On Police explain ISA arrests

Kenny Gan: The general explanation by the police on why ISA was invoked does not explain at all why Teresa Kok should be considered a threat to national security.

The sheer injustice of it all has provoked widespread outrage and condemnation. Malaysians have been given another example of selective application of the laws where enforcement depends on which side of the political fence you are on.

If the police claimed they had no choice but to detain Teresa, then why did they allow the malicious blogger who started the whole matter remain free when this unemployed dentist and deposed chief minister might be inciting more racial tension with his mischievous blogging?

This obscene government is deaf, dumb and blind to the anger and outcry from Malaysians clamouring for Teresa Kok to be released. Only a corrupt government which can strong-arm its way through everything can have such a cavalier attitude to public opinion.

Teresa Kok’s case evoke great sympathy across party and racial lines. That she was jailed on a false slander while the slanderer goes untouched is especially galling. The fact that she’s a woman also helps.

The Chinese community is especially incensed. The longer she is held, the more harm done to MCA and Gerakan. Everyday that she is unjustly held will invite condemnation and bleed support for these two lapdog parties until they go to their Umno masters begging for her to be released.

Peter Ooi: The deputy IGP's explanation of the ISA arrests have given rise to more questions.

His explanation that there was no case against Tan Hoon Cheng merely shows that she was reporting the truth- the truth that Ahmad Ismail had actually uttered those inflammatory words against the Chinese Malaysians. As such, would the police please take action against Ahmad?

My perception of RPK is that he is a shining example of Islam. It is through reading his articles, that I came to understand what a beautiful religion it is. Through him, I learnt that Islam practises all virtues of life and abhors corruption, injustice, abuse of power and hypocrisy. How on earth did he insult Islam?

Finally, how could Theresa Kok be a national threat when Muslims from the mosques in question have come forward to testify that she was never involved in petitioning the mosques using the PA system. In fact one of them even made a report against Khir Toyo. But did the police act on the report?

CH Siew: The more I read through the explanation given by the police, the more I find it ridiculous.

The ISA is only used when the police strongly believe the acts pose serious threats to public order. What serious threat has Teresa Kok posed to public order? She is innocent. Even the parties involved in the mosque issue have defended her. Not only that, they have identified Khir Toyo as the instigator.

If the police are really doing their job, Khir Toyo is the one they should arrest, not Teresa. It’s the same with Tan Hoon Cheng, instead of arresting Ahmad Imail and his merry men, the police went for the easy target.

As for RPK, is his blog really so dangerous? Ask his millions of readers and they will tell you that he has never instigated racial or religious tension. Instead, he preaches peace and tolerance. I suspect the government is afraid of RPK and the huge following he has.

Only in Malaysia we have police fighting for injustise, where innocent people are rounded up to safeguard the guilty. These people are all out to ruin my country and it cannot be allowed. They have not the country in mind, only self-interest. Their actions are disgusting.

JK: This is your chance to uplift the image of the force whose credibility is now at stake as the recent ISA arrests have been ‘credited’ to it. Granted the police are at the front lines in maintaining general public security and order but you should not be seen as not being proactive in exercising the powers vested upon you or only in serving those in power.

The crime rate in the country is at an all time high. And yet the police find it fit to get involved in politics. Anwar Ibrahim’s arrest debacle is still fresh in the minds of the rakyat . Please don’t give us another reason to disrespect the force.

Any time the police are criticised for slow response to a crime, they defend themselves by saying they are short on personnel and resources. And yet this does not stop them from harassing people at peaceful rallies and vigils. What sort of logic is this? Maybe the deputy police chief can enlighten the rakyat on this?

Richard Teo: Why is the villain who caused the journalist from Sin Chew Daily to be detained under ISA still free? The police have been quick to arrest the journalist under ISA but have ben dragging their feet in investigating Ahmad Ismail's racist statement.

How long do the police need to verify whether such a seditious statement was been made? After all the deputy prime minister Najib Razak was there to confirm whether indeed Ahmad had made the statement. If Ahmad didn’t make the statement then why did the DPM apologise on his behalf? The fact that Najib apologised a few days after the incident amidst the anger it had caused is irrefutable proof that he was guilty of the seditious remark.

But then why are the police so biased in the execution of their duties? Is it to imply that Umno’s disciplining punishment of Ahmad is sufficient to exempt him from other punishment required under Malaysian law? Surely whatever punishment meted out by Umno to its members should be treated independently and the police should charge Ahmad under the offences committed under the relevant Malaysian laws.

Malaysians have a right to ask the police which is the more serious offence. The person who uttered the seditious words or the person who reported those words being uttered. Judging from the action of the police, it seems they placed more emphasis on the person who reported the incident.

As long as we have these two parallel laws which are discriminatory in nature, Malaysians have cause to believe that they can never seek and obtain justice from our country's legal institutions.

Raptor 22: Come on, there were lots of other ways to handle the arrests. If indeed there were many threats against the reporter’s life, why didn't the police provide her with a professional bodyguard for her safety?

Now that she has been released, are the police protecting her? What kind of nonsense excuses are these? They are so absurd, they defy logic. Why is Ahmad Ismail still free? Why is the investigation on him not completed yet ?

RPK and Teressa Kok too were victimised, evident from the high-handed way they were arrested. My advice to the deputy police chief is, please up your game. The public is fast losing respect in you and your men.

Pieces52: The deputy police chief has issued a stern warning that the police will not hesitate to take action against anyone who makes racist comments. If so, why has no action been taken on Ahmad Ismail? Why the double standards?

And please don’t say he has been punished by Umno. A three-year suspension from the party is not a fitting punishment for someone who made such inflammatory remarks. Today he is a free man while other law abiding citizens are being hauled up under the ISA. What injustice!

Anti ISA: If his excuses for the arrests are "detrimental to the well-being of the nation", "would cause public disorder", and "a threat to national security", then the Deputy IGP would do well to just sit in his office and attend to more pressing matters.

Because those phrases, we have heard time and time again all these years living in Malaysia. They do not need re-enforcing. Malaysians have grown sick of these ‘explanations’.