Updated version

Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today said he has yet to receive a report on the 10 Internal Security Act (ISA) detainees and it is therefore preemptive to ask about their fate.

Abdullah, who is also the deputy prime minister, was replying to questions on whether he was going to sign the detention orders that will send the 10 to the Kamunting detention camp for up to two years' confinement.

Though initially taken aback by the question, Badawi said: "Nothing has been presented to me yet."

When it was pointed out to him that it has already been 40 days, he said: "Don't worry, when the time comes I will know how to deal with it."

Abdullah was speaking at the press conference held after the national unity convention organised by Asian Strategic and Leadership Institute in Sunway Resort Hotel, Petaling Jaya.

"Don't ask me now because investigations will be done and a report will be submitted to me and at the time I will make the decision. You don't ask me whether I will do this (sign). That means you are asking me to give a preconceived idea of what I want to do."

When pointed out that as home minister, he should know what is going to happen, at this juncture, the public relations officer Kamarulzaman Zainal interrupted and said: "Can we talk about other issues?"

However, Badawi brushed him off, insisting, "No, no, I want to deal with this. I'm not running away from this.

"But you have to give me a chance to look at this. Don't ask me to say, 'This is what I want to do', irrespective (of whether I have seen the report or not). That's not the way to do it."

However, he did not specify when the public could expect him to reply on the matter.

Preventive measure

When another reporter asked how Malaysians can have nation-building when they have the ISA which allows detention without trial, Abdullah said: "ISA is necessary for nation-building. Each community has to voluntarily sacrifice certain things to achieve it. If there is any among us who goes and incites others to a racial riot, we will deal with these people. The ISA is a preventive measure."

However, he conceded that the government has to be responsible and should not abuse the sweeping security law.

"We have talked to many groups - non-governmental organisations, student groups and political parties - and we have given assurances that we will not abuse the ISA."

He also said that the arrest of the seven opposition leaders among the 10 is only a coincidence. "If [being in the opposition] is the real reason, we would have arrested many others."

When asked why detention without trial is needed when there are other laws to deal with "these people", he laughed and said, "We haven't finished yet. We have to do a lot of things. We have to investigate."

The 10 who have been detained since police launched a crackdown on April 10 are Keadilan leaders Tian Chua and Dr Badrul Amin Baharom; party Youth leaders Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, Saari Sungib, N Gobalakrishnan, Abdul Ghani Haroon and Lokman Noor Adam, webmaster of Free Anwar Campaign website (Freeanwar.com) Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin; human rights activist Badaruddin Ismail; and social activist-cum- malaysiakini columnist Hishamuddin Rais.

National unity

Touching on the topic of the convention, Abdullah said controversial issues such as education will be raised when discussing national unity due to communal fears that persist despite the government's many assurances that the character of Chinese schools will be maintained.

"However, some members of the community chose not to believe those assurances," he said.

"We have told them that even Article 21 of the National Education Act has been amended to abolish the education minister's power to close any vernacular school, but that is not seen as a guarantee from the government," he added.

Abdullah said there was obviously a lot of communal politics involved in this particular issue.

"But as far as I am concerned, if we continue to seriously work on it and begin, with one or two schools here and there, we can prove to them that the establishment of these schools will not in any way affect them.

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating. The ministry has already started (the schools), let that succeed, let people see, let them come and visit, let them talk to the children and let them see how the children fare," he added.

Abdullah admitted the vision school concept, which will see Chinese, Tamil and national schools housed in the same compound, was very difficult to sell as the arguments were divergent. Many of those in the Chinese community has expressed fears that Chinese schools will lose their identity.

"The most important thing to do now is to conquer the prevailing fear and distrust in order to bring the people together. In many ways we have succeeded," he added.

About 400 people professionals, politicians, educationists and trade union members attended the convention.