Barisan Alternatif today reiterated its call to Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to release the five reformasi activists still detained under the Internal Security Act though the Federal Court had ruled their initial 60-day detention last year unlawful.

BA leaders who held a joint press conference at the Parliament committee meeting room said Abdullah, who is also the home minister to "sincerely knock at the door of his conscience".

They also asked Abdullah to "delve into his heart and carry out his moral duties" by immediately releasing the ISA detainees who are serving a two-year detention period in Kamunting.

"The Federal Court judgement should be taken as a rare opportunity for Abdullah to correct the injustice and judicial crisis in this country," said Keadilan president Wan Azizah Wan Ismail who represented the BA presidential council.

"We ask Abdullah to overcome this technical problem and look at the bigger picture of justice and democracy," she added.

She said the detention of the political activists should no longer be prolonged as their imprisonment cannot be justified from a legal or moral aspect.

Alternative plans

When asked what other plans the opposition has since Abdullah has been silent over the issue, Wan Azizah said the press should continue to push him for an answer.

Other BA leaders present at the press conference were Opposition Leader and acting PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, deputy president Mustafa Ali, Keadilan deputy president Abdul Rahman Othman, vice-president Azmin Ali, PRM deputy president Rustam Sani and secretary-general Sanusi Osman.

When met at the parliament lobby, de facto Law Minister Dr Rais Yatim declined to comment on the matter beyond saying "That is Pak Lah's (as Abdullah is popularly known) job".

On Sept 6, a four-member panel of the Federal Court unanimously allowed the appeals of the reformasi activists Keadilan leaders Tian Chua, Mohd Ezam Mohamed Nor and Saari Sungib, malaysiakini columnist-cum-film maker Hishmamuddin Rais and FreeAnwar.com webmaster Raja Petra Kamaruddin to declare their detention as unlawful.

They were arrested in April last year and subsequently filed a writ of habeas corpus seeking to be released from detention under the ISA, which allows detention without trial.

Raja Petra was released even before the initial 60-day detention was over while Mohd Ezam is currently serving a two-year jail sentence under the Official Secrets Act in the Kajang prison for revealing classified documents related to alleged corrupt practices of senior ministers in the government.

However, while the court had subjected the police detention power under Section 73 of the ISA to the objective test, it did not apply the same principle to the minister's two-year detention order which were based on the police findings from the initial 60-day detention under Section 8 of the same Act.

Meanwhile, the Gerakan Mansuhkan ISA (GMI) will launch the "ISA Mala Fide " campaign tomorrow at 8.30pm at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur.