees in the past. The detainees were simply the victims of the iron claws of politicians abusing power entrusted to them.

7. Malaysians stand here today to remember all physical, mental and other abuses inflicted on all the detainees in the past. Detainees have been kept in the past for long periods in solitary confinement without access to lawyers, family members or friends and subjected to physical and mental torture.

8. In Malaysia, our government has detained people without trial for continuous periods of up to sixteen years. Such detentions are a shame in our history akin to the injustices perpetrated by the apartheid regime in South Africa using an identical ISA against its own people.

9. Malaysians stand here to honour and remember every person who has been detained without trial as a victim of human rights violation. Not only is he or she made a victim, his or her family and loved ones are all made victims. And through fear - the main purpose of the ISA and other similar laws - our society is also made a victim.

10. Although it is the most infamous law, the ISA is unfortunately not the only law in Malaysia that allows the government to detain people without trail. In 1969, the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance 1969 was enacted followed by the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act in 1985. These laws have also been used to detain thousands of Malaysians without trial for alleged criminal offences. They violate the most basic of moral and human rights precepts - that no one should be punished without clear public proof in a court. Our criminal justice system is completely contradictory and discriminatory; we give alleged murderers and rapists a trial - but detain without compunction thousands of other without trial. Detention periods under these laws are also lengthy and punitive. The detentions are under the complete control of the police and the Ministry of Home Affairs. Since there is no public scrutiny of the detentions by the courts, one can expect much abuse to happen to the detainees and their families.

11.Malaysians stand collectively here today to demand that the Malaysian government rid our beloved country of the shame and injustice perpetrated by the existence and use of such laws. Not only must we remove these laws, we must also remove Article 149 of our Constitution which gives legitimacy to such obnoxious laws. Our moral exhortations to and condemnations of other countries in the world must be backed by consistent actions in our own country.

12. Malaysians ask our government to emulate what the South African nation has proudly accomplished very recently. The people of South Africa have repealed their previous apartheid constitution and have promulgated a new constitution based on equality with guarantees of freedom. Consistent with that, they have repealed completely in 1994 their identical ISA which was used regularly to detain their citizens.

Malaysians call upon the government to:
a) repeal the ISA and all other laws allowing for detention without trial;
b) release all detainees held under such laws or charge them in open court for any alleged offences.

1 comment:

Diversity Dude said...

There is a difference between UMNO and Barisan Nasional. I want to make it clear that it is not the Barisan Nasional (BN) government, but the UMNO government. It is not the government, but UMNO. Barisan Nasional is a coalition of unequals, not equals. UMNO is the big brother in BN. Therefore UMNO must be held responsible; and more importantly, UMNO must not be allowed to hide behind the BN banner. UMNO is the enemy, not BN. UMNO is a racist party which has perfected the art of divide and rule. If moderate Malays, the natives of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Chinese and Indians unite, then they can vote UMNO out of office.


I have come to the conclusion that the easy solution is to completely defeat UMNO in the next elections. We have to vote racist UMNO out of office. UMNO is bent on divide and rule, which has affect Malaysia badly. It is for the next generation of Malaysians to undo the damage done to Malaysia by UMNO. There is a dire need for moderate Malays at the political level. There is also a need for the natives of Sabah and Sarawak to form a third force to protect their own interests. Imagine how UMNO had dealt with Sabah; from a rich state, Sabah has been reduced to a poor state subservient to UMNO. There has to be an explanation. The only way is UMNO has to be voted out of office. The younger generation of Malaysians do not like racist politics and UMNO must be taught a lesson by the younger generation by voting UMNO out of office. Please vote for any party but UMNO/BN.

To my Sabah and Sarawak brothers and sisters I tell you that historically UMNO has always avoided a Royal Commission of Inquiry as much as possible many times. Historically, UMNO has misused the Internal Security Act numerous times. Any political party that is an accomplice to UMNO is also the enemy. Any political party that is a co-conspirator to UMNO is also the enemy. To my Sabah and Sarawak brothers and sisters I say that you should form a third force. A third force would require unity among Sabahans and Sarawakians.

We have to get into the habit of putting people in office through votes, and removing people from office through votes. Nobody should be allowed to topple the government. We have to institutionalize the multi-party political system, one person one vote, and an independent judiciary.



In the 2004 elections (11th General Election), the voters gave good support to Mr.Abdullah Badawi. But reforms did not come. Why? Probably because UMNO had done well in the elections. If UMNO had done well in the elections, then the election results tell UMNO that the voters are satisfied with the status quo. If the voters are satisfied with UMNO, then no reforms are necessary. In the 2008 elections (12th General Elections), UMNO did not do well, but she managed to win. UMNO did lose the 2/3 majority in the Parliament, but she did win, nevertheless. Will UMNO undertake reforms now? I would not be surprised if she did not. Why should she? UMNO is still the winner in the elections; and she can plan to rise and may even succeed to rise again. So, as long as she wins, she will never undertake the reforms. So, how do the voters get the reforms that they need? The voters will get the reforms when UMNO is completely defeated in the 13th General Elections. If UMNO wins zero seats in the next elections (13th General Elections), then some other party would have to rule Malaysia. Let us call it Party B. If UMNO is completely defeated in the next elections (13th General Elections), then Party B would rule Malaysia. Would Party B undertake reforms? If Party B does not undertake reforms, then voters would know what to do.

There is no doubt that UMNO has used gerrymandering to strengthen herself. If we removed gerrymandering from UMNO, then there would be a reduced UMNO. So the non-UMNO voters of Malaysia have good reasons to vote against UMNO.

It is possible that UMNO has used the Police Force to strengthen herself. The Police Force is required to be neutral. But is the Police Force neutral? I appeal to the Police Force to be neutral.

UMNO is a race based political party and also the big brother of BN. So, the complete defeat of UMNO in the next elections is the only way to get reforms. The complete defeat of UMNO in the next elections is the only way to get a new beginning.

UMNO is inclined to believe that Malaysians cannot do anything if they are in any way dissatisfied. The voters, however, have to send a strong message to UMNO that the voters can do something: the voters can vote.

So, the next step for Malaysians is to completely defeat UMNO/BN in the next elections.
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The below is a copy and paste from http://hsudarren.wordpress.com/


A third force

There is no smoke without fire. Rumours have been abound since MArch 8 that Sabahan parties may quit BN and join the opposition. As with most rumours in Malaysia, this has turned out to be not just speculation with the announcement of SAPP that it would move a vote of no confidence against Prime MInister AAB.

In the light of this announcement, BN would have no choice but to kick SAPP out of BN. Out of the 14 component parties, there would be 13 left.

There are also rumours that more than 10 others MPs would quit BN, either with their parties or individually. Will these turn out to be true also? After SAPP, I would not discount anything.

But politically, this group of more than 10 MPs (10 to 18 as rpeorted in Chinese Malaysiakini) would be more effective to help the people of Sabah, if they can remain as independents , without joining Pakatan.

Unless of course, they think for their own self interest, and that by joining Pakatan and bringing down BN governemnt, they would be rewarded with Ministerial positions and so on… And that would mean the politics of patronage, which we voters have been trying so hard to get rid of, may still be with us even with a change of government.

If this group can remain as independents, then they will hold the trump card, and can in fact force BN in general and UMNO in particular to change. They could demand for better govenrnace; they could ask the government to accelerate the setting up of judicial commission, the formation of which is facing some resistance as some in UMNO would not want this to happen; they could also ask for an completely independent Anti Corruption COmmission.

In a nutshell, these people could play leverage to get BN to return to the people.

By staying out of Pakatan, they could still help form a new government if UMNO does not change and if Pakatan can get enough MPs to leave BN. Once Pakatan forms a minority government, the leverage to get Pakatan deliver what it has promised will be much greater if this group stays out of Pakatan. If Pakatan does not deliver, this group can again exert its independence and vote Pakatan out , too.

When there is a 2 party system with almost equal strength, a small third independent force will be much more effective if it remains outside both the big brothers. That is what I hope will happen and this is what I have advocating.

Dr Hsu’s Forum



The above is a copy and paste from http://hsudarren.wordpress.com/