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White paper on KMM will whitewash truth: rights groups

Human rights organisations today lambasted the government's move to publish a white paper on the recent arrests of alleged members of the Malaysian Mujahidin Group (KMM), calling it an attempt at political propaganda.

"The recent statement by Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi that the government will come out with a white paper is nothing to shout about," a statement from human rights group Suaram read.

"In previous years, white papers have been nothing more than political propaganda documents to justify detention without trial; it is where truth gets whitewashed rather than made crystal clear,"

Abdullah announced yesterday the government would be producing a white paper soon on the recent arrest of the KMM members but declined to say when.

"When we need to act we will take action. We are still investigating and there has been no lapse in our investigations," Abdullah said yesterday.

Four religious teachers and a secretary believed to be members of the KMM have been sent to the Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping to undergo a two-year detention period last Friday.

The five - Khairuddin Saad, 30; Mohamad Zulkifli @ Pak Su Md Isa, 35; Muhamad Zulkifli Mohamad Zakaria, 32; Mohd Salleh Said, 30; and Hazmi Ishak, 33 - were arrested under the ISA on Oct 10.

Gross violations

"We call upon the home minister not to hide behind draconian laws and white papers but to release or to charge them in court. Anything short of that is a gross violation against any decent human rights standard and moral beliefs," the Suaram statement added.

Meanwhile secretary-general of the National Human Rights Society (Hakam) Elizabeth Wong said the government should allow the alleged KMM members to be taken to court

"The government should not waste time coming up with a white paper but instead allow the detainees to go to court, and until then, the motives of the government will remain suspect," Wong said.

She also said the Malaysian government was in a quandary of its own making by claiming the existence of militant groups in Malaysia.

The US government had recently announced that Malaysian men would have to undergo more stringent measures to obtain US visas after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in New York City and the Pentagon.

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