Press Statement by Karpal Singh in Kuala Lumpur on
Monday, 5th January 2009:
ISA not invoked to punish?
The statement by Home Minister, Datuk
Seri Syed Hamid Albar, that the Internal Security Act (ISA) us a
preventive law used by the government not to punish detainees by to
reform them, is far from the truth. The implementation of the ISA
clearly inflicts punishment on the detainees. The punishment is in the
form of being confined to barracks which amounts to confinement in large
prison. Freedom of movement is restricted.
Detainees are indentified by designation of a number. Just as in the
case of prisoners found guilty of criminal offences, detainees under the
ISA are denied free access to their families. Access by detainees to
their families is limited. Syed Hamid’s assertion that the ISA aims to
reform detainees is hollow. I myself was a detainee under the ISA and
there was no programme whatsoever aimed at reformation. The detention
was an outright deprivation of liberty and amounted to imprisonment with
high walls and strict measures in point of security. The food supplied
was no better than that supplied to an ordinary prisoner incarcerated
for an offence against the State.
Syed Hamid’s assertion that detainees can become Members of Parliament
clearly detracts from the right to represent a constituency in the event
of being elected as is clearly reflected in the case of Mr. M. Manoharan
who was elected on 8th March last year as the State Assemblyman for Kota
Alam Shah. He was not even allowed to attend the State Assembly for the
purpose of being sworn in. The Speaker of the Selangor Assembly went to
Kamunting for the purpose of having Manoharan sworn in. Monoharan is
given no right to attend to his constituency. Likewise, in 1978 after
Operation Lalang, Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, Dr. Tan Seng Giaw, V.
David, P. Patto and myself were deprived of our right as Members of
Parliament attend Parliamentary sessions.
Representation without the right to attend to constituents and
Parliamentary of State Assembly session is but an empty formality. It
deprives constituents to the right of their elected representative to
attend to them and represent them in Parliament or the State Assemblies.
It is difficult, therefore, to comprehend Syed Hamid’s assertion that
detainees have the right to contest in elections without the consequent
right to attend to them and represent them in Parliament or the State
Assemblies.
Confinement of detainees in Kamunting leads to punishment in the form of
being deprived of their right to employment and consequently, what
follows is the hardship occasioned to their families, often leading to
undesirable social consequences. Unlike the common criminal, an ISA
detainee who is detained without trial does not have the benefit of
parole.
Syed Hamid also asserts that studies by the Government have shown that
the majority of Malaysians were in favour of retaining the ISA. I
challenge Syed Hamid to publicly reveal the nature of these studies and
he conclusions drawn therefrom. Syed Hamid should not mislead the
public. The only way to gauge whether there is support for retaining the
ISA would be by way of a referendum called for that purpose which the
Government ought to hold. The March 8th General Elections last year in
which the Opposition campaigned substantially against the retention of
the ISA resulted in the Opposition obtaining 82 seats in Parliament and
196 seats in the State Assemblies throughout the country, not to mention
five states falling into the hands of the Opposition. Detention without
trial cannot be justified. It contravenes the United Nations Declaration
of Human Rights which Malaysia has yet to ratify. The continued
perpetuation of the ISA has, to a considerable extent, driven away
foreign investment in our country.
Syed Hamid should not attempt to justify what clearly is beyond
justification.
* Karpal Singh, DAP National Chairman & MP for Bukit
Gelugor
http://dapmalaysia.org