It has power only if you fear it, says ex-detainee.
KUALA LUMPUR: The primary objective of the Internal Security Act (ISA) is to spread fear among citizens, according to former detainee Hishamuddin Rais.
“If the people are not afraid of the ISA, it will lose its power,” he said during an anti-ISA forum at the KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night.
Hishamuddin, a prominent social activist, compared the ISA to tools of repression used by Middle Eastern regimes that are currently facing civil unrest.
He said the citizens of Yemen, Syria and Bahrain were showing these regimes that they could not be cowed by instruments of fear.
Hishammuddin was detained under the ISA for two weeks in 1994 and for two years from 2001.
He said the ISA was an imposition of state power to frighten citizens into obedience.
“That’s what it’s all about—to put fear into the people,” he said. “If it can be used to scare the people, then the ISA has succeeded.”
He also compared the ISA to the Patriots Act, which he said was used to imprison anyone that the United States government felt was a threat.
“It’s the same with the ISA. Don’t worry. If they want to arrest you, they will come.”
Other panellists at last night’s talk were PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.
Arutchelvan said the Malaysian government had a tendency to use the ISA whenever there was a crisis affecting the country’s leadership.
“Every time there is a problem with the government, the ISA is used. Each time the government is under attack, they will use it.”
He noted that Malaysian prime ministers tended to release ISA detainees upon coming to power, only to imprison more citizens during their reign.
KUALA LUMPUR: The primary objective of the Internal Security Act (ISA) is to spread fear among citizens, according to former detainee Hishamuddin Rais.“If the people are not afraid of the ISA, it will lose its power,” he said during an anti-ISA forum at the KL-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night.
Hishamuddin, a prominent social activist, compared the ISA to tools of repression used by Middle Eastern regimes that are currently facing civil unrest.
He said the citizens of Yemen, Syria and Bahrain were showing these regimes that they could not be cowed by instruments of fear.
Hishammuddin was detained under the ISA for two weeks in 1994 and for two years from 2001.
He said the ISA was an imposition of state power to frighten citizens into obedience.
“That’s what it’s all about—to put fear into the people,” he said. “If it can be used to scare the people, then the ISA has succeeded.”
He also compared the ISA to the Patriots Act, which he said was used to imprison anyone that the United States government felt was a threat.
“It’s the same with the ISA. Don’t worry. If they want to arrest you, they will come.”
Other panellists at last night’s talk were PSM secretary-general S Arutchelvan and Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar.
Arutchelvan said the Malaysian government had a tendency to use the ISA whenever there was a crisis affecting the country’s leadership.
“Every time there is a problem with the government, the ISA is used. Each time the government is under attack, they will use it.”
He noted that Malaysian prime ministers tended to release ISA detainees upon coming to power, only to imprison more citizens during their reign.
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