Dr M gives the game away: BN may revive ISA if given stronger mandate

The call by former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the people to give Najib a stronger govt to revive ISA is evidence of the fact that BN is not committed to reforms in particular the repeal of archaic and undemocratic laws in Malaysia.

The former PM is quoted to have said Najib had abolished the ISA “fearing the loss of more support” and “succumbing to pressures from the opposition” in an interview with Kwong Wah Daily recently.

The truth finally emerges. It appears Najib isn’t moving his reform agenda because he wants to. He is merely doing it to ensure his and his governments own political survival.

This is significant as Najib has continuously said in Parliament that the repeal of the ISA was at the behest of his government. This cannot be true in light of what Tun has now declared.

Look beyond GE-13

The rakyat should look over and beyond the so called triumphs Najib boasts his government has achieved.

It is quite clear that Najib fears the growing strength of the rakyat and he is therefore playing to the gallery in the hope that he wins bigger support in the next election, only so that UMNO can thereafter move to recapture lost ground.

The fact remains that UMNO is minded to and will revive the ISA or reintroduce laws such as the ISA in future. This threat is dangerously real.

UMNO would have then achieved two victories, which is to have enacted new security laws with the widest of scope to curb amongst others, political dissent under the guise of the repeal of the ISA this session and later reintroduce the draconian ISA when given a stronger mandate by the people.

And it doesn’t really help that the PM has thought it fit to remain silent on the matter despite its gravity, right up until now.

GOBIND SINGH DEO IS MP PUCHONG

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Dr M gives the game away: BN may revive ISA if given stronger mandate – Gobind
Written by Gobind Singh Deo
11 May 2012 – Malaysia Chronicle

The death of civil liberties

MAY 16 — Though the government has said much about the repeal of the infamous Internal Security Act, little has been said to explain how its so-called replacement, the Security Offences (Special Measures) Bill (SOA), will impact on our lives.

Even less has been said about the bill tabled to amend the Penal Code that went hand in hand with the SOA. I think there was a reason for this.

To say that the two bills are draconian would be a gross understatement. They brutally curtail the constitutional freedom of Malaysians to dissent. It seems that we have been made the victims of a sleight of hand.

While we were being distracted by the song and dance that attended the termination of the ISA, Parliament was being harnessed to diabolical purpose. The passing of the two bills has sounded the death knell of civil liberties.

I am not given to hyperbole. The facts speak for themselves.

The SOA is more a procedural instrument. It puts in place the legal framework for the investigation and prosecution of what are described as “security offences”. It allows for the kinds of invasive measures that we have come to understand are needed for governments to combat terrorism effectively. Government tells us that terrorism is the raison d’être of the legislation.

The SOA could arguably be justified on this basis, though I question the need for such extreme anti-terrorism legislation in light of our not having been subjected to terrorist attacks or even threats. Curiously, the preamble to the SOA states that action has been taken and further action is threatened by a body of persons both inside and outside Malaysia to cause organised violence against Malaysians, to excite disaffection against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and to procure the alteration though unlawful means of legal institutions in the nation. This is news to me. These are matters of great significance to us; they suggest that we are virtually in a state of war or that we are in the midst of an insurgency.

The truth of the matter is that we have not been made the subject of such scurrilous action and we have not been threatened with such action. The bill recites this so the government can invoke a provision of the Federal Constitution, Article 149, that allows for Parliament to enact laws that contravene certain constitutional guarantees including those that prohibit detention without trial and guarantee a fair trial.

The SOA allows, amongst other things, detention without trial for 28 days and empowers the Attorney-General to take extraordinary measures including the interception of all forms of communication where he has reason to believe a Security Offence (this is explained below) has been committed.

We should not lose sight of the fact that the ISA was enacted under Article 149 to address the guerrilla insurgency we faced in the 1960s. I have been made to understand that the Opposition’s unwillingness to associate with an obvious untruth is one of the main reasons it does not support the bill.

The fact that government has resorted to Article 149 gives credence to suggestions that the ISA has merely been repackaged and that the government is not ready to give up the political advantages that such legislation gives it. As one minister has observed, there were abuses under the ISA and no law is beyond abuse.

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The death of civil liberties — Malik Imtiaz Sarwar
May 16, 2012 – TMI

Can the separation of power in Malaysia become reality?

SEPT 20 — The recent announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of pending political reforms is an important step in the right direction for the country. These reforms are needed to complement the earlier economic ones. The prime minister’s boldness in enacting these reforms has been applauded by all quarters, except for supremacist groups such as Perkasa who have been agitating for the harsher use of punitive laws against groups opposed to their notion of Malay rights and who are against any liberalisation of the status quo.

