Protesters gathered outside the Malaysian consulate in Hong Kong today to call on the government here to abolish its tough security law and release students held for alleged terror links.

Some 30 people from the Abolish the ISA Movement-HongKong (AIM-HK) waved banners calling on the government, under new Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi, to "stop the torture" in their homeland by freeing detainees held under the law.

They urged the government to release a group of Malaysian students who were arrested on Nov 10 under the Internal Security Act (ISA) which allows for indefinite detention without trial.

"We are calling on the government to release the students arrested under the ISA and all other detainees ... we also call for Abdullah Badawi to abolish the ISA," said a spokesman for the AIM-HK, Khai Loon.

New court date

The 13 Malaysian students were detained by Pakistani authorities in September and later deported for alleged ties with the al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) terrorist network.

Malaysia arrested the students, which included three under the age of 18, after their deportation.

Malaysian police released four of the students on Nov 24, along with 15 other detainees belonging to a Muslim sect accused of planning a "holy war" to topple the government.

However, a Malaysian court on Nov 22 rejected a bid for freedom made by the remaining nine students. The High Court is scheduled to hear a new application on Dec 11.

Rights groups and the opposition have criticised the government for detaining the students under the ISA but the police claim the youths could have undergone militant training while in Pakistan. - AFP