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Hey, let’s cut this racial crap. Let’s get rid of all this bullshit. We will fight for the release of the HINDRAF 5 because they are innocent victims, not because they are Indians.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
What’s with this FREE THE HINDRAF 5 campaign? Hey, I too support the HINDRAF 5. I too want them freed. But I do not agree to a FREE THE HINDRAF 5 AND ONLY THE HINDRAF 5 campaign. I want to see a FREE ALL ISA DETAINEES AND ABOLISH THE ISA campaign. Is that too much to ask for? And why should I not want to ask for that?
Since the ISA became law in 1960, an estimated 6,000-10,000 people have been detained under this draconian detention without trial law. No one knows the correct figure because the government does not reveal the actual figures -- so we can only make an educated guesstimation. But we act as if only five Indians were ever detained under the ISA. Hey, hear this, an estimated 6,000-10,000 Malaysians have been detained under the ISA, not just five Indians. And do you know how many still languish in the Kamunting Detention Centre? And how many are there still in Simpang Renggam under Emergency Ordinance detention, all victims of detention without trial because there is no evidence to put them on trial?
I also hear shouts calling for the detention of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad under the ISA. I am against that. If the ISA is wrong then it is wrong. We can’t use a wrong law to do what we think is the right thing and then try to pretend it is right. Rape and murder is wrong. But if we arrest a foreign spy who works against the interest of this nation, can we then rape and murder her and then say it is right because she is an enemy of the state? Wrong is wrong and can never be right, whatever the reason we may have in doing that particular wrong deed.
Okay, today, five Indians have spent the last few months under ISA detention. Yes, five Indians who are alleged to be dangerous people who have links with Sri Lanka Tamil Elam terrorists and who plan to bomb and kill innocent Malaysians. But Malaysians do not believe this allegation. Malaysians do not trust the government’s version of the ‘truth’. Malaysians know that this allegation is false. The only reason these five Indians have been detained is because they oppose the Umno-led Barisan Nasional government.
What about the scores of others who are still under detention in Kamunting, some for more than six or seven years? They too have been accused of having links with international terrorists groups. They too are alleged to have planned to bomb and kill Malaysians. But no one cares about them. If they are Malay-Muslims then the allegations must be true. But if they are Indian-Hindus then the allegation is false. We can believe that the government will detain Malay-Muslims because they are really and truly terrorists and the government is not lying. But when it comes to Indian-Hindus then the government is lying.
Do you know that many Malays have been detained under ISA just because they left Islam to become Christians? Do you know that many Malays have been detained under ISA because they do not follow the Sunni sect of Islam but believe in the Shi’a or some other sect? And these people are not ‘stupid’ kampong people. These people are university lecturers and professors who are well-educated and well-read and, after much research, decided that some other religion or some other sect of Islam is more accurate and correct.
No, not only five Indians are still in Kamunting. Many others are there as well. And you people reading this do not even know how many are still in Kamunting. And you also do not know why they are still in Kamunting. And you do not know because you do not care. But you know about the HINDRAF 5. That is because you only care about the HINDRAF 5. And you do not care about the others because they are not Indians.
Hey, let’s cut this racial crap. Let’s get rid of all this bullshit. We will fight for the release of the HINDRAF 5 because they are innocent victims, not because they are Indians. And we must also fight for the release of all the others because they too are innocent victims, just like the HINDRAF 5.
And what about BSA Tahir? He too has spent many years under ISA detention? What was his crime? None! Is he a threat to national security? No! Is he a danger to Malaysia? No! Did he plan to bomb and kill Malaysians? No! Then why is he under ISA detention? He is under ISA detention because he was the adviser to the Prime Minister’s son’s company and they exported centrifuges to Libya. Why is that considered a crime? It is considered a crime because Libya is not America’s friend. But if Libya were America’s friend then that would not pose a problem and it would not be a crime.
So, BSA Tahir will be under ISA detention until the day Libya kisses and makes up with America. So, until then, we shall fight for the release of the five Indians but not for the release of BSA Tahir or the many Malays who are also under ISA detention just because they wanted freedom of religious beliefs.
No, I will not support the fight for the release of the HINDRAF 5 if the fight is because they are Indians. I will support the fight for the release of the HINDRAF 5 if the fight is because the ISA is cruel and NO ONE should be detained without trial. And that would include everyone still in Kamunting, not just the five Indians.
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The government detained six Shi'a Muslims under the ISA between October 2000 and January 2001, three of whom reportedly were still being held in November. Other ISA detentions of Shi'a Muslims in previous years were said by government officials to be necessary to prevent "religious disharmony" that could damage the nation's political and economic development.
