The local media was put on trial today when a few Internal Security Act detainees accused the press of twisting the facts and wrongfully implicating them in the so-called terrorist Malaysian Mujahidin Group, or more commonly referred to as KMM.

"I feel sad that the media is doing this. The accusations that we had robbed a bank and killed a state assemblyman, all these accusations made by the media have had a negative effect on us and our children," Zainon Ismail, 46, told the Malaysian Human Rights inquiry today at the Taiping Prison Sports Club in Perak.

"I was also accused as being the founder of the KMM, but all this is just a creation of the police. There is no such thing as the KMM," Zainon said.

Throughout his testimony, he kept looking at members of the press seated in the room.

Last year, police said KMM were suspected of committing a robbery at the Jalan Gasing Southern Bank branch in Selangor and another at the Gua Chempedak police station in Perak.

The group was also said to be responsible for the murder of former Lunas state assembly representative Dr Joe Fernandez in Kedah, and the bombing of a few churches and temples.

Zainon was among one of the 17 witnesses called by Suhakam in its inquiry into the conditions of detainees who are being held without trial under the ISA. All are serving a two-year detention order at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Taiping.

'Kumpulan Mangsa Mata-Mata'

Zainon added that the KMM was only a fictional name created by the police to justify their detentions.

"The KMM is the product of the police, the real leader of the KMM is police chief Norian Mai. I am just a victim.

"I admit I am a member of the KMM but it stands for Kumpulan Mangsa Mata-Mata (victims of the police group)," Zainon said.

He also pointed out that local TV station TV3 had wrongfully reported statements from witnesses yesterday by stating that suspected KMM members had gone for military training in Afghanistan for five years when in actual fact they were only in Afghanistan for a few months.

Zainon added that he was not afraid of the repercussions of speaking out

"If they want to add another two or four years to my detention, let them go ahead. I am not afraid but what I say must be reported as such and not like what TV3 did last night. Tell the truth," he urged, adding, "But I understand, too, as I used to be a reporter. Sometimes it is not the fault of the journalist but that of the editor and higher-ups."

Earlier while taking an oath of truth — required of all witnesses before the inquiry — he also called upon the press to take a similar oath in telling the truth.

No press, please

Another witness, 36-year-old businessman Tajudin Abu Bakar from Perak, also said TV3's report was off the mark.

"I deny that there is such a thing as the KMM. I am however a member of an alumni association for students who have gone to universities in Pakistan and India called Masa Pakindo, or Malaysian Students Association of Pakistan and India," he said.

He also told the commission that he crossed over to Afghanistan when he was studying in Pakistan for three months for weapons training.

"I deny that we wanted to overthrow the government. How can we do so when we only have so few people?" Tajudin queried.

Another detainee, Solehan Abu Bakar, also criticised the press and advised Suhakam to hold an inquiry in which the witnesses could talk to the panel face to face without the presence of reporters or camp officials.

"The press plays up the matter and the information is not correct. We were labelled bank robbers, assassins, then the police catch us and just conveniently label us," said the 36-year-old registrar with an Islamic school.

Humanitarian aid to Muslims

Osman Mohamdad Ali, 46, who works as a assistant enforcer with the Hulu Langat district office, denied that he was ever involved in Jemaah Islamiah or had even heard of it.

The authorities have claimed that the Jemaah Islamiah was a splinter group within the KMM with links to international terrorist organisation al-Qaeda.

"I only joined religious classes in a Waterworks Department mosque near Banting and I was with a group called al-Ehsan which was registered with the Home Ministry," Osman said.

On accusations that he had received military training in south Philippines, he said he only inspected the weapons.

"I was there on a humanitarian basis to help the Muslims there and never had actual weapons training," Osman said.

Abdul Nasir Anwarul, 40, a businessman and another KMM suspect, also denied he was involved in the group, but added that the detention conditions he was in during the initial 60-day period were terrible.

"They put me in an 8 by 5 cell for two months and it was terrible. I was so thankful when they sent me to Kamunting (centre). Kamunting is like heaven in comparison because you could at least see birds and grass," he said.

Islamic state

Another KMM suspect, Mohd Lutfi Ariffin, a 34-year-old religious schoolteacher from Kuala Kertih, derided Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's declaration last September that Malaysia was an Islamic state.

"If Malaysia is truly an Islamic state then why are we denied our human rights by being out under the ISA? The visit of Suhakam must have an effect on human rights but if not it shows that we are living under the Home Ministry," Lutif said.

He also told Suhakam that the detainees suffered from various ailments which included skin rashes but the medical staff at the camp only kept giving the same medication.

"I have to smuggle in medication to make us feel better," he said, and asked Suhakam to bring in Health Ministry officials to check on the conditions in Kamunting.

Another witness, Mokhtar Senik, 38, from Kuantan, told Suhakam that he never joined the silat cult al-Ma'unah to overthrow the government.

"I don't know why I was put under the ISA. They accused me of inciting people to go against the government but I have never done so," Mokhtar said, adding that he would never join any organisations again for fear of being detained again.

Authorities to be queried

In a surprise move, inquiry chairperson and commissioner Harun Hashim closed the public session a day short of the scheduled three days.

"The public inquiry is closed and now we have to follow up with the allegations made by the detainees. We will be interviewing the authorities that had been accused of the violations.

Tomorrow, the three-member Sukaham panel will visiting Kamunting Detention Center where the ISA detainees are being held.

Harun said that the commission would later decide whether to have another open inquiry on the matter.

"A lot of the detainees have already said they don't want prison officials or reporters here," Harun said.

Asked to comment on the inquiry, he said the commission reiterates its stand that detention without trial is a violation of human rights.

Besides Harun, the panel was comprised of Prof Hamdan Adnan and Asiah Abu Samah.