Press Statement by Charles Santiago in Klang on
Tuesday, 16th September 2008:
Repel the ISA at Wednesday's
Cabinet Meeting
I welcome the resignation tendered by
de facto Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim in light of the weekend crackdown
where my party colleague and lawmaker Teresa Kok, blogger Raja Petra
Kamaruddin and journalist Tan Hoon Cheng were arrested under the
Internal Security Act.
Zaid is a man who believes in the rule of law and a person committed to
the principal of natural justice. His appointment as the Law Minister
was seen as a concerted effort by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi
to put in place judicial reforms.
Zaid's move to leave the government is a severe blow to the reputation
of Prime Minister Badawi and his cabinet which is already in tatters. It
also raises pertinent questions about Abdullah's commitment to law
reforms in the country.
I also welcome the support by Human Resources Minister Dr S.Subramaniam,
component party leader M.Kayveas, MCA and Gerakan who have condemned the
arrests and called for the release of the detainees.
The opposition to the crackdown engineered by Abdullah reflects the
widening crack in the Prime Minister's cabinet. I call on the government
to abolish the ISA at their meeting this Wednesday and urge the
ministers to push Abdullah to repeal the Act.
We should work together to abolish the draconian Act which allows for
detention without trial. The government must not resort to its antics of
invoking preventive laws which act against the grains of democracy.
The recent arrests of Kok and Raja Petra have created a climate of
uncertainty in the country. It also raises questions about the possible
arrest of opposition leader and former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim to
thwart his plans of taking over the leadership of the country.
The stock markets have reacted sharply to the fears of a widespread
campaign against dissent precipitated by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi's weakening grip on power.
Any further arrests engineered by Abdullah and his clique would further
dampen the market.
It is evident that Abdullah is fighting off a challenge to his
leadership from both inside and outside UMNO. The party's vice president
Muhyiddin Yassin said the prime minister should step down to restore the
credibility of UMNO.
In an unexpected about-turn the premier's deputy, Najib Tun Razak,
stated that he leaves it to UMNO to decide when Abdullah should resign
despite an arrangement for a smooth transition of power in 2010.
Appointing a new leader at the helm of UMNO and the country would not be
enough to address the issues that have eroded government support. But it
gives an insight into the pressure Abdullah faces to cling on to power.
Although Abdullah's options are fast decreasing amid mounting pressure
from the opposition and dissent within his own party, resorting to
old-style politics of creating fear through arbitrary arrests would do
little to regain the confidence of the people.
The squeeze on Abdullah came after the unprecedented electoral gains
made by the opposition at the March general election. He was solely
blamed by UMNO dissidents for the dismal performance by the National
Front coalition government. Renewed calls for his resignation came
following Anwar's overwhelming victory at the Permatang Pauh by
election.
The people have clearly rejected Abdullah's rule and that of UMNO which
is quickly becoming irrelevant to Malaysians. But the peoples' anger and
wrath against the Barisan Nasional government was further cemented after
the sudden arrests of Kok, Raja Petra and a Chinese reporter who was
released after 16 hours.
The political climate in Malaysia shifted radically following the
general election. It takes more than fear tactics, hasty monetary hand
outs, ludicrous allegations and empty promises to win over the people.
* Charles Santiago, MP for Klang
http://dapmalaysia.org