A lot has been said about the ISA and its tendencies to be used for the wrong reasons and the need to abolish it. However, as pointed out by Mohd Fauzi ('ISA's raison d'etre', July 9), ISA still has its values especially in the current situation.

The threat to national security is ever present. Even though the threat from communists is over, it does not mean ISA is irrelevant.

If we care to analyse things further, communists wanted to overthrow the elected government in order to enforce their own beliefs on justice and equality. So what is the difference between what is being done now and before? Please remember that you cannot simply force your views on others.

The basic principle of democracy is for citizens to elect the government of their choice at every election. Malaysia has gone through many elections and the recent one was not the worst - the 1969 general elections being that.

The best time to remove the government is during election and not otherwise. If we are not mature enough to accept this then we should stop pointing fingers at the elected MPs.

Any attempt to remove the government by any other means is against the will of the majority and a threat to national security as it involves major disruptions and also loss of lives.

Maybe many people who hate the existing government want this to happen but I for one definitely do not want this for the sake of my beautiful children, family and country.

Please do not let the hatred for one person or party blind us to the development the country has achieved whether in monetary or spiritual terms. As a Muslim, I think we have gone far as a country, which I think even PAS should admit.

Finally, most medicine - even the simple paracetamol - can kill, but that does not mean we should completely chuck them away.

I am not familiar with similar laws in other countries but if the US still cannot outlaw guns which have the biggest potential to kill, even compared to the ISA (since I have never heard of anybody being killed by the ISA), it is really an irony that we are championing what is asserted by the west.