The government has slapped new two-year detention orders on nine alleged Islamic militants, including top opposition party members, despite calls for them to be charged or released.

"They are still considered a security threat in this current situation," said Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also home minister responsible for signing the detention orders.

"We want to see the extent of their involvement with terrorist networks," he told reporters, adding that some had links with people involved with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda. He did not elaborate.

The nine men, members of opposition party PAS, have already been held for two years under the Internal Security Act.

Detention orders can be renewed indefinitely under the act, which the government says is necessary to combat terrorism but which critics say is used to muzzle the opposition.

The detainees include Nik Adli, a PAS member and son of PAS spiritual leader Nik Aziz Nik Mat, PAS youth wing leader Noorashid Sakip and youth committee member Lothfi Ariffin.

Polical motive

The New York-based Human Rights Watch at the weekend urged the government not to renew the detention orders against the men, saying: "There are indications that the arrests were politically motivated to weaken PAS."

The government alleges the men are connected with the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), a radical Islamic movement accused of plotting the violent overthrow of the government.

But Human Rights Watch said: "Because of the secrecy of the process, no one outside the Malaysian security services knows what evidence there is against them."

The government official told AFP : "With ongoing investigations into terrorist networks in the region we still have to ascertain their involvement with JI (Jemaah Islamiah, a regional terror group accused of a string of bombings).

"They may not be directly involved but there might be some overlaps."

That they are all PAS members is "just a coincidence," he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "It has got nothing to do with attacking or targeting.

Incomplete puzzle

Pressed on why Malaysia had failed to bring to court any of the 92 alleged Islamic militants it is holding in detention, the official said: "We are still trying to unearth and uncover the extent of their involvement and until then all of them are still security risks.

"If we let people out now, the puzzle will be incomplete. As soon as we get a clear picture with which we can bring them to court we will do so."

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang described the renewed detentions as "inhumane" and suggested the government had been influenced by the United States.

"We regret that the detention order has been extended. This is a very inhumane action on the part of the government.

"It indicates the country has not gained real independence because it is bowing down to pressure from the US superpower who points fingers at Muslims alleging they are terrorists even though they cannot provide evidence."

"We feel Malaysia was not acting on its own but due to pressure from the superpower. The whole allegation has not been put to the test at an open court. This is unfair.

"We want to reiterate our stand against terrorism and acts of fanaticism. (But) any act against terrorists should be done through due process of law and we should not bow to demands from outside forces."

A group of 31 other detainees held without trial in Malaysia issued a statement Saturday denying they were terrorists and challenging the government to charge them in court or set them free.

But analysts say that while the United States continues to hold hundreds of prisoners from Afghanistan without trial and other Western countries tighten anti-terrorism laws, the government is unlikely to give much weight to the voices of rights groups or the detainees themselves. - AFP