Statement by Lim Guan Eng in Georgetown on Friday, 3^rd April 2009: 

Najib should release all ISA detainees and abolish the ISA as part of his first 100 days reform 

Today marks the 1st day of the Datuk Seri Najib administration.

Today also marks the 478th day that the former Prime Minister , Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, personally signed the detention letters to put the HINDRAF 5 under the ISA. The reasons given for their detention has never been substantiated or proven.

We call on Datuk Seri Najib to :

1. Immediately release of all the ISA detainees, especially the Hindraf 5, who have been detained without trial

2. Abolish Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) as part of his first 100 days reform plan.

ISA detainees should be given an opportunity to face trial in open court if there is evidence of wrongdoing.

The ISA is the legacy of a colonial legislation enacted to combat the communist insurgency in Malaya in the 1940s and 1950s. It allows for detention without trial for an indefinite period. By internationally recognised standards, the detention of persons without trial is a violation of the rule of law, human rights and the principles of a democratic government.

By doing so, Datuk Seri Najib would have a headstart in leading a government with a soul as one that adopts an ethical and moral leadership that professes and gives faith, hope and love; where the people must have faith that the government is there to help and not harm them.

* Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary-General & Penang Chief Minister; Member of Parliament for Bagan