Justice Mohd Hishamudin Mohd Yunus' suggestion to abolish ISA is supported by historical precedent in Malaysia. On April 3, 1993, the then Lord President Tun Hamid Omar defended preventive detention laws in Malaysia in a speech in honour of Lord Chancellor of Great Britain Lord Mackay.

His Lordship said, "Preventive detention may be undemocratic but is unavoidable in cases when people try to subvert a democratically-elected government."

By this remark the country's highest-ranking judicial officer has validated judicial interference in the executive or legislative spheres. If a judge's sole function is to apply and uphold the law without defending or condemning it then his Lordship would not have defended those highly controversial laws in a public arena (Kuala Lumpur).

Interestingly there were no reports indicating the government was unhappy over his Lordship's interference in the executive/legislative realm. Therefore, it is safe to suggest that the government, too, has validated such interference. Had it not been the case the government would have expressed its displeasure over the remark.

Further it is irrelevant that his Lordship was defending preventive laws while Justice Mohd Hishamudin was condemning such laws.

The fact is in both instances the judges have crossed the proper boundaries of the judicial function and stepped into the uncharted waters of politics.Although both have stepped outside the appropriate limits, the action of Honourable Justice Mohd Hishamudin is beyond criticism because he was following the footsteps of the country's highest judge. It is also irrelevant that the former Lord President was interfering extra-judicially because if his Lordship can interfere extra-judicially then there is more reason for Justice Mohd Hishamudin to interfere judicially.

The Honourable Minister Dato' Dr Rais Yatim is probably well aware of this precedent as he quotes the Lord President's statement at page 297 of his book on Freedom under Executive Power in Malaysia .