The Reid Commission
‘Anti-government’ has at times been simply equated to being ‘anti-national’. In their Report, the Reid Commission (that was entrusted with the job of drafting the Merdeka Constitution) mentioned that the rights they were recommending had already been firmly established throughout Malaya and the guarantee of the fundamental rights would be provided by the mechanisms of: the Constitution being the supreme law; ‘the power and duty of the Courts to enforce these rights’; and, ‘the Courts would annul any attempt to subvert any of them whether by legislative or administrative action or otherwise’. (Can be referred at Chapter IX, Fundamental Rights: Constitutional Guarantees, Para 161 p. 70 of the Report.)
Hardial Singh Khaira, Is it the ISA per se or the Interpretations Given by the Judiciary that Makes it Such a Draconian Law Now? In his analysis of judgments related to the ISA maintains that 'not only have the Malaysian courts failed to annul the encroachments on the fundamental rights but their lack of judicial activism has in fact subverted those rights further. The failure of the Malaysian courts in relation to the ISA starts with the fact that they have generally accepted the subjective satisfaction of the executive for justifying the detention of an individual.' He further adds that the 'current approach of the Malaysian courts only serves to reduce executive accountability and respect for human rights under the rule of law.'
Detainees
The first detainee was Koh pak Ngee who was the Socialist Front (SF) Assistant Secretary General, Chief Editor of NYALA, the SF Chinese language party organ, SF Parliamentary candidate for 1959 General Election. He was detained on midnight November 5th 1960. About 42 detainees had been charged under the Internal Security Act (ISA) from 1960 to 1961 and all are Chinese whom believed to be involved with CPM. After 13 years, in 1974 Anwar Ibrahim who was a student protester been detained for 20 month under the the same act. In 1987 the act started to be used again and among the detainees were Lim Kit Siang (DAP Secretary General), Chandra Muzaffar (ALIRAN President Chandra Muzaffar), Chan Kit Chee (MCA Vice President and Perak), Karpal Singh (DAP Deputy Chairman), Halim Arshat (PAS Youth Chief), Ibrahim Ali (UMNO MP for Pasir Mas), Fahmi Ibrahim (UMNO Youth Education), Dong Jiao Zhong (Chinese Education Associations), Lim Fong Seng (Chairman Chinese Education Associations), Kua Kia Soong (Publicity Chief of the Civil Rights Committee), Irene Xavier (WAO Member), Hilmy Noor (accused for disrupting the Malay culture), Abdul Rahman Ahmad (Assistant Superintendent of Police, Special Branch), Albinus Yudah (opposition party member, member of Kadazan Cultural Association), Benedict Topin (opposition party member, Executive Secretary of Kadazan Cultural Association), Damit Undikai (retired Special Branch police officer), Jeffrey Kitingan (opposition politician, director of the Institute for Development Studies), Maximus Ongkili (deputy chief director of the Institute for Development Studies), Vincent Chung (administrator, Sabah Foundation), Anwar Ibrahim (Sodomy and corruption (Deputy Prime Minister)), Yazid Sufaat(Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Suhaimi_Mokhtar (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Raja Petra Kamarudin (Blogger Of Malaysia Today), Dr Abdullah Daud (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Shamsuddin Sulaiman (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Mat Sah Mohd Satray (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist),
Abdul Murad Sudin (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Zaini Zakaria (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Zainun Rashid (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Wan Amin Wan Hamat (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Sulaiman Suramin (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Sufian Salih (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Ahmad Muaz bin Al Bakry (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Mohd Khaider Kadran (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist Leader), Hasim Talib (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist), Zakaria bin Samad (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National), Ahmad Zakaria
Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National), Terhamid bin Dahalan
(Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National), Abdul Rahman Ahmad @ Deraman Koteh (Alleged militant separatist of Thailand), Mahfudi Saifuddin (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National), Mulyadi (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National), Arifin (Jemaah Islamiyah suspected terrorist - Indonesian National), Mat Tarmizi Zakaria (Alleged Thai separatist), Lai Kin Choy (Alleged counterfeiter). The Alleged member of "Darul Islam Sabah" from Tawau - A Artas A Burhanuddin, Francis Indanan, Mohd Nazri Dollah, Mohd Arasad Patangari, Adzmi Pindatun, Idris Lanama (from Kelang), Aboud Ghafar Shahril, Jeknal Adil (stateless), Binsali Omar (Filipino with Malaysian PR), Husin Alih
(Filipino national), Yussof Mohd Salam (Filipino national), Abd Jamal Azahari (Filipino national), Pakana Selama (PR status), Kasem Dayama (Foreign national- Alleged foreign agent)
Shaykinar Guat (stateless). Argadi Andoyok (stateless), Ng How Chuang (Alleged document falsification), Ng Keat Seng (Alleged document falsification), Mohd Azuan b Aniffa (Alleged foreign agent), Mohd Faizol Shamsudin (Alleged foreign agent), Zulfikli Abu Bakar (Alleged foreign agent), Zulfikli Marzuki (Alleged JI involvement), Amir Hussain (Foreign national; Alleged document falsification), Tan Choon Chin (Alleged document falsification), Mavalavan
(Alleged foreign agent), Lian Kok Heng (Alleged foreign agent), Sundaraj Vijay (Foreign national; Alleged document falsification), San Khaing (Foreign national; Alleged document falsification)
The Hindu Rights Action Force activist (Lawyer) - K. Kengadhadran, M. Manoharan,
P. Uthayakumar, T. Vasantha Kumar and K. Ganabathi Rao. The not to make known organisation/group -Muhammad Zahid Haji Zahir Shah, Shadul Islam, Abdul Sathar Mohammad Sarjoon, Faycal Mamdouh, Mahamad Nakhrakhel, Muhammad Shuaib Hazrat Bilal, Raja Petra Kamarudin (Blogger of Malaysia Today), Tan Hoon Cheng (Journalist, Sin Chew Jit Poh), Teresa Kok Suh Sim (Member of Parliament, Seputeh), Cheng Lee Whee, (Suaram activist, Johor), Singapore Jemaah Islamiah (JI) Militant Abdul Matin Anol Rahmat, Johar Hasan, Mas Selamat Kastari(Singapore Jemaah Islamiah (JI) Leader), Mohd Nasir Ismail, Ahmad Kamil Hanafiah and Muh Amir Hanafiah.
Release
Although the government may release detainees unconditionally, in some cases, it has required those being released to make a public confession on television and radio. The case of Raja Petra Kamarudin, a well known blogger of Malaysia Today website, detained under the Internal Security Act on 12 September 2008 and was subsequently released 56 days later, was due to the habeas corpus filed by his lawyer citing unlawful detention by the Home Ministry. The High court, on 7 November 2008, over ruled that detention and he was set free on the same day.
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