FREE TWO DETAINED UNDER ISA

Aliran is perturbed to learn that yet again the Internal Security Act has been used to deprive two Malaysian citizens of their right to defend themselves in accordance with natural justice.

Ustaz Abdullah Hassan, a PAS member from Pendang, Kedah, and Paharuddin Mustapha, a former Parti Rakyat Malaysia activist from Bukit Mertajam, Penang, have become the latest victims of this cruel and unjust law. They were detained on the night of 3 November 1997, soon after the 10th anniversary of the infamous Operation Lallang.

It is a shame that the grounds for their detention remain a mystery. There are adequate laws in the country to charge any citizen who may have fallen foul of the law. As long as the Barisan Nasional resorts to the ISA to detain people, Malaysians will remain sceptical about the legitimacy of their detentions and the government’s avowed goal of achieving a civil society.

Aliran therefore urges the government to release these citizens immediately or charge them in an open court, where they will have the right to defend themselves.

Aliran Executive Committee
4 November 1997