Would the ISA be reborn under two new laws?
Opposition leaders feels that the the Internal Security Act’s repeal would only result in two new laws with no change in sight.
(Free Malaysia Today) – Pakatan Rakyat welcomed repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA), but was wary of the two new laws that will take the Act’s place.
Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim said he supported the repeal of the ISA, but wanted to know what the two new security laws would entail.
“We welcome whatever announcement that … (goes for) the repeal of the ISA. We welcome (Prime Minister) Najib Tun Razak’s step in doing so.”
“But we need to be cautious, because the cancellation (of that law)… Najib will introduce two news laws, and we don’t know what they are,” Anwar said in a press conference at PKR’s headquarters here.
On Thursday, Najib announced in a televised speech that the ISA, along with three Emergency proclamations, would be abolished.
He said that the Act would be replaced by two anti-terrorism laws to suit today’s security climate, in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
However, the premier did not elaborate on the exact nature of these laws, leaving many to speculate on their respective powers.
A two-time ISA detainee himself, Anwar said that there was a possibility that the ISA could be reborn under the two new laws.
“The principle of the ISA is a writ of habeus corpus… the right for an accused to appear in court, is denied. If there is a new law that suggests the same principles, the name may be different, but the meaning is still the ISA,” he said.
Anwar said that the ISA was initially drafted by the federal government during the 60s to combat the communist terrorist threat.
However, the PKR supremo said that its original function has been misused to target the government’s political opponents.
Detained in 1974 and later on in 1998, Anwar claimed that he was not looking for compensation over his arrests in the past. “I went through that, (I have) no regrets,” he said.
