To Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi,

We, student members of the Anti-ISA Movement - UK (the UK chapter of the Abolish ISA Movement in Malaysia), wish to express our thorough disgust with the arrests this last week of students Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin and Mohamad Fuad Mohd Ikhwan under the Internal Security Act.

That they were arrested under the same act that they campaigned against was both ironic and predictable. With signs of the judiciary regaining its independence and the Barisan Nasional in disarray, we see that the government has only one tune to play.

As if it were not enough that the Universities and University Colleges Act has thoroughly purged Malaysia's academic institutions of the political thought so vital to any healthy society, now students have to fear arbitrary arrest and potential torture in addition to possible expulsion or the loss of future work.

We are not deceived by the smokescreen accusations that these students are a "threat to national security" or that they sought to bring down the government through "violent street demonstrations."

Instead we recognise that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has launched this repressive attack because it is he who is afraid. His fear is of a critical, active, politically engaged student body that cares about what is happening to this country and is willing to do something positive about it.

Neither are we fooled by Dr Mahathir's implication that 'anti-government' means that students are against government as such. It is a measure of their patriotism. The Barisan Nasional is not the nation. Neither is Dr Mahathir one and the same as the nation.

We agree with him that students are not above the law. However, we oppose Dr Mahathir's attempts to incarnate himself as the Law. We are done with such feudal despotism.

We also oppose the continuation of our colonial burden that the persistent use of the ISA represents. Our Merdeka is long overdue. We are done with imperialism in all its forms.

Instead we recognise that once again Dr Mahathir is afraid. His rule is in crisis, his authority no longer carries the weight it once did. We see him desperate to rescue his 20-year legacy. After these events, we do not foresee a happy ending. Rewrite the history books if you wish, purge all the media editors, send out your police squads. His desperation is our strength. We have the courage to face our fears.

We declare our full solidarity with Khairul Anuar and Mohamad Fuad because we share these concerns too. Insofar as we all wish as students to express our political natures, our desires are one. There is a place for this in Malaysia, its return is welcome and long overdue.

We are curious as to how you, Pak Lah could speak in Malaysia Hall, London last year and make a plea for Malaysians to return and work back home. The reception we see being prepared is less than welcoming.

We do not know if Dr Mahathir's and your desire are one. Regardless, you are being tarred with the same brush. Silence is tantamount to complicity. Should you become prime minister and preserve this oppressive legacy then we shall regard you as we do him.

We are done with the immoral judgement of the Barisan Nasional. We call for the immediate release of all detainees. If there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial then let one proceed, but we do not believe that this is the case. There must be an end to such bad conscience.

As a parent yourself you can surely appreciate that students should be free to explore the full educational opportunities that this world has to offer in a safe environment. The parents of Khairul Anuar and Mohamad Fuad are suffering as we write. Let them be reunited. There must be an end to this human suffering.

In solidarity and outrage, AIM-UK.