ABOLISH ISA MOVEMENT – UK PRESS STATEMENT

ARCHIVES 2010

By MT Webmaster On Jul 31, 2010

Join the London ISA solidarity watch in collaboration with candle-light vigils being held throughout Malaysia on Sunday the 1st of August 2010. The protest will be held outside the Malaysian Tourism Office in Trafalgar Square, London from 12-2pm.

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Malaysians are making the most of freedom in the UK to protest against Malaysia’s 50 year old Internal Security Act (ISA) on 1st of August 2010. They will symbolically join with candle light protest vigils taking place in many cities throughout Malaysia this Sunday.

A protest in Kuala Lumpur in 2009 saw a record 40,000 coming out against the draconian law. They were met with tear gas, water cannons and police intimidation and over 120 people were arrested.

Nik Aziz, a Malaysian working in London, said, “I was in KL in 2009. I feel more free to express my views in London that I did in Kuala Lumpur. I am not very political or high profile, just another software designer. But in Malaysia, I see what they do to politicians who speak out …to bloggers, cartoonists…just ordinary people with concerns. I certainly feel more free here and feel obliged to use this precious freedom.”

The ISA was enacted into the law of newly independent Malaysia law in 1960. The British introduced temporary measures to fight a communist insurgency, but administrative detention has since been used to detain over 10,000 people. Critics say that its purpose now is to silence critics and clamp down on political opponents, human rights activists, journalists, bloggers and civilians.

Under the premiership of Najib Tun Rajak, the Malaysia Government has been working hard to improve its image abroad with a series of charm offensives, such as high profile meetings with President Obama, President Sarkozy and elsewhere on the international stage. This is a far cry from the anti-Western stance of Malaysia’s former Prime Minster Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

But its repressive laws continue to cast a gloomy shadow. With Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) plunging by 81 per cent last year Malaysia is now ranked sixth among the Southeast Asian nations on FDI inflow, losing out to our neighbours like Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Debbie Chan, a Malaysian working for a global investment fund in London, commented: “Foreign ownership of Malaysian stocks is about 20 percent of market capitalisation. This has been static since Najib took office in April 2009. Foreign direct investments in 2009 were less than 20% of the 2008 figures.” Chan will be protesting against the ISA on Sunday and said: “The globalised world in the 21st Century, needs Malaysia to have a more democratic and transparent government that shows leadership and proper governance. In my job I advise on investment risk. What can I advise about Malaysia? In Malaysia, we cannot speak about the real scale of corruption and scandals going right the way to the top. Why? Well, who wants to be detained under the ISA?”

Jeremy Corbyn, the Islington MP and a follower of Malaysian politics for over 20 years, said: “I know quite a few Malaysians here. They are a very reasonable bunch, who share many of my own concerns – democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. I have previously spoken out in Parliament about my concerns. Initially, I was heartened when Prime Minster Najib promised to review the ISA. But nothing seems to have happened. I see that the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has recently urged Malaysia to stop detention without trial. I hope that former Prime Minster Badawi, now chairman of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group will use his influence to persuade the Malaysian Government. Human Rights Watch said recently that Malaysia needs to show a stronger commitment to human rights if it wants to be taken seriously at the Human Rights Council. In 2006 the Malaysian Government made a series of promises while seeking a seat, then broke them all. I hope that this time, it will be different.”

As one of the organisers of the London pickets explained: “We hope to garner as much support as possible. This is a serious subject but we also intend to incorporate some artistic expression into the event, with an ISA- inspired puppet show, poetry and songs. We are not against punishing those guilty of crimes, but in Malaysia, thought, speech and peaceful assembly can lead to detention. That’s just wrong. This has gone on for 50 years, we can’t allow it to go on any longer”.