Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi did not know, so he said, if opposition Keadilan leaders had been arrested under the draconian Internal Security Act. Hours later, Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai confirms the arrests.

The Parti Rakyat Malaysia leader, Dr Syed Husin Ali, says Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad ordered the arrests. And yesterday, Deputy Home Minister Zainal Abidin Zin says his ministry was aware of the arrests all the time.

If national security had been breached, and it reacts in confusion, as now, it shows a government not in control of itself. It confirms what we already know. It shows an administration at odds with itself, unable to act when it has to, passes the buck, and frightened of responsibility. If the arrests were justified, the government's actions do not suggest it.

Who were those arrested? Seven is confirmed, although eight more is rumoured. The activist Keadilan members include the usual suspects in any government crackdown, are linked to the jailed former deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim. And all are at the forefront at any Keadilan gathering, either in organisation or physical presence.

Cache of weapons

Norian says those detained are implicated in a plot to overthrow the government by force, and the police uncovered a cache of grenade launchers, molotov cocktails and other paraphernalia of revolution. Fifty thousand people would have gathered this Saturday to mark Black 14 - April 14, 1999, when the Keadilan eminence grise , Anwar, was sentenced to jail for corruption and abuse of power.

A small group within plotted to use this gathering to seize power, he said. The security of the nation is at stake. His men must get to the bottom of it. Anyone who threatens to take the government into his own hands must be severely dealt with.

But when the Al-Ma'unah group stole weapons from an army cantonment in Grik nine months ago, its leaders are charged in court for treason. If all Norian says of the Keadilan leaders is true, they should be arrested under extant laws, not under the ISA, and charged in court. After its inglorious use on Anwar, it is discredited. It would appear to be used against the ruling Barisan Nasional's political enemies than of the state.

Especially when Abdullah, who is also deputy prime minister and who must be told before the ISA is invoked, did not take immediate responsibility for it. If the nation's security is at stake, as is now claimed, he should have informed Parliament of this threat to the nation, and act forcefully and firmly against it. He should have shown leadership, and convince Malaysians that despite his promise not to, he had to invoke the ISA because the threat was serious.

Instead, he ducked, and left it to his deputy minister to tell the world he knew about it. That gave the game away. Few I asked in the last two days believe the government's version. Most saw it as yet another move to destroy the growing influence of the Keadilan eminence grise , now ensconced in Sungai Buloh prison, in Umno.

Biter bit

One gets the distinct feeling that these arrests are not linked to national security but to Umno's security. By this, one does not dismiss the serious charges for which the ISA is invoked. But the perception is different: If true, the government loses more ground; if not, it deserves the egg on its face.

Keadilan members were called to gather at the Human Rights Commission, Suhakam, headquarters to present its petition on Saturday, April 14, the second anniversary of Black 14. Given the deep divide within the Malay community, a larger crowd could have been expected.

The government saw it as a challenge, which it was, and used the ISA to prevent it. Indeed, Zainal Abidin gave the game away: you do not need a crowd to present a petition, "one or two would do," he said.

But the timing could not be worse. The 60-day detention the ISA allows would expire before the Umno general assembly in June. The government is forced into a dilemma in which Umno would lose no matter if they are released or detained for two years, as the Act demands.

It is therefore essential, to maintain the peace as it were, that Abdullah inform Parliament, and reassure the people that the perceptions raised by the arrests are not true. If he does not, he should not be surprised if the Malay turns his back to the government and Umno even more firmly.