HONG KONG - The imminent retirement of Malaysian Premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad is unlikely to herald a brighter future for human rights and democracy in the country, a leading Malaysian opposition politician said.

Mahathir, Southeast Asia's longest-serving leader, will retire on October 31 after 22 years in power, to be succeeded by his deputy Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

However, Tian Chua, vice-president of Malaysia's opposition National Justice Party (Keadilan), dismissed Abdullah as a "weak leader" who would implement few changes to improve human rights and freedoms in Malaysia.

"Abdullah is a colourless bureaucrat and he has never articulated his policies so we cannot be sure exactly what type of government he has in mind," Chua told AFP.

"However, he is seen as a weak leader who was hand-picked by Mathathir to succeed him and as such I am sure he will continue to hold onto repressive measures to weaken political groups and arrest political opponents."

Chua, in Hong Kong on a lecture tour, said Abdullah may carry out some "PR exercises" to project a friendlier international and domestic image during his initial months in power.

However, without structural reforms to the judiciary and changes to boost freedoms for the press and trade unions, "the government will continue to use instruments, including the Internal Security Act (ISA) to persecute opponents", he said.

The ISA allows for detention without trial and can be reapplied indefinitely to any case. Critics contend it is used to stifle political dissent while the government calls it a necessary tool against terrorism and political violence.

Few changes to ISA

Chua, who was jailed in April 2001 under the ISA and only released in June this year after international pressure on the Malaysian government, doubted whether the new government would stop its liberal use of the draconian law.

"The ISA should be used to target genuine terrorists and not political dissidents ... but the government will use the global war against terror to justify the continued arrest of innocent people under the ISA," Chua added.

Analysts also believe the change of leadership will usher in few changes to the ISA, under which around 100 people are still detained.

As home minister, a title which he holds along with the deputy prime minister's post, Abdullah has over the past two years approved the detention without trial of scores of alleged Muslim militants, many suspected of being members of the regional Jemaah Islamiyah terrorist network. - AFP