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Lawyers demand repeal of ISA

makapaaa

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
From across the Causeway lah! Sg lawyers support the Papayas wholeheartedly. Those who still have a heart have emigrated liao lah!

<TABLE id=msgUN cellSpacing=3 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD id=msgUNsubj vAlign=top>Coffee Shop Talk - Lawyers demand repeal of ISA </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
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Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF noWrap align=right width="1%">From: </TD><TD class=msgFname noWrap width="68%">SDPpolorules <NOBR></NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">11:17 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>5821.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt>Tuesday, 23 September 2008
Malaysian Lawyers call for repeal of ISA
Singapore Democrats
Lawyers are standing united in demanding that the Internal Security Act (ISA) be repealed -- in Malaysia, that is. Singapore? Our Law Society is still waiting for the Government's invitation.
The Malaysian Bar Council (MBC) held an emergency extraordinary general meeting last Saturday to denounce, among other things, the archaic and draconian ISA. A massive turnout of 700 lawyers attended the closed-door meeting in Kuala Lumpur.
MBC's President Sreenivasan Ambiga said the challenge is to expose the far-reaching impact and consequences that the ISA have on society at large.
"It's all about the prevention-detention legislation," Ms Ambiga emphasized. She was a panelist in the Rule of Law Symposium during the International Bar Association's annual conference held in Singapore in Oct 07.
The Malaysian lawyers said that it was not the first time the Council had spoken up against the Act and vowed that it will not be the last until the law is abolished.
"What we're looking for is a situation which minimizes the abuse of power," the MBC president stressed. "Unfortunately, the ISA and other such prevention-detention legislation allow for unchecked abuses of power."
It is unfortunate that both the Singaporean and Malaysian governments insist on retaining the ISA, a legacy from British colonialism.
But what is even more tragic is that while the Malaysian lawyers are honouring their duty to be the guardians of justice, the Law Society of Singapore (LSS) is dead silent on this matter even though its stated mission is to "protect and assist the public in all matters relating to law."
This was not always the case. Mr Francis Seow, former president of the Society, was a strong advocate for the people's rights. In 1987, he had objected to a proposed bill that allowed the Government to control foreign newspapers.
The PAP Government put him under ISA detention, removed him as president and then amended the Legal Profession Act barring the Society from commenting on any legislation unless invited to do so.
Since then the LSS has become voiceless and opinion-less like much of the rest of general society, terrified of speaking truth to power.
When one of its members Mr Chia Ti Lik wrote to the Society on behalf of himself and 17 other activists who were charged with taking part in the Tak Boleh Tahan protest outside Parliament House earlier this year, its president, Mr Michael Hwang, said that the organisation had "no views" on the matter.
Although there is no restriction on the Society to weigh in on the selective application of the law, such as allowing the Consumer Association of Singapore to conduct a protest while prosecuting the TBT activists for doing the same, the LSS cringes from speaking up.
We can only look forward to the day our Singaporean lawyers would be courageous enough to do what they swore to uphold, that is, to defend the cause of justice without fear or favor.
In the meantime, we must be satisfied with the only thing it has in common with its Malaysian counterpart which is to organise the annual Bench and Bar Games between the two countries.

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NgEjay

Alfrescian (InfP)
Generous Asset
http://www.sgpolitics.net/?p=722

23 Sept 2008

The detention of Malaysian blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin at the Kamunting Detention Camp, Taiping, for two years under Section 8(1) of the Internal Security Act is the biggest act of injustice and cowardice I have seen in a long time.

Malaysian Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar, who signed the detention order on Monday night, said that “the detention is due to Raja Petra’s articles that ridiculed Islam which could arouse anger among Muslims” (The Star, “Syed Hamid confirms signing RPK’s detention order”, 23 Sept).

But if Raja Petra Kamarudin had indeed made seditious or religiously inflammatory remarks, he should be given a fair trial in an open court, not arbitrarily detained under a draconian law that is manifestly used to silence dissent rather than advance justice.

While the freedom of speech necessarily comes with responsibility, the actions of the Malaysian Government make a mockery of the law and overturn all the fundamental tenets of democracy, justice, and human rights.

On Tuesday, DPP Abdul Wahab Mohamad raised a preliminary objection over the blogger’s habeas corpus application, saying that Raja Petra’s detention by the police under the Section 73(1) of the Act has become academic since he was now detained under Section 8(1) of the Act instead. DPP Abdul Wahab Mohamad also said that since the police no longer have authority on the applicant and that the burden has shifted to the Home Minister, “any illegality in the prior arrest and detention cannot be the subject matter of inquiry, (and) any previous issues which transpired before the issuance of the detention order cannot be subject to judicial inquiry.” (The Star, “Raja Petra to be detained 2yrs under ISA”, 23 Sept)

In other words, the DPP is essentially saying that any wrongdoing on the part of the police cannot be subject to inquiry simply because the matter is now under the jurisdiction of the Home Minister. This is an outrageous and blatantly senseless position that perverts all logic. The Malaysian authorities are clearly trying to cover up their own blunders and whitewash the entire issue. They deserve the strongest possible condemnation.

On a slightly more positive note, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has agreed to consider the MIC’s appeal to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders detained under the Internal Security Act. The Hindraf 5 are: R. Kengadharan, M. Manoharan, V. Ganabatirau, P. Uthayakumar and K. Vasantha Kumar.

I hereby urge the Malaysian Government to release all political prisoners detained under the dictatorial and draconian ISA, and to give blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin a fair trial rather than continue making a complete mockery of its institutions and destroying whatever semblance of democracy there is left in the country.
 
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