The Federal Government should apologise to all ISA detainees

DAP urges the Federal government to apologise to all Internal Security Act(ISA) detainees, immediately release all remaining ISA detainees and turn Kamunting Detention Camp into a museum as a reminder of the importance of freedom and human rights as well as heal the nation from the trauma of arbitrary detention without trial merely for opposing BN.

25 years ago on 27 October 1987, I was amongst the first victims of Operasi Lalang detained under the ISA by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad. I remember as a newly-elected MP for Kota Melaka, how stunned I was to hear that I was a threat to national security who would cause the country to descend into chaos, ruin and riots if I was not arrested. Then followed the dark days of solitary confinement, endless interoggation and intimidation to force me to recant which I managed to endure, survive and prevail.

106 Malaysians were arrested during those dark days of 1987, including opposition leaders – 16 of whom were from the DAP, including MPs and State Assemblymen – trade unionists, social activists, environmentalists, Chinese educationists and religious workers. Amongst the prominent leaders detained included DAP’s Lim Kit Siang and Karpal Singh, PAS Mohamad Sabu and Datuk Mahfuz Omar and Chinese educationists Lim Fong Seng and Sim Mow Yu.

There were also wholesale attacks on press freedom with the closure of three newspapers, the merciless attacks on the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law resulting in the sacking of the Lord President and two Supreme Court judges. All these measures were directed at establishing an elected dictatorship by concentrating powers in the Prime Minister.

However there is a silver lining behind the mass arrests, in that PAS and DAP leaders established first real contact to clear the fog of lies by UMNO that demonised PAS amongst non-Malays and demonising DAP amongst Muslims. This relationship forged behind iron jail bars 25 years ago formed the basis of co-operation between both parties, allowing PR to coaelesce and strengthen to challenge BN for power at the next historic general elections.

Even though Malaysians have succeeded in forcing the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to abolish the ISA, there is a need for a proper closure to this dark chapter in our nation’s history. First all remaining ISA detainees must be immediately released and there must be a full apology by the federal government to all ISA detainees.

Second the Kamunting Detention Camp(KDC) should be turned into a museum, just like Robbens Island prison camp in South Africa that housed freedom fighter Nelson Mandela for 27 years. Turning the hated KDC into a museum will serve as a timely reminder of the importance of freedom and human rights as well as heal the nation from the trauma of arbitrary detention without trial merely for opposing BN.

Finally the Security Offences (Special Measures) 2012 Act (SOSMA), the replacement for ISA must be reviewed with repeal of certain sections, to ensure that the ISA is not reincarnated and return in a new form to haunt the next generations of Malaysian as we have endured for the last 54 years.

Lim Guan Eng DAP Secretary General & MP for Bagan