JOHOR BARU: Johor police said the Internal Security Act (ISA) was used on Cheng Lee Whee as she had spread information that could cause fear among the people.
The Johor Baru Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) secretary was detained on Friday following a statement she posted on the state police's web portal, alleging that police had abused their power in evicting the squatters at the Kampung Baru Plentong Tengah settlement.
State deputy police chief Datuk Tun Hisan Tun Hamzah said the ISA was not restricted only to communists.
"It is a big act which covers many aspects of internal security, not just communism.
"It was definitely proper for us to invoke Section 28 of the act to detain her for spreading information which could cause fear among the people," he said yesterday.
Puchong member of parliament Gobind Singh Deo was reported as saying that invoking the ISA was not proper in Cheng's case as she was not a communist nor a threat to national security.
Elaborating on the events that led to Cheng's arrest, Tun Hisan said police were at the Kampung Baru Plentong Tengah settlement on Thursday to keep peace and order and to ensure a court's eviction order was carried out without any interference.
"This was based on a tip-off that the eviction would encounter protest."
Tun Hisan said 27 people were arrested for preventing government servants from carrying out their duty and ignoring the court order. The demolition of unoccupied squatter houses at the settlement was completed in the evening.
The next day, Cheng posted a strongly worded statement on the state police's web portal, which claimed that the police had deployed water cannon trucks and the Federal Reserve Unit in the operation.
Tun Hisan said Cheng's statement was all lies.
"We arrested her at 10.25pm the same day. As we needed to investigate Cheng's allegations, we applied for a remand order from a magistrate's court but it was rejected. She was released and is on police bail until Nov 1.
"We will submit our investigation papers to the deputy public prosecutors' office to decide whether to press charges against her."
NST
20/10/08
1 comment:
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.
For decades UMNO has strengthened her position by destroying the independence of the judiciary. So much so that high officials and the Police can almost act with impunity.
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 affected 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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