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The detention without trial in the form of the Internal Security Act (ISA) is one of the most inhumane laws of the modern age. It is obvious that the decision to arrest and detain us was politically motivated.

Our 60-day investigation period was simply for 'brainwashing' and an information gathering exercise by the Special Branch of the police. The interrogation never touched on activities that violated laws of the land nor actions which undermined public security.

As the charge sheet clearly shows, our 'crimes' have been framed without any specific or concrete detail. Whatever we said during the interrogation was really inconsequential. Our sentence was decided even before the investigation concluded.

It appears that Deputy Prime Minister and Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Badawi has signed our detention orders in a haste, on June 2 - a public holiday. Abdullah Badawi had to work overtime to ensure that we are securely behind bars. It is clear that such an unpopular move tarnishes the image of the DPM and only serves to entrench the power of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

I do not think our appeal to the so-called Advisory Board will yield any positive outcome (ISA detainees have the right to present their case for early release to an Home Affairs Ministry Advisory Board every six months). The establishment of an advisory board under a law that violates human rights is nothing but a mockery of our legal system.

No illusion

We have no illusion that the advisory board will provide a fair and reasonable avenue for our plight. Throughout our detention, our interrogators shamelessly claimed that the board is an internal check-and-balance mechanism in the system.

The truth is crystal clear - every decision pertaining to ISA detentions is political. We cannot hope to appeal to human compassion or legal rationale. Our release will depend solely on the strength of people's support. We should not fantasise that freedom will be granted by the puppet advisory board. Eventually, we will only enjoy true freedom if the ISA is totally repealed.

While the 14-day final deadline is not up yet, we do not rule out that we may still appear in front of the advisory board. We will consider all strategic and tactical options in order to maximise political impact without legitimising the role of the advisory board and the ISA.

Whatever our final decision will be, the advisory board will have not a real say in suspending or continuing our detention. The draconian law states clearly that full power is in the hands of Home Affairs minister.

However, our fate is with the people. We have confidence that the ISA will eventually be trampled under the people's feet as the nation marches towards the dawn of democracy.


TIAN CHUA, vice-president of Keadilan, was arrested under the ISA on April 10 and is currently being detained without trial for a two-year period at the Kamunting detention camp in Taiping, Perak. This article was written by him while in detention.

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