Dr Rais Yatim's explanation of the anti-ISA denunciation in his book, Freedom Under the Executive Power in Malaysia as 'merely an academic exercise' insults all academics.

The term 'academic' is sometimes used in the sense that something is of no practical benefit other than an intellectual pursuit, but never is it used in the sense that something is false or mistaken. Given that hundreds of Malaysians have already suffered under the ISA and that hundreds more may yet suffer, the ISA can by no stretch of imagination be described as 'merely academic'. And doctoral dissertations, however academic, are supposed to be based on facts and sincerity, not falsehood and fakery.

In Rais Yatim, we have the finest example of how a human being can be untrue to his deepest convictions for the sake of worldly gains. Can Rais Yatim really be so insensitive to the anguish of the ISA detainees denied their freedom, a trial, access to lawyers, very limited access to their families, and whose only crime is that they are leaders of the opposition? The sad answer is: yes, but in this regard, he is of course, not alone within the government or the judiciary.

We have, before us, the disgraceful picture of a man who has already sold his soul to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and now acts in the role of Mahathir's attack dog. History will judge him, together with the likes of Augustine Paul, Arifin Jaka, Eusoff Chin and Mohtar Abdullah.