Prominent academic Chandra Muzaffar today outlined a middle path on the Internal Security Act (ISA) between detention without trial provisions and the need to protect national security.

The International Movement for a Just World (Just) president said although the government may find it necessary to detain certain individuals for national security purposes, the evidence used to justify these detentions should be presented to an independent tribunal.

"The evidence should be presented to an independent tribunal. It many not be an open court but it certainly must be independent," he said during the question-and-answer session at the Human Rights Post Sept 11 forum at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur.

The forum was organised by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

Chandra said the move will ensure that accused persons will have access to a defence hearing, while taking into consideration the difficulties of presenting in an open court evidence which could compromise national security interests.

"They will have access to a defence counsel, and can defend themselves and produce witnesses. (It is) understandable that there are difficulties in presenting (these) in open court," he said.

New 'militancy'

Addressing the human rights concerns in Malaysia in the post Sept 11 period, Chandra said there are still a number of unanswered questions in the government's approach in fighting terrorism.

Key among these is the low level of research into finding out the root causes of militancy.

"It is important to examine the underlying forces why people turn to militancy, particularly involvement by professionals and academics.

"Why is this happening? This is a new (phenomenon) as far as Malay Muslims are concerned. Are we prepared to look at the causes?" he questioned.

Chandra suggested that one explanation for 'militancy' could be the paternalistic form of government which is not conducive to freedom of expression.

"Could it be linked to the paternalistic (form of government) which sometimes borders on the authoritarian? People may want to express dissenting views but these are not received or they are ignored," he said.

Another reason offered by Chandra is dissatisfaction over uneven levels of economic development across different sections of the populace.

"Is it economic development? Perhaps it is not economic development but uneven development," he said.

Disproportionate emphasis

The academic said the government should also look at the curricula that is taught to children, particularly in religious and village schools.

"In the religious school curriculum, there is an inordinate amount of emphasis upon wars in Muslim history," he said.

Chandra said the emphasis on wars is disproportionate compared to what is known from historical documents of Prophet's Muhammad's mission.

"The total amount of time spent in battles (is estimated) to be about two and a half weeks out of the Prophet's 23 year mission. But this is glorified in texts. Why is this so?" he asked.

He said Malaysian leaders should be prepared to look at these issues in greater depths since they have frequently called for the international community to look into the causes of Islamic militancy frequently attributed to frustration over the treatment of Palestinians.

Malaysian leaders, particularly Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, have been strongly critical of the United States-led war in Afghanistan. The premier is also a vocal opponent to a war in Iraq.