The ISA, Same Old Story

Monday 22 Sept editors of the electronic and print media received an SMS from MIC saying party president S.Samy Vellu will be meeting the prime minister the next day to ask for the release of five Hindraf leaders being detained under the ISA. A press conference has been scheduled later in the day we were also told.

Come noon Tuesday 23 Sept we received another SMS from the MIC to say the scheduled media conference has been cancelled. No reason given. A call to an aide of Samy Vellu revealed that the meeting with the PM had taken place but the MIC president "didn't want to say anything". Hence the cancellation of the 3pm press conference.

One need not be a genius to figure it out. It was clear that the government did not budged on the ISA detainees. In fact it was expected. And Samy Vellu did not have anything happy to announce. Made sense it was called off. (A statement was later released by the MIC quoting Samy Vellu as saying among other things the PM has agreed to consider and look into the matter). More of a PR and face saving exercise for both sides if not anything else, wouldn't you agree?

So what's the point here? Well, despite BN components joining in the anti ISA campaigners, the act is not about to go any where. That's the point. On the day Samy Vellu met the PM to seek the release of the Hindraf leaders, Raja Petra Kamaruddin was sent to Kamunting. In fact, a day earlier Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar in commenting Samy Vellu impending meeting with the PM had said everyone was free to voice their opinion on the ISA but the final decision was his and the government. And the government has been consistently consistent with regards to the ISA, despite calls for the act to be abolished are getting louder by the day.

The government have it's reasons for wanting to keep the ISA, all of which we are familiar with. Let's not go into that. But strange as it might be, the ISA have its supporters. More strange when the support come from a former detainee.

Zahid Hamidi, who was detained for 10 days under the act after the Anwar Ibrahim fallout in 1998, was said to have said that the "ISA is good to keep peace in the country". He was commenting on the recent ISA arrests of RPK, Teresa kok and Sin Chew journalist Tan Hoon Cheng. ( Zahid is now minister in the PM department).

The anti-ISA groups on their part also have reasons for wanting the act to be abolished. That too we are familiar with. So let's not go there also. But there are folks who say the act is not cruel on it's own. But become cruel they say, if wrongly used. Abused so to speak. Just how do we determine the ISA have been "wrongly used". No easy tasks. Impossible even? To that the anti ISA groups are saying why give the avenue for abuse by having the act in the first place? Do away with it and you do away with the abuse.

Where do we go from here? To be honest I don't know.But I do know the anti- ISA momentum will not fade away. We know of the many anti-ISA gatherings which have been planned. We know also the government will continue to defend the use of the act. The impasse is set to go on for sometime. Or a long time. By MOHSIN ABDULLAH/ MySinchew)

Mohsin Abdullah
MySinchew
2008.09.27