http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/138896
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/138899
http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33513:police-disrupts-peaceful-anti-isa-vigil-pj&catid=58:video
http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33510:anti-isa-protesters-arrested-&catid=19:newscommentaries&Itemid=100131
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/Police-break-up-anti-ISA-vigils-arrest-30-in-PJ-3-in-Penang/
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/news/general/8648-anti-isa-protesters-arrested
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/being-isa-detainee-095-for-seven-years/
http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33540:the-real-1-malaysia-&catid=58:video
http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33537:london-joints-malaysia-in-protest-against-50-years-of-internal-security-act-oppression-&catid=21:special-reports&Itemid=100135
it is the day after, the day after the 50th anniversary of the founding of the draconian law called the ISA in malaysia. when the ISA was created in 1960, it was specifically to combat the communist insurgency and to prevent their sympathizers from communicating with them. arresting them and detaining them was to break their line of communication as well as to extract vital information. while historians will continue to debate whether the ISA was absolutely necessary and vital for the victory against the communist insurgency, this is not the issue today after 50 years.
we no longer have a communist threat to our country. our country leaders have already signed a peace agreement with the former communist party leaders. whatever communist insurgency there was 50 years ago is relegated to history. yet we still have the ISA in effect.
today the ISA is used indiscriminately against all sorts of offences that range from those detained for being involved in fake passports and ICs to islamic extremists like the JI. there are other adequate laws in the country to detain those who are guilty of their type of offences. one cannot use the ISA for whatever seemed convenient to the government. if you speak up against the government, they detain you with the ISA. if you are supposed to have utter something seditious against the majority religion, they detain you with the ISA. if you are suspected to be involved in some form of religious extremism, they detain you with the ISA. if they feel you are in danger, they detain you under the ISA for your own good. if someone report that you utter something seditious against their religion, they detain you under the ISA without making a serious formal investigation first.
so, what the is the ISA for? unfortunately, for the government in malaysia, it is a convenient law to use especially if they do not have hard cold evidence against you and yet want to detain you without trial and up to 2 years and more. this law goes against the very principle of human freedom - freedom of one's rights, freedom of one's speech etc. remember how they detained journalist tan hoon cheng or YB theresa kok?
if you do not know how the ISA came about, see this ppt or videoclip the reb had created sometime ago. it will refresh your memory of the origins of this draconian law.
the reb also spoke at the 7th anti-ISA virgil 2008:
for older posts on the ISA in the reb's blog, go to the link below:
http://oldtestamentpassion.blogspot.com/search/label/ISA
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/138899
http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33513:police-disrupts-peaceful-anti-isa-vigil-pj&catid=58:video
http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33510:anti-isa-protesters-arrested-&catid=19:newscommentaries&Itemid=100131
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/Police-break-up-anti-ISA-vigils-arrest-30-in-PJ-3-in-Penang/
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/news/general/8648-anti-isa-protesters-arrested
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/being-isa-detainee-095-for-seven-years/
http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33540:the-real-1-malaysia-&catid=58:video
http://www.malaysia-today.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33537:london-joints-malaysia-in-protest-against-50-years-of-internal-security-act-oppression-&catid=21:special-reports&Itemid=100135
it is the day after, the day after the 50th anniversary of the founding of the draconian law called the ISA in malaysia. when the ISA was created in 1960, it was specifically to combat the communist insurgency and to prevent their sympathizers from communicating with them. arresting them and detaining them was to break their line of communication as well as to extract vital information. while historians will continue to debate whether the ISA was absolutely necessary and vital for the victory against the communist insurgency, this is not the issue today after 50 years.
we no longer have a communist threat to our country. our country leaders have already signed a peace agreement with the former communist party leaders. whatever communist insurgency there was 50 years ago is relegated to history. yet we still have the ISA in effect.
today the ISA is used indiscriminately against all sorts of offences that range from those detained for being involved in fake passports and ICs to islamic extremists like the JI. there are other adequate laws in the country to detain those who are guilty of their type of offences. one cannot use the ISA for whatever seemed convenient to the government. if you speak up against the government, they detain you with the ISA. if you are supposed to have utter something seditious against the majority religion, they detain you with the ISA. if you are suspected to be involved in some form of religious extremism, they detain you with the ISA. if they feel you are in danger, they detain you under the ISA for your own good. if someone report that you utter something seditious against their religion, they detain you under the ISA without making a serious formal investigation first.
so, what the is the ISA for? unfortunately, for the government in malaysia, it is a convenient law to use especially if they do not have hard cold evidence against you and yet want to detain you without trial and up to 2 years and more. this law goes against the very principle of human freedom - freedom of one's rights, freedom of one's speech etc. remember how they detained journalist tan hoon cheng or YB theresa kok?
if you do not know how the ISA came about, see this ppt or videoclip the reb had created sometime ago. it will refresh your memory of the origins of this draconian law.
the reb also spoke at the 7th anti-ISA virgil 2008:
for older posts on the ISA in the reb's blog, go to the link below:
http://oldtestamentpassion.blogspot.com/search/label/ISA
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