BY IGGY KIM
SYDNEY — Toni Kasim, from Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM), discussed Malaysia's repressive Internal Security Act (ISA) at a June 2 public forum organised by Amnesty International, AidWatch and the NSW Labor Council.
SUARAM is Malaysia's foremost human rights organisation, founded in 1989 by former victims of Operasi Lalang in 1987 in which 106 people were detained under the draconian provisions of the ISA. These provisions include arrest without warrant and indefinite detention without trial or evidence. Detainees can be held for 60 days incommunicado. SUARAM has compiled numerous detainees' testimonies of beatings and other torture.
The ISA is a legacy of Malaysia's colonial past. Introduced in 1960, it is a repackaged version of the British colonial administration's emergency powers, targeted at Communist insurgents.
Kasim warned of the widening reach of the ISA since 9/11. The most recent victims include protesters targeting a proposed toll road and ethnic Chinese teachers asserting the right of their community to teach children in Chinese. She explained that the use of detention without trial by the US and other Western governments since 9/11 is being used by Malysian government to justify the ISA.
Kasim spoke of other recent attacks on democratic rights. These include the requirement for university teachers to sign a pledge of commitment to national security and the increase of the nomination fee for electoral candidates from US$1500 to US$4000.
Furthermore, the current electoral laws' prohibition of incitement against race and religion has been amended to include incitement on the basis of "class". Kasim explained this will outlaw raising issues of poverty and economic injustice in election campaigns.
Kasim encouraged participants to get involved in the international Abolish ISA Movement. To contact AIM's representative in Sydney, email Kate Lee at <kate@asu.org.au>.
From Green Left Weekly, June 11, 2003.
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