The Abolish ISA Movement (GMI) today surprised Acting Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi with yet another memorandum calling for the release of six reformasi activist who have been detained for almost two years.

GMI deputy president Zaid Kamaruddin ( photo ) led Abdullah with the memorandum at the Parliament lobby after a press conference and requested a meeting with the home minister.

Citizens' rights

The group had delivered a similar memorandum last September, which was received by Deputy Home Minister Zainal Abidin Zin as Abdullah was away then.

In today's memorandum, the GMI maintained that the ISA is not in line with citizens' rights as provided under the Federal Constitution.

The movement urged for Abdullah to release all the reformasi activists in conjunction with his impending appointment as prime minister in October.

Also present during the handover of the memorandum were the wives of ISA detainees Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Saari Sungib and Badrulamin Bahron who appealed to Abdullah for their husbands' release.

The activists, including Tian Chua, Hishammuddin Rais and Lokman Noor Adam, were arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in April 2001 o­n allegations that they had plotted to overthrow the government by militant means.

The detainees are serving a two-year detention order signed by Abdullah, which is due to expire in June this year. However Mohd Ezam, Youth chief of opposition political party Keadilan, was jailed for two years from last October for breach of the Official Secrets Act.

'Ice-breaking' questions

At a press conference, Mohd Ezam's wife Bahirah Tajol Aris said her husband has been repeatedly interrogated o­n politics rather than national security issues.

"My husband has been asked questions such as whether (Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad) will resign, whether Abdullah will ever become prime minister and whether (former Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim) will be released. These are not national security matters but political matters," she said.

"I don't think my husband would refuse to co-operate if they want to know his political opinions. I don't think he has to be detained for them to get his views."

Bahirah said when she pointed this out to Abdullah, the home minister said that the questions were merely "ice-breakers".

"He said he would look into the matter and asked us to be patient," she related of her short exchange with Abdullah.

Burning election issue

Meanwhile, GMI also handed over a copy of the memorandum to PAS vice-president Dr Hasan Ali who received it o­n behalf of Opposition Leader and PAS acting president Abdul Hadi Awang who was absent.

In accepting the memorandum, Hassan said the ISA is an outdated and draconian law which ought to be repealed.

"We will continue to raise questions o­n the ISA and the detentions until the act is repealed. If we do not do it, no o­ne else would because even Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) reports have fallen o­nto deaf ears and blind eyes," he said.

Hassan said the continued detention of the reformasi activists will be a "burning issue" in the next general election.

"The ISA issue can be used to bring down the government of the day. We have asked (hard) questions about it but the government has been evasive and non-committal," he said.

'Subjective' assessment

Earlier, Deputy Home Minister Zainal Abidin Zin told Parliament the detainees would not be released unless the Federal Court issues another judgment saying that the two-year detention order signed by the home minister is also unlawful.

"They will still be detained under the ISA unless the Federal Court reverses the decision. In undertaking the responsibility to ensuring national security, the government is not tied to recommendations of the ISA review board or Suhakam," he said.

The Federal Court had merely pronounced the initial detention period to be unlawful, disregarding the subsequent detention period.

Zainal was questioned by MP Kamarudin Jaffar (Tumpat-PAS) as to why the government had rejected the ISA review board's recommendation last December to release the reformasi activists.

In response to a supplementary question o­n whether the home ministry would reveal the recommendation of the board, Zainal said this was not possible as the recommendation was "subjective".

He also declined to say how many of the board's similar recommendations for release had been rejected.