Religious teacher and alleged terror suspect Mohd Iqbal Abdul Rahman was released from his two-year Internal Security Act (ISA) detention today but his freedom was short-lived as he was immediately re-arrested by the Immigration Department.

His lawyer Latheefa Koya said Mohd Iqbal - an Indonesian who holds a Malaysian permanent resident status - was currently being held at the Immigration Department headquarters in Bukit Damansara.

She said that her client, who was arrested for being a suspected member of the Malaysian Mujahiddin Group (KMM), may also be deported to Indonesia.

She added that Mohd Iqbal was brought from the Kamunting detention centre near Taiping, Perak, to the police remand centre in Kuala Lumpur on Monday and today he was handed over to the immigration authorities.

"Kamunting officials had surrendered Mohd Iqbal to the immigration (department) without even letting his family see him.

"His wife knew that he was transferred to KL on Monday and she has been waiting since then to see him but the officials had refused to consider her plight," she told malaysiakini .

The wife, Fatimah Zahrah Abdul Aziz, who is also a Malaysian PR, was today informed to go to the Immigration Department to see Mohd Iqbal. However neither she nor Latheefa manage to meet him.

'Unlawful detention'

Latheefa claimed that the continued detention was 'unlawful' and added that she had sent a letter to Immigration Department director-general Muhammad Jamal Kamdi seeking Mohd Iqbal's immediate release.

Mohd Iqbal, 46, had been residing in Malaysia since 1985 and the father of nine was given PR status in 1987.

He was among the first batch of KMM suspects rounded-up under the ISA in 2001 and subsequently slapped with a two-year detention order.

The movement is alleged to have links with the regional terror network Jemaah Islamiah with the aims of toppling governments in the region and replacing them with Islamic states.

To date, about 90 militant suspects belonging to KMM and JI have been detained under ISA which provides detention without trial.

Latheefa said there was no reason for the authorities to deport Mohd Iqbal since his PR status was valid and he did not breach any immigration laws.

"Even if they (the immigration) want to revoke the PR that was issued to him more than 15 years ago, he has the right under section 33 of the Immigration Act to appeal against the revocation," she added.

She said his family would not hesitate to take legal action against the Immigration Department to stop them from sending him back to Indonesia.

Wife frustrated

Meanwhile, his wife Fatimah expressed frustration for not being able to meet her husband.

"I was happy when the authorities called me last Monday to inform of his release. I was told that he would be sent to Bukit Aman (federal police headquarters).

"Some of our kids are sick but I braved myself to leave them at home in Banting so that I can come and take him home to his family," she said choking back tears.

"Imagine my disappointment when the Bukit Aman officers told me that he had been transferred to the Immigration Department. When I went there, they denied my request to see him for even a short while," she added.

Fatimah said she had repeatedly pleaded to meet her husband but was told that the Malaysian government does not allow her to do so.

"It was as if they did not have any feelings. I continued to plead with them until I had to leave at around 5.30pm," she lamented.

According to Fatimah, the immigration officials told her to leave her contact number with them so they could call her if her request was granted.