Are BN leaders prepared to make a stand to demand support from Umno leaders and ministers in cabinet and the BN supreme council that the five Hindraf leaders held under the Internal Security Act (ISA) be released before Deepavali on Oct 28?

Are they prepared to also call for the unconditional release of controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and all other ISA detainees?

hindraf isa detainees 290808 The questions were posed by DAP supremo and Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang.

"Unless their Umno counterparts agree to the release of Hindraf five, Raja Petra and all other ISA detainees, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and all other BN component parties must decide whether it serves any purpose for them to remain in BN," he said in a statement today.

The Hindraf leaders were detained last December shortly after organising a mammoth street rally in Kuala Lumpur whereas Raja Petra was arrested under the security law last month for allegedly insulting Islam.

Lim said with the approach of the respective party conferences and elections, it is common nowadays to read the fierce speeches and statements by leaders and ministers of MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and other BN component parties.

The veteran politician added that the leaders undertake to learn from the mistakes of the past and pledge to stop being puppets or parrots of Umno.

Just as guilty

Far from convinced, Lim described this as political "sharp practices".

anwar ibrahim sodomy allegation saiful bukhari azlan first day in court 070808 lim kit siang 01 "The leaders and ministers from MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and other BN component parties are equally guilty as their Umno counterparts for the worsening multiple crisis of confidence in the past seven months because of their failure to insist on government reforms after the March 8 political tsunami," he said.

"Seven full months have passed since the March general elections – and it is not only the Prime Minister, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Umno which have nothing to show, MCA, Gerakan, MIC, SUPP and other BN component parties have also nothing to show in terms of long-needed reforms.

"What is worse, things have gone from back to worse as could be seen by the worsening multiple crisis of confidence, whether political, economic, educational, institutional, anti-corruption or nation-building," he added.

Lim said in the last seven months, nation-building suffered a major setback when Umno leaders took communalism to a new height in drumming up slogans on "ketuanan Melayu".

The derogatory remarks made by suspended Umno leader Ahmad Ismail was the last straw, he added.

isa 3 teresa raja petra tan hoon cheng "It was after the March 8 "political tsunami" that human rights and Internet freedoms suffered grievous blows when the ISA again became an instrument of political oppression when it was used to detain DAP MP Teresa Kok, Sin Chew Daily senior reporter Tan Hoon Cheng (both have since been released) and Raja Petra.

"It was also during the past seven months that nothing was done to free the Hindraf five and the other ISA detainees from the draconian detention-without-trial law," he said.

"So what is the use of promising that in future, they (BN leaders) will speak out vigorously for the rights and interests of Malaysians when in the past seven months, they have been equally guilty like their Umno counterparts in not doing anything to initiate reforms to end these nation-building excesses and human rights abuses?" he added.