However, critics and cynics have questioned whether the reforms are being undertaken by the government to gain popularity and to counter the increasing potency of these civil liberty issues in the coming general election. Concern has also been expressed on whether the new laws to deter terrorism may be misused by the authorities and may have the same effect of stifling legitimate dissent. Also the proposed decision to abolish annual licensing for the print media under the Printing Presses and Publications Act is really a minor improvement since the home minister’s decision not to renew a licence is final and cannot be disputed in any court of law.

At the same time, there also appears to be no move to rescind or amend the Sedition Act and the Official Secrets Act which have been used to muzzle legitimate political dissent. For now though, Malaysians should comfort themselves that the proposed new laws will — if truly implemented — take some powers away from the Home Ministry and return them to the judiciary. This makes the role of the judiciary even more important to ensure that there is no abuse of power by the executive.

Restore the independence of the judiciary

Separation of power of the main branches of the state is a core characteristic of all democratic systems. Adherence to this key concept is also critical to the protection of constitutional rights and the attainment of Vision 2020’s lofty goals. The drafters of our Constitution had laid the groundwork for this by specifying “the supremacy of the law and the power and duty of the courts to annul any attempt to subvert any of the fundamental rights [contained in the Constitution] whether by legislative or administrative action or otherwise” (Reid Commission Report, para 161). Since 1988 however, the independence of the judiciary has been compromised by numerous actions which have undermined its powers and circumscribed its responsibility to defend the Constitution from legislative and other pressures.

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Can the separation of power in Malaysia become reality? — Koon Yew Yin
September 20, 2011 – Malaysian Insider

The ‘best democracy’ where yellow tees banned?

Cala: PM Najib Razak has expressed his intention “to make Malaysia the best democracy in the world”. He said that the repeal of the ISA “was possible because of the successful development of the nation, the increased maturity of the people and greater awareness of human rights”.

He emphasised that this move was part of the political transformation that the government had undertaken along with changes in economics and education. He also said that the government would champion the “cause of the people in all its aspects”.

But can the repeal of the ISA (assume it shall be) alone result in Malaysia having the best democracy without improvements in other human rights domains?

First, to an ordinary man on the street, democracy must come along with good governance by placing the interests of people first.

Second, is there rule of law? Will the tattered judiciary be independent from executive’s jaws? Will the police be professional, or are they as usual the ‘licensed thugs’ of the regime?

Third, how about the fight against corruption? Can we expect Malaysia to move closer to Singapore along this line and rid itself from the rule of the thieves?

Fourth, is the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) to be abolished? If not, why not? As it is, Freedom House in its 2010 edition places Malaysia in the category of “partly free democracy”.

Indeed, Najib must do more than just repealing the ISA.

Foo: PM Najib, don’t stop at the Internal Security Act; what about the PPPA, Official Secrets Act (OSA) and a string of other arbitrary and draconian acts?

And not forgetting an independent judiciary, police and civil service. Am I asking too much? These are but baby steps if you ever aspire “to make Malaysia the best democracy”.

Multi Racial: Malaysia the ‘best democratic country’ in the world where one could be caught and prosecuted for merely wearing yellow T-shirts in support of a cause? No, Malaysians are not stupid.

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The ‘best democracy’ where yellow tees banned?
Sep 19 2011 – Malaysiakini

Dr M’s autocracy at its worst

Over here, Malaysia’s most famous autocrat has been busy in his autumnal years trying to whitewash his record in office by publishing his semi-fictional memoirs. Even before it was published, he couldn’t help but claim, in a pre-launch publicity, that Operation Lalang was not his doing but that of the police. This was not surprising since Operation Lalang was Mahathir’s worst abuse of power during his 23-year rule. The White Paper on Operation Lalang published in 1988 was itself the worst example of official whitewash to justify the arrests and detentions.
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In his haste to pull the wool over the eyes of those who may not remember Operation Lalang by blaming it on the police, Mahathir has overlooked something that is so elementary to the ISA, namely, it is the Home Minister (ie. Mahathir at the time) who signs the two-year detention order after the first sixty days of solitary confinement. When he signed those 2-year orders near the end of 1988, he would have noticed a stark fact – all the detainees were Opposition leaders and other dissidents while all the BN detainees had been conveniently released during the sixty days! The IGP didn’t sign those detention orders – Mahathir did! He conveniently omitted such stark historical facts from his memoirs.
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The arrest and detention of leaders from the whole spectrum of Malaysian society under Operation Lalang was indeed the realization of that well-known quote attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power:

”First they came for the communists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me
and there was no one left to speak out for me.”
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“World of difference” between contempt and the ISA

Several lawyers have rebutted Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s (picture) argument that equated contempt laws with the Internal Security Act (ISA) that provides detention without trial.

