Reasons to Abolish/Amend the ISA

I'm not fully against the ISA (Internal Security Act) nor am I fully supportive of it. I support preventive laws, but I’m against draconian laws. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure.The problem is BN has severely abused the ISA as a tool for political persecution & also unnecessary use. Below are reasons why I say the ISA should be abolished/amended.

1. It’s a draconian law.

2. It’s un-Islamic according to PAS…& when it comes to Islamic matters, I trust PAS way more than UMNO.

3. It’s detention without trial. Every detainee deserves a fair trial.

4. The act gives too much power to one person, the Home Minister. Power should be divided between people to prevent stupid incidents.

5. The Home Minister can decide for anyone to be arrested without any charge or trial.

6. Detainees are tortured & treated very badly. This is against simple & basic human rights.

7. It’s used against political opponents from the Opposition such as Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang, Karpal Singh, Teresa Kok & Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK).

8. Its original intention to fight the communist insurgency is now irrelevant.

9. RPK was detained under the ISA for exposing Najib’s dirty little secrets. So is he a national threat or a threat to Najib ?

10. HINDRAF tried to voice out the problems of the Indian community which were failed to be addressed by MIC or BN. Their rally was clearly peaceful. How were they a threat to national security ?

11. Teresa Kok was under the ISA because of allegations of telling a mosque not to use loudspeakers while making the azan or Islamic calls to prayer. These allegations were proven false. Still, how is this a national threat ?

12. An activist was under the ISA for reporting the police of abuse of power in a controversial eviction of a squatter colony. How are efforts to help a squatter colony or reporting the police a national threat ? Can’t she just be sued for defamation ?

In conclusion, I feel that preventive laws are needed, but they should be used accordingly & not abused by the government. What I suggest is either the government does some serious reforms to the ISA, or totally replace it with something like an Anti-Terrorism Act. In fact, an Anti-Terrorism law was drafted in 2003. Yet it wasn't tabled in Parliament. Perhaps now is a good time for that.