It is shocking to hear that RPK has been placed under solidarity confinement for the first 3 months of his detention under the ISA. Can you imagine being confined to a small room without being able to interact with anyone for even 1 week?  This is for 3 months!  This is mental torture, nothing less. Perhaps, this is the normal practice at the Kamunting detention centre, but it is still torture and it must stop.

What has RPK done to deserve this?  If he has defamed anyone, bring him to court and charge him.  If he has committed any offences under the Sedition Act, bring him to court and charge him.  In fact, there are already a number of police reports lodged against him and he faces charges of criminal defamation and sedition.  Whether these reports and charges have any basis let the court decide and give him an opportunity to defend himself.

By no stretch of the imagination can RPK be considered a threat to national security.  He is NOT advocating violence of any sort.  There is no communist insurgency in the country which was the main reason why the ISA was enacted.  The only reason to detain him under the ISA can only be for political reasons.

To deny RPK the right to the habeas corpus hearing on the 23 Sept by changing the detention order, shows the callousness and the total disregard for human rights on the part of the government. It is a cowardly act. The BN government has really lost the moral authority to govern the country.

It was reported in the mainstream media that the home minister, Syed Hamid made the absurd contention that, “the people should understand why the government decided to use the ISA, as what was important was to turn offenders into members of society who could contribute to nation building.” Apparently RPK has to undergo religious rehabilitation in order for him to be “turned over” so that he will contribute to nation building? Syed Hamid is fast losing all his credibility by making all the ridiculous statements.

Stop the torture in Kamunting and release RPK and the other ISA detainees!