On November 5, 2000, police punched and kicked participants at a peaceful demonstration outside the city of Klang, fired tear gas and water cannons, and arrested 126 people demonstrating in support of Anwar Ibrahim. The National Justice Party (Partai Keadilan Nasional or Keadilan), founded by Anwar's wife, Wan Azizah, had applied for but been denied a permit to hold the demonstration.
In January, nine government opponents were arrested and charged with rioting in the run-up to the November 2000 by-election in Kedah. The nine were accused of trying to prevent busloads of supporters of the ruling coalition (Barisan Nasional), whom they believed were traveling to the area to vote illegally, from reaching the polls.
In January, police also forcibly prevented political speeches and stopped cultural displays at a multi-cultural festival organized by the opposition, despite having issued a permit for the festival. Police also stopped a book launch party at a restaurant attended by more than 1,000 former Labour Party members. The book was a historical account of the leftist party disbanded three decades ago.
In February, police arrested four protestors, including Keadilan Vice-President Tian Chua and columnist/filmmaker Hishammuddin Rais, at a demonstration calling for former Attorney General Mohtar Abdullah to be for abuse of power in conducting the prosecution of Anwar. On February 14, police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse 15,000 to 20,000 people at a Keadilan political rally in Kampung Lahar, held on private property. Police had refused to grant a permit for the rally.
On February 9, Marina Yusoff, former vice president of Keadilan, was fined 5,000 ringgit (approximately U.S. $1,315) for asserting in a speech in September 2000 that the ruling coalition had sparked anti-Chinese riots in 1969 following a local election defeat. On March 5, Keadilan youth leader Mohamed Ezam Mohamed Nor was arrested and subsequently charged with sedition for remarks published in Mingguan Malaysia newspaper in which he reportedly stated that he would continue leading street demonstrations until the government was brought down. On March 6, police arrested nine people who held a candlelight vigil for him outside a police station. Ezam was released on bail on March 13, but, as described below, was subsequently rearrested less than a month later under the ISA.
Ethnic violence broke out on March 9 when ethnic Indians and Malays clashed in Kampung Medan, a poor quarter of Kuala Lumpur. Police reported that six people, including five of Indian origin, were killed and over fifty injured. Most of the wounded were also ethnic Indians. Four opposition party leaders jointly challenged the official casualty figures, suggesting the actual figures were higher: in response, the government threatened to charge them with sedition, though no charges were ultimately brought. Indian community representatives continued to demand further investigation.
On April 10-11, just days before public protests planned to mark the second anniversary of the sentencing of former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, the authorities detained seven opposition leaders under the ISA, then three other people in the following days. Most of the ten, who were all held incommunicado until May 4, were members of Keadilan. The authorities alleged that they were plotting to overthrow the government but produced no evidence to substantiate this. On May 30, in an unusual and courageous ruling Judge Hishamuddin Yunus ordered the release of two ISA detainees on a writ of habeas corpus, and suggested that the parliament should review and either scrap or amend the ISA to reduce its potential for abuse. By mid-November, authorities had released three more detainees, but five had been served with two-year detention orders and were being held at the Kamunting Detention Centre. The five are: Tian Chua, Ezam Mohamed Noor, Hishammuddin Rais, Saari Sungib, and Lokman Nor.
In July, the authorities detained two student activists, Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin and Mohamad Fuad Mohamad Ikhwan, under the ISA, the former for twenty three days and the latter for ten days.
Also in July, the government banned all political rallies stating that they would undermine the country's security. When PAS subsequently planned a series of meetings to protest the policy, police refused to grant permits and dispersed those who attempted to attend. On August 2-4, police arrested an additional ten people under the ISA, all of whom were affiliated with or supporters of PAS, including four prominent youth leaders. The authorities said the ten belonged to a group that planned to overthrow the government, sometimes labeling the group the Malaysian Militant Group and sometimes the Malaysian Mojahedin Group. One of those detained, Nik Adli Nik Aziz, was the son of a leading PAS official. The authorities alleged he had received military training in Afghanistan and had learned bomb making from Muslim rebels in the Philippines, but he denied this and PAS leaders emphasized that they used only peaceful, democratic means in their struggle against the ruling coalition. As of mid-November, nine of the ten remained in custody after being served two-year detention orders.
Four days after the September 11 attacks in the United States, Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahman Badawi sought to justify the ISA as providing "an initial preventive measure before threats get beyond control," and on October 10 two other alleged members of the Malaysian Mojahedin Group were detained under the act. PAS leaders, however, dismissed the detentions as a "political ploy" and challenged the government to bring charges and produce the detainees in open court.
Human Rights Watch World Report 2002
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So let's work on it instead of throwing tantrums!