Known as the Association for the Promotion of Human Rights (Proham), the ex-Suhakam members accused the government of hiding behind the law instead of being transparent with the PSM arrests made in the run-up to the outlawed July 9 Bersih rally.
“Yes, that is how it is,” chairman Tan Sri Simon Sipaun said when asked if Putrajaya was hiding behind the EO.
“Cabinet ministers should put themselves in the shoes of those detained and think of what it feels like,” he added.
Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar and five others have been detained under the EO since July 2 after initially being arrested on June 25 with two dozen other party members for allegedly “waging war against the Agong” and trying to revive communism.
The EO, which allows for detention without trial for 60 days, can be extended for an unlimited number of two-year periods should the home minister order so.
Proham deputy chief Datuk Hamdan Adnan also added that “the court of public opinion is mightier than the court of law.”
“By using the EO, it only raises more questions for the police to explain to the public. Not just locally, but globally,” he said, adding that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has had to explain his government’s actions in his recently concluded official visits to London and the Vatican City.
Although the nearly 2,000 people arrested before and during the July 9 rally in the city have been released by police, the six remain in detention, prompting regular candlelight vigils in front of the Bukit Aman police headquarters.
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Bersih leaders have also called for the release of the six even as Barisan Nasional (BN) embarked on an extensive damage limitation exercise due to the stinging tone taken by the international press towards the response of the ruling coalition.
Although declared illegal, Bersih went ahead with the July 9 rally that saw chaotic scenes in the capital as tens of thousands poured into the streets, resulting in nearly 1,700 arrests, scores injured and the death of the husband of a PKR division leader.
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