The former prime minister wrote in his blog yesterday that both laws represent excessive concentration of power, and accused lawyers who support the former but not the latter of practising double standards.

Bar Council vice-president Lim Chee Wee explained there here was a “world of difference” between the practice of contempt of court and the ISA.

“For contempt, the process involves the alleged contemnor being given the opportunity to appeal against the decision. Unlike ISA where the detainee is deprived of the right to defend himself against the accusations levelled against him.

“In other words, there is natural justice or right to be heard in contempt process and none in ISA.” he told The Malaysian Insider.
…

“(The court) must have some jurisdiction to control its proceedings and to command respect.”

He said that while such laws should not be abused, Dr Mahathir’s analogies were nonetheless not apropos, and criticised Mahathir for not understanding the judiciary.

“The former prime minister has never quite appreciated the workings of an independent judiciary.”

Bar Council president Ragunath Kesavan told The Malaysian Insider that the lawyers had pushed for qualification of contempt laws in 1998 after Zainur Zakaria was charged with contempt by Justice Augustine Paul during Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s first sodomy trial.

“The prime minister said there’s no need for any qualification of laws of contempt and, if I recall correctly, the prime minister at the time was Mahathir,” he said wryly.

“Mahathir was not receptive at all.”

Slippery road to authoritarianism

She’s Definitely Not My Type
AUGUST 2, 2009 – Imagine…

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So I thought I’d get a little fancy and look it up. Here’s what I learned and you can go to this link for a more detailed description. For now, here are ten especially revealing characteristics of authoritarianism:

• Centralisation of power to enforce a repressive system that excludes potential challengers
• Rule of men – not the rule of law that prevails
• Rigged elections
• Major political decisions made by unelected officials behind close doors
• A non-accountable bureaucracy staffed by the regime
• No guarantee of civil liberties and no tolerance for a meaningful opposition
• Repressive control of civil society, such that civic and political groups are heavily regulated and controlled – which would reflect the lack of free speech and a free press
• Control is maintained through the support of the security apparatus and through control of the opposition and internal dissent
• Creation of conformity and allegiance through intense propaganda
• Marked by indefinite rule by a single party.

The next time anyone – especially some Umno/BN puppet – claims we’re a democracy, perhaps it would be worth reminding them of the above. There is clearly no doubt that our system – in very explicit ways – exhibits each one of the above ten traits.

Of course, as we see with our experience, authoritarian regimes can disguise themselves and dress themselves up as “democratic.” After all, we hold elections! We have a parliament! I’m reminded of the fact that Iran recently held elections, and I don’t think anyone with even bird brains thinks Iran is a democracy. Besides, even a dictator like Saddam Hussein held elections in Iraq and it had a sitting parliament.

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IGP’s vengeance against Pakatan leaders

Kit Siang claims IGP out to get him, Pakatan leaders
Aug 2 2009 – Malaysian Insider

KUANTAN, Aug 2 — Veteran DAP leader Lim Kit Siang has charged that the police are looking for him and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders in connection with yesterday’s anti-ISA rally in Kuala Lumpur because it is part of Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan’s personal vendetta.

“Musa Hassan is wreaking personal vengeance against me and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders for the Parliamentary Roundtable last week calling for a new IGP to create a safe Malaysia,” Lim said at a Kuantan DAP branch dinner last night.

The DAP parliamentary chief and other Pakatan leaders such as Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang were part of tens of thousands of people who attempted to rally against what they called the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows for detention without trial. Police crushed the protest and arrested 589 people, including several politicians.

“For the first time in 43 years in politics under six prime ministers from Bapa Malaysia Tunku Abdulah Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein, Tun Mahathir, Tun Abdullah and Datuk Seri Najib Razak, I experienced first hand today the indiscriminate police use of tear gas and its corrosive effects.

“Is this an indication that the Najib premiership is going to be the most draconian of all prime ministers since Merdeka in 1957?” asked the Ipoh Timur MP.

Creating a culture of fear

(ref: Malaysiakini report, “Police stop anti-ISA event in Ampang” )

First, they arrested people including Members of Parliament while they were singing the national anthem at the anti-ISA candlelight vigil in PJ on 9 Nov 2008. Then, they arrested the emcee at a similar candlelight vigil in Penang on 15 Nov 2008 despite the crowd agreeing to disperse when asked to. Yesterday (21 Nov), they again arrested 7 people at a gathering to launch an anti-ISA campaign organised by the Abolish ISA Movement (GMI).

