Malaysian NGOs today condemned the arrests of five opposition figures, fearing the start of a crackdown against political activists.

"These latest actions by the government showed its utter intolerance for criticism from any quarters," said human rights group Suaram.

"The ill-disguised attempt to ultimately ban Harakah and intimidate the opposition only revealed the sheer cowardice of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's regime in dealing with the real issues of the day," said coordinator Elizabeth Wong.

Suaram called for all charges against KeADILan vice president Marina Yusof, Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Noor, former DAP MP Karpal Singh, Harakah editor Zulkifli Sulong and printer Chia Lim Thye, to be immediately dropped.

Wong noted that Barisan Nasional's possession and use of political arsenals such as the Sedition Act and Official Secrets Act were specially reserved for the opposition.

Calling it a "clearly selective prosecution", she added that the ruling party politicians conveniently invoked the spectre of May 13 to frighten voters during the recent general elections, yet the Attorney-General's office had chosen to turn a blind eye.

"The Prime Minister had also expressed on numerous occasions regarding sacked deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's sexuality, yet we know he will not be cited for contempt of court," she added.

Another human rights group, Aliran, had questioned the timing of the arrests. It observed that most of the alleged offences were apparently committed in August and September last year.

"The fact that no immediate charges were brought against the five following the commission of these alleged offences would suggest that these charges are politically motivated," said the organisation.

Aliran said the BN government did not make any move before the general elections last November for fear of repercussions and reprisals, which could result in a political backlash.

"By instituting action only against political opponents of the BN, it only confirms and strengthens the belief that the BN is not bothered by public opinion or international perceptions that what is taking place now is nothing short of a political vendetta," Aliran said.

"It is obvious that the BN is harassing the opposition; it is clear that it is determined to get rid of Harakah ; it is very apparent that it is trying to stifle dissent and go after its critics," said the Penang-based organisation.

Meanwhile, PRM, a member of Barisan Alternatif coalition, said today that the arrests served two purposes.

"The BN leadership, firstly, wants to serve a warning to the opposition parties that it will not stop at anything to weaken the increasing Malay support for BA." said PRM president Syed Husin Ali.

At the same time, he said, it was also sending threatening signals to dissenting groups and individuals within Umno that strong actions could also be taken against them if they tried to challenge the incumbent top leaders of the party during its coming general assembly in May this year.

Syed Husin also expressed concerned that the country was slowly but steadily drifting towards an "absolute authoritarian state".

In addition, two international organisations have also expressed concern over the arrest of Harakah's Zulkifli and called for a retraction of all charges against him.

In a joint letter sent to Mahathir yesterday, Paris-based World Association of Newspapers and its sister organisation, World Editors Forum, said that the arrest of Zulkifli was a "clear breach of his right to freedom of expression, which is guaranteed by numerous international conventions".

It cited that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights considered that "detention, as punishment for the peaceful expression of opinion, is one of the most reprehensible ways to enjoin silence and, as a consequence, a great grave violation of human rights."

The letter, which was signed by WAN president Bengt Braun and WEF president Ruth de Aquino, urged Mahathir to fully observe internationally recognised standards of freedom of expression.

WAN and WEF are made up of 17,000 publications and editors from 93 countries. They joined a number of press groups that had expressed their outrage over the crackdown. Among those which had send protest statements include journalist organisations Southeast Asian Press Alliance, Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters San Frontiers.

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