[Malaysia] Free ISA Detainees!

ISA detainees: Free them now or charge them in court, says Nazri
Beh Lih Yi, Malaysiakini
Jun 28, 05

Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees who have been held more than two years should be released immediately or be charged in court, said Parliamentary Human Rights Caucus chief Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz.

"They should not be served with another two-year detention order. Take them to court and charge them," said Mohd Nazri, who is also the minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

Sixty-four of the 115 detainees in the Kamunting detention camp have been detained for more than two years, according to statistics obtained by the caucus during a visit on June 17.

They comprise 68 alleged Jemaah Islamiah members, nine alleged Kumpulan Militan Malaysia members, 22 who are being held for forging currency, 13 for falsification of documents and one for alleged involvement in the nuclear weapons black market.

Two are women. Among them are 14 Indonesians, three Singaporeans, two Filipinos and one Sri Lankan.

Speaking during a press conference at the Parliament lobby today, Mohd Nazri also called for the foreigners held under the ISA to be repatriated to their country of origin "without any delay".

"I am sure they will also be detained there. They shouldn’t be here... send them back and let their countries deal with them," he said.

Other recommendations

On dozens of detainees who were punished and held in solitary confinement following riots last December, he called for their full rights to be restored as they have been penalised for more than six months, which is in violation of the Internal Security (Detained Persons) Rules 1960.

On the same note, he also asked the camp authorities to remove wire-mesh and fiberglass boards in the visitors' areas, to allow detainees to have physical contact with family members during visits.

In one case, a detainee has not been able to touch his son who was born after his detention and who is now more than two years old, Mohd Nazri said.

"Please think of the innocent children and let them feel the love of their fathers. As a caring society, we should look into all this," he said.

Mohd Nazri also urged the authorities to provide adequate social welfare support to all needy families of detainees to provide for their basic needs of livelihood, education and health.

This includes assistance with arranging visits by families who face financial problems or who live far from Kamunting in Perak.

He highlighted the case of a detainee from Sandakan, Sabah, who has not seen his family since his detention more than two years ago, because his family cannot afford to make the trip to Kamunting.

Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, who is deputy chief of the caucus, headed a recent visit to the Simpang Renggam detention centre in Johor.

He called for restoration of parity of pay and perks for prison officers.

"At present, poor salaries not only keep prisons understaffed but fail to bring out the professional best from the prison officers," he told reporters at the same venue.

The caucus found the detention centre to be overcrowded by some 72 percent. It houses 3,439 detainees currently.

Meetings to be called

On the next course of action, Mohd Nazri said the caucus will arrange a meeting with the Internal Security Ministry and prison officials for responses to memoranda that detainees have handed to the caucus members.

The caucus received a total of 18 memoranda from detainees at the two camps, but these have been censored by the camp authorities.

On how soon he expects the recommendations to take effect, Mohd Nazri said this was hard to predict. However, as a member of the government, he will bring the matter up through any possible forum.

"We feel there is a better chance now because we understand that action has been taken on the Royal Police Commission’s recommendations too," he replied.

He also called every parties to continue engaging in dialogues with the authorities although similar recommendations previously made by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) have not been accepted.

Questioned on the caucus' stand on tabling the Suhakam annual report for debate in the House, he said no decision has been made and that this is up to individual MPs.

"We didn’t discuss this. Of course, I am in government and Lim is in opposition... we have different views on that but we work on common ground," Mohd Nazri said.

The minister, who oversees parliamentary affairs, had previously said there was no specific time allotted to debate the Suhakam annual report although it is a statutory body that the government set up in 1999.

In another development, Internal Security Ministry parliamentary secretary Abu Seman Yusop told the House in a reply to Fong Kui Lun (DAP-Bukit Bintang) that 259,967 individuals have been remanded in prisons nationwide from 2000 to mid-2005.

During the same period, 6,322 individuals were detained under preventive laws at the rehabilitation centres and detention centre in Taiping, while another 5,475 were served with restricted residence orders.

However, 3,253 people have been released as their detention period has ended (2,702), or their detention order has been cancelled (487) or because of court orders based on habeas corpus application (64).