By Ken Vin Lek - Free Malaysia TodayKUALA LUMPUR: Fifty years of the Internal Security Act is “more than enough”, the Bar Council has told the government in a memorandum that follows up on its consultation with the Home Ministry.
The memorandum, submitted a week ago, calls for the repeal of the ISA and other draconian laws. It nearly coincides with the 50th anniversary of the controversial law, which came into force in August 1960.
It points out, among other abuses, the use of the ISA to silence dissenters and persecute political opponents. As a result, it adds, Malaysians no longer trust the government to apply it responsibly.
"Fifty years of living under ISA is more than enough. The time to free Malaysians from such unjust and unfair laws is now," the council’s president, Ragunath Kesevan, said in a statement.
The memorandum also calls for the abolition of the Restricted Residence Act, the Prevention of Crime Act and the Banishment Act, all of which, like the ISA, allow for detention without trial.
"The Bar Council's memorandum draws attention to the archaic nature of these laws,” Ragunath said.
"Such laws offend the fundamental principles of human rights provided for within the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and subsequent international conventions."
The memorandum compares the Malaysian laws unfavourably with recently enacted and controversial anti-terrorism legislation in the United States, Canada, Britain and Australia. (See Table).
It says Malaysia's recent appointment to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) makes it “even more essential” for the government to observe basic human rights standards.
"This can only be achieved by removing all laws contravening basic human rights principles such as the ISA and other legislation that provide for detention without trial and restrictions in the free movement of peoples within our borders."
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