Reiterating its message last year , Amnesty International (AI) in its 2004 annual report noted the Malaysian government's continued use of restrictive legislation last year to curtail freedom of expression, association, and assembly.

"The government continued to justify detention without trial under the Internal Security Act as a means to counter the threat of 'terrorism'," it said in the report released in London today.

Part of the additional 'anti-terrorism' measures included amendments which would impose criminal penalties - including imprisonment up to 30 years - on lawyers, accountants and others facilitating 'terrorist' activities.

Such moves raised concern about the broad definition of 'terrorist acts', the human rights organisation said.

Malaysia, it said, is part of a broader trend among countries which viewed the 'war on terror' as an opportunity to curtail that human rights.

Scores of suspected Islamist activists detained under the ISA seem "condemned to a legal blackhole", said AI, as attempts to challenge the legal grounds for the detentions "remained ineffective".

No freedom to assemble

As well, the granting of police permits for public assemblies "remained inconsistent", said AI, noting the decision by the authorities to deny opposition parties and a women's rights group from organising public rallies, to oppose the Iraq war and to call for an end to violence on women, respectively.

"In March, two separate rallies opposing war in Iraq took place in Kuala Lumpur. The larger demonstration, organised by government-backed groups, was facilitated by the police, while a smaller organisation, organised by opposition parties was blocked by police," it said.

And while the national human rights commission (Suhakam) recommended a repeal of the ISA, and the review and repeal of sections of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) and Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA) since August last year, the government has yet to respond to the proposals, said AI.

'Serious blow'

The law is also used on students allegedly participating in peaceful demonstrations, and on labour and women's rights activist Irene Fernandez, who was sentenced to 12 months jail in October for releasing a report which highlighted patterns of abuse and deaths from preventable diseases in migrant detention camps.

Fernandez's conviction, in particular, was a "serious blow for human rights defenders", said AI.

AI further reiterated its stand that jailed former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, and his adopted brother and co-accused Sukma Darmawan Sasmitaat Madja, remain prisoners of conscience, as their trials had "failed to meet international standards of fairness."

On the issue of migrant workers and asylum-seekers in particular, it said reports of ill-treatment continued to be heard, coupled with concerns that detention camp conditions also failed to meet international standards.

"In August, police erected roadblocks around the Kuala Lumpur office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and arrested individuals, mostly from Myanmar and Aceh seeking to lodge asylum claims.

"UNHCR expressed alarm at this 'unprecedented action' and urged authorities to release those who were detained and to respect the principle of non-refoulement ."

It further noted that in November, eight asylum-seekers reported that they were "ill-treated physically and psychologically" while under detention, for refusing to be returned "voluntarily".

The authorities' decision to cane hundreds of migrant workers and asylum seekers, found to have breached the Immigration Act, was also criticised.

Police brutality

The organisation in expressing concern over police brutality and custodial deaths, raised the case of coconut seller Ho Kwai See, whose family was refused a second post-mortem despite noting bruises on the deceased's body. Ho died in prison one week after being arrested on suspicion of drug offences.

There have also been "repeated reports" on police excessive use of force, ill-treatment and unlawful killings of police suspects, said AI, with the Home Ministry announcing in October an increase in the average number of deaths in custody - from 19 to 26 per month - and as many as 27 shot dead by police from January to October last year.

The same month, the family of 19-year-old V Viknes - shot dead for apparently refusing to surrender - disputed the police's version of events. Instead, they claim that bruises on his body indicate that he was assaulted prior to being shot, and that the police were suppressing evidence.

As a whole, the organisation said Asia continued to be the only region without a regional human rights mechanism, with governments reluctant to ratify key human rights instruments.