This pattern of intimidation of Malaysians at peaceful gatherings is totally uncalled for. It is an ominous sign that the country is regressing back to an authoritarian rule where a culture of fear is created to silence its citizens.

Malaysians must not allow this to happen. We must strengthen the resolve to reject the ultimate tool of intimidation against Malaysians – the ISA – and to call for its abolishment.

(the following is extracted from the article, “Abuse of Power Under the ISA” in the previous issue of the Aliran magazine featuring a special coverage on the ISA)

The ISA confers draconian powers. The ruling government has proceeded to abuse those powers with impunity over the years. The insurgency ended years ago. The country ceased to face an external confrontation even earlier. Today our society is in no danger of being torn apart by violence.

But ISA continues to claim its victims from all walks of life and all ethnic backgrounds.

Made up of men and women of all ages, the ISA victims have included suspected — and let us never forget to emphasise ‘suspected’ — communists, socialists, trade unionists, peasant leaders, student activists, oppositionists, educationists, chauvinists, secessionists, environmentalists, Islamicists, NGO workers, church activists, secret society members, identity card and passport racketeers, counterfeiters, and smugglers of illegal aliens.

As you can see it takes all kinds of people to inhabit the world of the ISA.

But ISA’s present detainees and ex-detainees share this in common: In the eyes of those who uphold the just rule of law, these ISA victims have never been tried in an open court of law, let alone convicted of specific crimes against society.

It is fundamentally no concern of ours whether they think differently, see the world differently, speak, or even act differently from the rest of us. So long as they break no law, so long as they are not openly charged, fairly tried and justly convicted, we must presume them innocent.

Of course, there are people who don’t believe in these basic principles of the rule of law. There are people who want to impose harsh rule by unjust laws. Hence, the Minister of Home Affairs, his ruling politicians, and the police who do their bidding have always treated and continue to treat ISA detainees as worse than convicted common criminals.

An ISA victim is typically incarcerated when a police officer believes him or her to have ‘acted or is about to act or is likely to act in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia’. It’s not as if the ISA victim is typically apprehended when he or she is on the brink of committing a crime. He or she is usually arrested at home in the early hours of the morning when the people disturbing the peace are the arresting officers!

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The day justice prevailed

Change has come to Malaysia!
by Martin Jalleh
(MJ from the Shah Alam Court)

It was a very moving moment in time – one which your memory will forever hold and behold. I had thought that we only get to see this in a Disney movie. But it was happening right in a courtroom in Bolehland today (7 Nov. 2008).

The packed courtroom of Raja Petra (RPK) supporters could not contain their joy. They clapped and burst out into cries of excitement and elation even before Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad could finish delivering his judgment.

They were gently reprimanded by the judge that they were in a Court of Law. But for some it was impossible to be silent. You can’t be restrained when it is such a great and glorious victory! And so they whispered: “We have won! We have won! RPK is free!”

The judge ruled that the detention of RPK under the ISA was illegal (unconstitutional) and ordered his immediate release. The court found the (Home) minister had not followed proper procedure under Section 8 of the ISA.

As the judge left for his chambers, everyone sprung up…some with their clenched fists raised high in the air – speechless. Others grabbed the nearest person available to express their elation whether it be a stranger, supporter or Special Branch.

“Yes, yes, yes!” proclaimed Angela from Seremban who has attended every RPK-related court case with her son. Yes, justice is done; yes, the truth always wins; yes, let us continue the good fight!

“God bless the judge…What a brave judge! I hope nothing will happen to him and they won’t transfer him elsewhere…” a man who identified himself as Lim declared to his friends.

A visibly moved Ignatius Gomez, who was present with his wife and daughter to “lend our voices and presence to any movement that works towards the abolishment of the ‘barbaric’ ISA” proclaimed loudly: “Justice has prevailed!”

A Brave woman

Marina was moved to tears. She hugged their two daughters, Suraya and Sarah – who have been her sturdy support and who have kept a very brave smile for their mother in the long struggle for their father’s freedom.

Without any hesitation Marina reached out next in deep appreciation to RPK’s lawyers – a team of young, dedicated, daring, diligent and determined attorneys who, time and again, won the admiration and acknowledgement of everyone. Lead lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar’s brilliance and humility in court will remain etched in the memory of many.

In fact, the team, together with other lawyers who had come to show their support, adorned in their court attire, and in all their distinguished shapes and sizes, abandoned their stoic and sage-like disposition and spontaneously hugged each other. Alas, lawyers are human too!

