With 15 more detention orders under the Internal Security Act (ISA) due to expire by next month, the Abolish ISA Movement (AIM) paid yet another visit to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today.

It handed over two memoranda - one outlining the toll taken on the families of ISA detainees, and the other alerting the commission to the fact that detention orders are due to be reviewed for 15 individuals held for suspected involvement in regional Islamic militant group Jemaah Islamiyah (JI).

AIM representatives, who were accompanied by the spouses of several detainees, urged Suhakam to recommend that the Home Ministry either releases those concerned or takes them to court.

They also cited three cases in which the detentions have had an allegedly detrimental effect on family-members.

Suhakam commissioner Prof Mohd Hamdan Adnan ( photo:left ), who accepted the documents, said the authorities are being constantly reminded that ISA detentions could affect the well being of families.

He also said it was vital that these issues continue to be raised because this would help rectify the situation in the long run.

"I know this is appropriate to present to the public, because the people deserve to know (about the plight of the family members). We should disseminate this information so that suitable action can be taken," he said.

Emotional stress

Masitah Baharom ( right ), wife of ISA detainee Abdul Samad Shukri Mohamad lodged a complaint with Suhakam on her eldest son's predicament . He has been warded for mental illness, attributed to stress arising from his father's detention.

Describing her son Abdul Mauz, 19, as a bright student, Masitah blamed the police, the Home Ministry and the government for his condition.

"As a mother I cannot take it....I want you people to help get my husband released," she told Hamdan.

Unable to curb her emotions, Masitah described the hardship her family has experienced. She has been raising her six children by herself, while they have suffered from the lack of contact with their father.

"They (Kamunting Detention Camp wardens) gave my husband only one hour to talk to my son during one visit. What can be achieved from this? The whole room was full of wardens...how can they expect (father and son) to have a proper conversation?" she asked.

Abdul Samad, 44, has been detained since Dec 29, 2001. He was initially arrested due to alleged involvement in the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia. However, police later claimed that he was a JI member.

He is currently waiting for a decision on a habeas corpus application at the Kuala Lumpur High Court for his detention to be declared unlawful.

PAS central committee member Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud, who was present today, expressed concern that children of ISA detainees could become distraught.

She said the effects felt by the family may result in hatred towards Suhakam, the police and government.

"There is a sense of bitterness among people and especially among the children of ISA detainees, who might end up becoming anti-social and even anti-establishment," she said.

She urged Women and Family Development Minister Shahrizat Abdul Jalil to tackle the problem faced by the family members of detainees.