Wednesday, October 08, 2008

ISA abuse by the Malaysian government -1

People forwarded this to me - find it eye-opening (if not already open). Have a nice day, =)

What is ISA?
ISA - Internal Security Act; was enacted in 1960 by our 1st PM, Tunku Abdul Rahman, to deal with communist threat.Tunku promised that the Act would never be used to stifle legitimate opposition and silent lawful dissent.

Who has failed us, the Rakyat?
Firstly, Tunku himself-under his administration in 1965, Burhanuddin Helmi (a nationalist who was political opponent - PAS leader) was detained under ISA until his death in 1969. By any chance, Helmi has never been involved in the armed rebellion or communism that the ISA was designed to deal with. This appeared to have set a precedent that politics can trump the rule of law.In the following years, ISA was used against people who was viewed as threatening to the incumbent administration.

In 1976, ‘sasterawan negara’ the late Tan Sri A Samad Ismail was detained under ISA.
How can this writer ever been a threat to national security?
...to be continued...