I would like to reply to Aizuddin Danian's letter

about why draconian laws thrive in Malaysia. I agree that absolute civil liberty does not result in absolute civil responsibility.

But who said anything about Malaysians wanting unchecked liberties? Most Malaysians just want the right to defend themselves in an open courtroom when they are accused of any wrongdoing.

Aizuddin's logic is like saying that people who live in a desert want a flood to occur. Floods are just as undesirable as dry, arid land. What people want is a reasonable amount of rain, sufficient to drink and to irrigate their crops. Moderation is the key here.

Also, by trying to justify the Internal Security Act (ISA) by drawing comparisons with the Patriot Act of the United States is in fact doing the opposite.

The Patriot Act is actually a perverted law which sidesteps the real issue at hand, just like how our ISA sidesteps the issue at hand which is the mistreatment of ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim and the lack of an independent judiciary.

Such repression of issues has created much anger in Malaysians who wish to enjoy a decent level — not an absolute level as Aizuddin claims — of civil rights