Although Australians were also jolted by the Sept 11 terror attacks like the rest of the world, its civil society is opposing a proposed preventive detention law similar to that of Malaysia's Internal Security Act (ISA), which could be directed against legitimate political dissidents.

To get a better idea of the ISA and how it had affected Malaysians, two Australian human rights activists, Damien Lawson and Tim Anderson, are currently on a three-day fact-finding mission to Malaysia. The duo said they represent about 20 non-governmental organisations involved in human rights causes in their country.

"One of our concerns is how preventive detention affects the democratic movement or the movement for greater democratic reforms in Malaysia. We are concerned that the proposed law in Australia would be used in a similar way like the ISA," Lawson told malaysiakini .

"We are here to learn the Malaysian experience so that we can warn our people about the ugly side of this legislation," he added.