Four Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees have been transferred from the Kamunting detention camp in Perak to a Police Remand Centre (PRC) in Kuala Lumpur for a "counseling" session.

PRCs are where those arrested under the ISA are interrogated during the initial 60 days. The location of these centres are confidential

According to the Abolish ISA Movement (AIM), Abdul Razak Baharuddin, Khairuddin Saad, Abu Bakar Che Doi and Tajuddin Abu Bakar were transferred on Sept 5.

Apart from Abdul Razak, who is said to be linked to Jemaah Islamiah (JI), the rest are allegedly members of Kumpulan Mujahiddin Malaysia (KMM).

When contacted, AIM secretary Chang Lih Kang said special branch officers allegedly told their wives that the detainees will be released "after the counseling session".

"(However), the second two-year detention orders for the alleged KMM trio will only expire next September while for Abdul Razak in Feb 2006," he added.

To a question, he said the transfer of Abdul Razak could also be linked with the upcoming terror-related trial involving Indonesian cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir.

The alleged JI leader was re-arrested in April this year after completing a 18-month jail term for minor immigration offences and is currently awaiting trial after being accused of masterminding the 2002 Bali bombings.

It was reported that the Indonesian government wants at least seven JI members held in Kamunting to testify against Abu Bakar via video-conferencing.

Camp commandant Zawari Abdul Rashid and other officers could not be reached for comment.

Instilling fear

Meanwhile, AIM said the transfer of the four detainees violated Section 18 of the security law.

"AIM views that section 18 of the ISA has been increasingly invoked by the special branch to transfer detainees out of Kamunting in order to conduct interrogation, brainwashing, turning over, intelligence gathering at the whims and fancies of the special branch," said AIM chairperson Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh in a statement.

He claimed that detainees were usually threatened during these so-called 'counseling sessions'.

"AIM is of the opinion that the interrogation should have been completed in the first 60 days of the detention and there should not be any further interrogation thereafter," he added.

He said the transfer was unlawful because the conduct of 'interrogation, brainwashing, turning over and intelligence gatherings" do not fall under purposes of section 18.

The movement viewed the transfer as a move to instill psychological fear in detainees to prevent them from protesting against the ISA.

In June, nine ISA detainees were transferred to the PRC from Kamunting a day before they were slapped with a fresh two-year detention order.