(Malaysiainsider)In the old days the aristocracy the world over could pass by your hut, size up your wife or daughter or your harvest and take one or all.
There were laws in traditional society but the king was above the law and there was nothing you could do.
Today's rulers use the ISA for the same purpose and in the same manner - to silence critics, curb dissent, decimate the political opposition and above all stay in power.
Leaving rebel minded former de facto lawyer minister Zaid Ibrahim aside, even a establishment man like Tengku Razaliegh Hamzah, a prince, opposes the use of the ISA against legitimate dissent.
The ISA is a primitive and powerful weapon of statecraft to strike fear into the hearts of critics, political opponent and ordinary people.
But it is a tool of the past and any democracy worth its salt must give it up.
In recent weeks the fear of ISA has been easing among ordinary people, and many of them have been boldly gathering to oppose the ISA.
The opposition, who were frequent victims of the ISA, have always protested detention without trial.
But now ordinary people, cabinet ministers, the Catholic church and ulama from PAS and Hindu priests have all linked up to oppose the ISA seeing it as an evil in a democratic society.
There is a definite groundswell against the ISA with more people by the day who had previously supported the law as a necessary evil now seeing it as a shame and a blot in a maturing democracy.
Across the country people are lighting up candles, holding vigils and organising anti-ISA forums and urging the authorities to free all ISA detainees including detainees held, without charge or trial, in an ambiguous manner under various Emergency Ordinances that have been passed in the country since the May 13 1969 incident.
The people by and large are now saying they want the ISA repealed altogether, not amended, reviewed or re canned into a different name or shape.
While ministers and other community leaders are divided over the next step with the ISA - repeal or revise - increasingly more Malaysians want a straightforward end to this draconian law seeing it as a unnecessary evil.
"No democracy can tolerate a law like the ISA…it is a shame on a country, its people and society at large," said Raymond Tan, an accountant who attended a packed "abolish ISA" forum at the Chinese Assembly hall here on Wednesday.
Under the ISA police can arrest a person on suspicion, file "charges" that never come up before a judge or a court, interrogate a person for 60 days in isolation and in severe breach of all norms of civilised behaviour.
Usually the person is "soften-up and turned" through mental torture and other techniques.
By the time the 60 days are up the "target" is ready to confess to his or her "mistakes or crimes."
Previously the public had supported the ISA as a "necessary evil" to curb racial or religious riots and to put away terrorists and religious fanatics to save society from turmoil.
But now the "necessary evil" position is giving way to a strong public demand for repeal of the ISA altogether.
The large number of people, mostly comfortable middle class parents, some with their children in tow, at the Anti-ISA forums and candle light vigils across the country, is an indication that middle Malaysia is now strongly against the ISA.
You just have to look at the luxury cars they parked by the roadside and the laptops they carried when attending the forums to see that these are not the type of citizens you can easily satisfy with the "necessary evil" argument.
The government's current position that the ISA stays as it is, is increasingly untenable in the face of strong public opposition sparked by the arrest of Sin Chew Daily journalist Ms Tan Hoon Cheng, DAP MP Teresa Kok and blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin.
The arrest has touched a raw nerve especially with Home minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar passing the buck to the police and later giving incredulous excuses for the arrest and subsequent release of the journalist and the opposition lawmaker.
In the case of Raja Petra the use of the ISA is unacceptable because he is already charged with sedition and defamation and the cases are before the courts.
"He should be heard in court and only a judge can convict him if at all he is guilty," said Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam in an interview with The Malaysian Insider.
"It is very disturbing that the ISA is being increasingly used against those who freely and sincerely express honest and transparent views," he said.
"The easy and unnecessary use of the ISA is a major setback for the maturing democracy in Malaysia," he said.
"These repressive laws are archaic and outdated and not relevant anymore in a progressive and lively democracy," he said calling for the immediate release of Raja Petra and all ISA detainees and the repeal of the law in words that echo public sentiments.
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