No review of draconian security law: Badawi

Kuala Lumpur, Oct 18 (PTI) Malaysia Saturday said it
has no plans to review the controversial security law under
which five ethnic Indians, belonging to the now outlawed Hindu
Rights Action Force (Hindraf), continue to be behind bars.

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the Internal
Security Act (I.S.A.) was still being used and there was no
discussion pertaining to its status as yet, adding that
several other countries had similar laws for security reasons.

"I.S.A. is not a legislation that cannot be applied.
Such legislation is also applied by other countries. Countries
which do not have the I.S.A. now feel that it is proper to
have such legislation, countries such as the United States and
England," Abdullah told reporters here.

Five ethnic Indians belonging to the now outlawed
Hindraf were detained under I.S.A. late last year and continue
to be behind bars. They have been charged with organising an
illegal rally on November 25 last year to protest against
alleged marginalisation of the ethnic Indian minority in this
country. More than 20,000 ethnic Indians participated in the
rally, taking the government by total shock.

On the call from various quarters, including political
parties, for the government to release all I.S.A. detainees,
Abdullah said the matter was under the jurisdiction of the
Home Ministry. "I have no other comments. He (Home Minister
Syed Hamid Albar) understands the situation better, whether to
release or continue with their detention," he said.

Malaysia's opposition and activists have called on the
government to scrap I.S.A. The I.S.A., which allows for
indefinite detention without trial, became the subject of a
controversy recently when three persons — a reporter, a
politician and a blogger — were detained under it.

Malaysia earlier this week banned Hindraf, accusing it
of exploiting racial issues and threatening national security,
a move denounced as "ridiculous" by the opposition and ethnic
Indian bodies.

The ban on Hindraf has been flayed by the opposition
and ethnic Indian bodies, which vowed to continue their
"struggle" for equal rights for the community.

The prime minister also said that there was no abuse
of power when the law was executed. Abdullah, who will step
down from his post in March, said he would now focus on
passing three bills, relating to judicial reform,
anti-corruption and policing, before leaving office in March
next year.

When asked if it was timely for such a move
considering that he was embarking on a reform platform,
Abdullah answered: "So what? Reform is reform, law is law.
Detainees are detainees. Reform does not mean we want to
reform everything, everything in the law, undoing offences."

Abdullah also said that his party the United Malays
National Organisation (Umno) had never bullied its coalition
partners in the ruling Barisan Nasional.

The Barisan National includes the ethnic Indian
Malaysia Indian Congress party and the ethnic Chinese
Malaysian Chinese Association.

Abdullah blamed opposition parties for coming up with
such an accusation to deny the people's support for the ruling
coalition.

"People say Umno likes to bully. There is no such
thing as bullying. If that is the case, the other component
parties would have left the BN a long time ago. It is a
strategy of the opposition parties," he said.

"Also, such as the group which calls itself Hindraf to
belittle MIC president Samy Vellu ... to hate the leaders. Do
you think Samy, and other Chinese party leaders want to be
bullied?, he asked in his speech opening the 55th Malaysian
Chinese Association meeting.

Ethnic Malays comprise about 60 percent of Malaysia's
27 million people. Minorities include large ethnic Chinese and
Indian communities, who are mainly Buddhists, Christians and
Hindus. PTI JB