Some of the supporters sat still and smiled to themselves. It was a judgment they found too difficult to believe! Or they wanted to relish the moment and watched, enthralled by the unreserved show of emotion of the rest.

The doors of the courtroom swung open. Marina came out of the court and as the sea of people stood behind, she thanked each and everyone who had played an unique and vital role to get her husband free.

Surely each person, for having stood up for justice, served as a tiny “ripple”, that when put together, made up that giant wave of change that no person (definitely not the Home Minister) nor the powers that be could stop.

Fighting back the tears Marina said: “Though I was hopeful I had not expected the decision. This is a very good sign that our country is changing and I hope that this change will continue…”

“I want to thank the lawyers, the supporters, the bloggers, the reporters…I am so overwhelmed by the decision that I am short of words….Thanks to the judge for his very courageous decision.”

The “celebration” continued on in the court’s foyer. It was only the beginning. The judge had ordered that RPK be brought (from Kamunting) before the court by 4pm, after which he would be released.

Free at last!

It was time for lunch, but none seemed hungry anymore. I followed a group of RPK supporters many of whom I was meeting for the first time. Robert Choo, a retired college lecturer told everyone: “Lunch is on me. Order anything you want. Very rarely do we get such a brave judgment!”

The diversity was amazing. It was a multi-racial group with ages ranging from 16 to 60 years. We were all middle-class. Except for the self-employed, the rest had to take leave to be in court. The group was predominantly women…very vocal ones too!

As I listened intently I realized the conversation was different from the usual. It was not centred on our obsession with food. They spoke about the candlelight vigils in Seremban, PJ and Ipoh . They shared their fears that RPK would be rearrested and what they could do to prevent it!

What made them want to attend the court case? What motivated them to take the risk? Why did they want to exchange a very comfortable and consumeristic existence for an involvement that is often thankless and even looked upon by the majority as being “stupid”?

It was much more than just giving support to RPK. They were angry with the arrogance and abuse of the BN government. They were fed up of being treated like kids and of a government trying to fool all the people all the time.

They expressed their disgust over desperate politicians playing the religious and racial card and gambling the country away. They looked forward to a new government of integrity, credibility and accountability.

They felt that it was time to take a stand, to say and do something, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant…like just by being present in court – even though at times they found it hard to comprehend what was going on!

They realized they were not alone…and their growing solidarity has helped them to soldier on. They spoke of their proud association with Harris Ibrahim, Bernard Khoo and a host of frontline exemplary leaders. They saw in each other a comrade for justice and they displayed an obvious synergy that has freed them from the culture of fear.

Finally, the moment came – the man of the hour appeared…looking tired and even in a daze, still stunned by the court’s decision. As soon as he left the warm embrace of his wife and children, his supporters mobbed and moved him all the way into the courtroom!

Justice Syed Ahmad Helmy ordered RPK to be released. He thanked the lawyers of both sides for their professionalism. The crowd stood in deep respect and reverence as the brave judge left the courtroom.

They garlanded their hero. There was another round of hugs. Some looked up to the heavens in prayerful thanksgiving. Tears flowed freely in celebration of the freedom of one who cared and dared enough to write so that others may be free.

Raja Petra looked as though he was “holding court” on the front steps of the Shah Alam Court. No fetters could extinguish the fire and fervour in the man. It fact, it had fanned the flame in him: “”We have to fight all-out and get the ISA abolished!”

The peerless Patriot and Prince was fittingly driven away in a red Rolls Royce. As his supporters parted, it was obvious that they were not going to rest on their laurels. They were already talking of meeting in the candlelight vigils in Seremban and PJ.

It was truly a historic day of hugs, heart and hope. In contrast to the cavalier attitude of Syed Hamid in the recent ISA arrests, there was the calibre and courage of Syed Ahmad Helmy, a glimmer of hope in the judiciary.

Compared to the arrogance of the Umno-dominated government which believes that might is right, there was the humility of ordinary citizens who achieved the extraordinary in their multi-racial solidarity!

The Home Minister wants to appeal the judge’s decision – which he claims he respects! We understand. Umno’s internal security is threatened and it is rapidly losing its appeal. Further Syed Hamid wants to be very “appealing”, he is standing in the coming Umno elections.

Former de facto Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim has said that Umno cannot change. And as can be seen from last night’s Anti-ISA gathering when the “uncivilized” police ran riot in the Petaling Jaya Civic Centre, the Police cannot change. They will continue to be arrogant.

Our hope for change lies in the rakyat. The people’s involvement in the process that resulted in RPK being free confirms this.

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