Amnesty International said today that the
detention under the Internal Security Act (ISA) of 13 people in Tawau,
Sabah, has made a mockery of Prime Minister Najib Razak’s earlier
promise to abolish the draconian law.
“The
Malaysian government has made a mockery of its plan to scrap the
Internal Security Act by using it to detain people once again,” said Sam
Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia director.
“Promises to abolish ISA detention are not enough. Prime Minister Najib needs to end it in practice,” he said in a statement today.
“If the Malaysian police have grounds to suspect these 13 detainees of a legitimate crime, they should charge them or else release them.
“Locking people up without charge or trial shows flagrant disrespect for the rule of law.”
Yesterday inspector-general of police (IGP) Ismail Omar confirmed that seven Malaysians and six foreigners had been detained in police operations from Nov 14 to 16.
He said they were being held under Section 73 (1) of the Internal Security Act 1960 for alleged involvement in “efforts to revive a militant movement in Sabah”.
BN’s flagrant hypocrisy
Meanwhile Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) condemned the government’s “flagrant hypocrisy” in announcing the intention to repeal the ISA that are “stark contrast” to the Tawau arrests.
“It
is important to be reminded that allegations made against individuals
under the ISA remain mere allegations no matter how serious the nature
of the said allegations is.
“These individuals have not been given any opportunity to challenge their detention or the allegations as the ISA allows detention without trial and it denies the basic right of the detainees to be tried in court,” said the NGO in a statement yesterday evening.
“This recent arrest shows that Najib’s administration continues to commit this legalised injustice despite sitting on the UN Human Rights Council where pledges have been made that Malaysia would uphold the highest standards of human rights before its re-election to the Council in 2010.”
LFL pointed out that the UN working group on arbitrary detention in its report dated Feb 8 stated that ISA is no longer necessary for Malaysia since the Penal Code has been amended to make terrorism a specific offence.
The NGO demands the immediate release of all ISA detainees.
Malaysia is presently a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), voted in by member states of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on May 13 last year, and its term expires in 2013.
The ISA, which allows for indefinite detention without charge or trial, has been used to imprison critics of the ruling government, including opposition politicians, as well as suspected militants.
Amnesty notes that the detentions are the first since Najib announced his claims of wanting to repeal the law two months ago.
“The ISA is contrary to international human rights standards including the right to be free from arbitrary detention and the rights to due process and a fair trial,” said Zarifi.
Najib during his Malaysia Day message on Sept 16, just short of two months before the Tawau arrests, first announced his desire to “reform” some of the government’s oppressive laws including the ISA.
However critics had expressed scepticism about the sincerity of the announcement, saying it was merely a ploy to gain public favour in the run up to the next general election.
“The
Malaysian government has made a mockery of its plan to scrap the
Internal Security Act by using it to detain people once again,” said Sam
Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia director.“Promises to abolish ISA detention are not enough. Prime Minister Najib needs to end it in practice,” he said in a statement today.
“If the Malaysian police have grounds to suspect these 13 detainees of a legitimate crime, they should charge them or else release them.
“Locking people up without charge or trial shows flagrant disrespect for the rule of law.”
Yesterday inspector-general of police (IGP) Ismail Omar confirmed that seven Malaysians and six foreigners had been detained in police operations from Nov 14 to 16.
He said they were being held under Section 73 (1) of the Internal Security Act 1960 for alleged involvement in “efforts to revive a militant movement in Sabah”.
BN’s flagrant hypocrisy
Meanwhile Lawyers For Liberty (LFL) condemned the government’s “flagrant hypocrisy” in announcing the intention to repeal the ISA that are “stark contrast” to the Tawau arrests.
“It
is important to be reminded that allegations made against individuals
under the ISA remain mere allegations no matter how serious the nature
of the said allegations is.“These individuals have not been given any opportunity to challenge their detention or the allegations as the ISA allows detention without trial and it denies the basic right of the detainees to be tried in court,” said the NGO in a statement yesterday evening.
“This recent arrest shows that Najib’s administration continues to commit this legalised injustice despite sitting on the UN Human Rights Council where pledges have been made that Malaysia would uphold the highest standards of human rights before its re-election to the Council in 2010.”
LFL pointed out that the UN working group on arbitrary detention in its report dated Feb 8 stated that ISA is no longer necessary for Malaysia since the Penal Code has been amended to make terrorism a specific offence.
The NGO demands the immediate release of all ISA detainees.
Malaysia is presently a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), voted in by member states of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on May 13 last year, and its term expires in 2013.
U-turn in two months
The ISA, which allows for indefinite detention without charge or trial, has been used to imprison critics of the ruling government, including opposition politicians, as well as suspected militants.
Amnesty notes that the detentions are the first since Najib announced his claims of wanting to repeal the law two months ago.
“The ISA is contrary to international human rights standards including the right to be free from arbitrary detention and the rights to due process and a fair trial,” said Zarifi.
Najib during his Malaysia Day message on Sept 16, just short of two months before the Tawau arrests, first announced his desire to “reform” some of the government’s oppressive laws including the ISA.
However critics had expressed scepticism about the sincerity of the announcement, saying it was merely a ploy to gain public favour in the run up to the next general election.
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