The Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur was filled to capacity when some 3,000 people attended a anti-Internal Security Act (ISA) gathering held there last night.

The event, to launch the 'Campaign to Abolish the ISA', also saw the presence of NGO personalities, opposition party leaders and the families and friends of the ten ISA detainees held in a recent police swoop.

Although many in the crowd were forced to stand due to lack of space, this did not stop them from responding enthusiastically to the speakers and various performances.

Highlight of the evening was the skit by theatre group 'Teater Bukan Teater', comprising university students who were under the tutelage of current ISA detainee and malaysiakini columnist, Hishamuddin Rais.

The crowd, caught up in the spirit of the moment, jeered the actors who took on the role of Malaysian policemen.

At one point, ISA detainee Abdul Ghani Haroon's wife was seen clasping her hands and trying to keep her tears away when the actors acted out a scene of policemen torturing an ISA detainee. The crowd threw balls of paper onto the stage, 'protesting' the torture.

Loud cheers

Malaysian Trade Union Council (MTUC) secretary-general G Rajasekaran had the crowd in a near delirium when he took the podium and spoke on a unrelated matter - the use of EPF funds to buy up an unsubscribed portion of Time Dotcom's Initial Public Offering (IPO).

He obviously struck a chord with those present as they chanted him on with shouts of 'Picket, picket!'.

Among the others who addressed the gathering were former ISA and women's activist, Irene Xavier, human rights group Suaram president Dr Kua Kia Soong, Abim president Ahmad Azam Abdul Rahman and Parliamentary opposition leader and PAS president Fadzil Noor

Wife of Keadilan youth leader Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, one of the 10 arrested by police under the ISA recently, received loud cheers when she went on stage to address the crowd and challenged the authorities to produce the detainees in an open court.

Fadzil, the last to speak, had the crowd rolling on the floor with laughter with his jibes at government leaders and policies.

"Your contributions today will not be used to buy rocket launchers and bombs. We will use it in our fight to abolish the ISA. What we are asking for is in accordance to Islamic and universal values. This is our right.

"God will not allow this earth to be tainted by those who are cruel to the people," said Fadzil, to the applause of the crowd.