The government has slapped another two years on the detention order of eleven men, whose initial two-year detention under the Internal Security Act was expected to expire at midnight tonight.

Families of the men were informed the decision over the phone by Bukit Aman special branch officers at about 5.45 this evening.

When contacted, Norlaila Othman (left photo), wife of former technician Mat Sah Mohd Satray, protested the government's failure to be transparent over its decisions, including refusing to reveal the whereabouts of the men to their families.

But she also said the renewal order "was expected", based on her conversation with Bukit Aman officers-in-charge of the case this morning.

In an unusual move yesterday, the detainees were transferred from the Kamunting detention camp in Perak to an undisclosed police remand centre in Kuala Lumpur under Section 18 of the Internal Security Act, for the purpose of obtaining more information.

Police remand centres are unknown locations where ISA detainees are taken for questioning during the first 60 days of detention.

"We know that they (government) are doing this in order to assert their powers, to show that they can extend orders however they wish," she said.

Families have been informed to check with Bukit Aman again on Monday morning to see if they will have a chance to visit their husbands.

Last minute move

Prior to being informed of the extension order this morning, representatives of interest group Abolish ISA Movement (AIM) protested the eleventh hour decision to bring the men in for further questioning.

"Today is the expiry of their detention and we are not told why they were brought to KL. It is our right to know," said AIM chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh following the families' meeting with the Special Branch unit at Bukit Aman.

The families said they were reliably informed that only nine of the eleven detainees were transferred out of Kamunting yesterday morning.

The nine are Azmi Khan Mahmood, Jaafar Saldin, Mazlan Ishak, Nasaruddin Nasir, Shakom Shahid, Shamsuddin Sulaiman, Syed Ali Syed Abdullah, Yusrin Haiti, as well as Mat Sah.

"They are in KL, but they (authorities) refuse to tell me where they are. They say that my husband is safe, but how can I believe their words when they refuse to let me see him?" Norlaila had said.

The other two are Indonesian nationals with permanent residency in Malaysia, Agung Biyadi Abdul Bunyamin and Muchlis Abdul Halim.

Government secrecy

All eleven, alleged by the government to have links with regional terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah, are detained under Section 8 A (1) on account of 'threatening national security'. But to date, the government has not revealed evidence to back its claims.

Under the ISA, the Internal Security Minister or his deputy has the sole discretion to determine if a person poses a potential threat to national security or public order, and is empowered to place them under indefinite detention without trial.

Syed Ibrahim said government's secrecy over the detention is "emotionally distressing" for the family, especially the children.

"The decision to wield the ISA is unfortunate, given that Malaysia is a democratic country," he said.