I refer to International Movement for a Just World (Just) president Dr Chandra Muzaffar's proposal of a separate tribunal to try ISA cases or cases on national security. Whatever may be Dr Chandra's pious intentions as a political commentator, this idea is not a good one.

The first point that would jump in your face against this idea, is that we have little or no experience of independence really in any of our past 'independent' commissions, much less a tribunal. There is too much at risk in terms of procedure and established principles of law on the issue of national security, judicial review of ministerial power and discretion. The law is still evolving in any case and pretty much so in our courts in recent ISA decisions.

We should work on the development of the law in our courts rather than running off to a separate tribunal and stray our focus from building our existing institutions of democracy. This is the more sensible approach.