The Abolish ISA Movement (AIM) will intensify its campaign to repeal the Internal Security Act (ISA) this month following the Federal Court ruling on the five detained reformasi activists last week.

Its deputy chairperson Zahir Hassan said today that AIM, in a special meeting yesterday, has formed a new working committee to coordinate the month-long campaign. Zahir is the chairperson of the committee.

Last Tuesday, the four-member Federal Court panel allowed the appeals brought by the five that their detention by the police in their first 60 days under the ISA was unlawful and unanimously agreed that the police had acted in bad faith ( mala fide ) when arresting them.

The five Keadilan leaders Tian Chua, Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor and Saari Sungib, malaysiakini columnist-cum-filmmaker Hishamuddin Rais and Free Anwar Campaign director Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin were detained last year for allegedly plotting to topple the government through militant means a charge which they have denied.

But the decision did not result in their release as it was stated that the decision would not affect the two years' detention order signed by Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Zahir told malaysiakini today that AIM remains hopeful that the one-month campaign will eventually see to the release of the five.

"We hope the five will get their due justice and we urge the home minister to respect the decision of the court and adhere to the rule of law," he said.

Long and arduous drive

Zahir added that since the two years' detention order was made based on the first 60 days of police investigation, the demand for immediate release is reasonable on the ground that the court has decided it was unlawful.

He also pointed out that the one-month campaign is only part of the movement's long and arduous drive to repeal the ISA which allows for indefinite detention without trial and to release those detained under the security law.

The ISA, enacted in 1960, was initially used to arrest suspected communists and to combat the communist insurgency which formally ended in 1989, but since independence, hundreds of political and social activists have been arrested and detained under the Act.

According to Zahir, AIM's campaign for the month will include lodging a police report against the Inspector-General of Police for the unlawful arrests last year, submitting a memorandum to Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) and the Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and briefing embassies on the court's decision with the hope to gain their support.

Protest letters will also be sent to Abdullah and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Switzerland.

AIM, Zahir said, is also seeking financial support from the public to help in legal costs as legal recourse is expected in the campaign. He hoped that AIM members and the public will support the campaign.

"I hope everyone can take note of the Federal Court ruling and support our campaign to seek justice for all Malaysians," he added.

Postmortem upon DPM's return

AIM, which comprises 83 non-governmental organisations, political parties, trade unions and individuals, was set up in April last year to lobby for the repeal of the law after the government detained six reformasi activists.

Of the six, Raja Petra was released before the expiry of the 60-day period while Mohd Ezam is now serving a two-year jail term at the Kajang prison after he was found guilty of breaching the Official Secrets Act last month.

The rest, including Keadilan leaders Tian Chua, Dr Badrulamin Bahron, Saari Sungib, Lokman Noor Adam and malaysiakini columnist-cum-filmmaker Hishamuddin Rais are undergoing a two-year detention at the Kamunting Detention Centre in Perak.

Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Rais Yatim said in the weekly cabinet meeting that the government will conduct a postmortem on the Federal Court ruling which found the initial detention period on the five to be unlawful.

But the minister has deferred the discussion to wait for [Deputy Premier] Abdullah's return from New York on Sept 18.

The court's decision has evoked criticises from numerous NGOs and civil groups and urged Abdullah to exercise his discretionary powers to remedy the wrong without delay and release the five detainees.

On Monday, Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) chairperson Abu Talib Othman said the Federal Court decision was a lesson for detaining authorities, and hoped the police would heed the advice in the judgment.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, on the other hand, said the ruling was proof of the judiciary's independence and spoke volumes in deflecting unjustified and lopsided views against Malaysian courts.