A slew of local organisations today slammed the police for using the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the arrest of a student leader in Kuala Lumpur yesterday and reiterated calls on the government to repeal the controversial law.

The Bar Council said if the police had sufficient grounds to suspect that the student has committed an offence, they should arrest him and investigate him under the provisions of the Penal Code or other relevant laws, and charge him accordingly in court.

"To arrest a person under the ISA is to effectively refrain him from seeking his democratic rights to be heard before a judge," Bar president Mah Weng Kwai said in a press statement to malaysiakini .

He added that any arrest pursuant to the ISA constituted a gross breach of fundamental human rights and an affront to the rule of law.

"The Malaysian Bar condemns any further arrests pursuant to the ISA where the persons arrested are detained without trial.

"The Malaysian Bar again calls on the government to immediately repeal the Act," Mah said.

The student, Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin, 24, was arrested under Section 73 (1) of the ISA yesterday.

The second-year electrical engineering student from Institut Kemahiran Mara was detained at the Dang Wangi police station while accompanying six students who were called to give their statements on an anti-ISA demonstration in front of the National Mosque on June 8.

Legitimacy for torture

The National Human Rights Society (Hakam) said it was saddened by attempts by the government and police force in intimidating students through the use of arbitrary detention without trial.

Its secretary-general Elizabeth Wong called for the immediate and unconditional release of Khairul, and stressed that students have the right to freedom of thought and expression.

"Only a bankrupt regime would actively seek to deny the rights of students. The student population is one which is without much political clout in our present political system. However, they remain citizens of our country and the future of our society," Wong said.

She added that the Education Ministry's suggestion that private educational institutions should not accept students expelled from public universities was also a glaring violation of the fundamental right to education.

Amnesty International Malaysia also said that to deprive a person of his freedom and civil liberties, including the right to a fair and open trial merely on an allegation of being a threat to national security, was totally unacceptable in modern society.

"Previous experiences have shown that the ISA has been used to provide a semblance of legitimacy for torture in custody.

"The fact that the ISA is used against students is even more reprehensible," its coordinating committee chairperson Joseph Paul said.

He urged the government to ensure complete transparency in the way the detainees are treated and to charge them in a regular court of law.

The Undergraduates' Welfare Committee of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia also condemned Khairul's arrest, adding that it was unfair and a strain on his future education.

Its coordinator S Mathavi said that it was time the government repealed the ISA, adding that its use against students was unacceptable.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has also been urged to conduct an inquiry into Khairul's safety and whereabouts as his well-being in police custody is in doubt.

Complaint lodged with Suhakam

A local legal group, SumberDaya Guaman Rakyat, lodged a complaint at Suhakam's office today, urging it to exercise its powers to protect the fundamental freedoms of the people as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

"It is trite knowledge that police resort to the ISA to prevent judicial scrutiny and investigation of the freedom of the detainees from torture," its director Salbiah Ahmad said in the written complaint.

She added that under the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia Act 1999, Suhakam may summon any person to attend any meeting including to give evidence and to examine Khairul as a witness.

"May I have the indulgence of the commission to have Section 14(1)(c) of the Act explored within the first 10 days of Khairul Anwar's detention as these days are the crucial days of intensive interrogation," Salbiah said.

She also said that the power afforded to the commission under this section would include the right of visit to the detainee and his place of detention.

The Abolish ISA Movement echoed that Suhakam should exercise its power and visit Khairul within a day or two.

The movement's secretary S Arutchelvan said Suhakam should be the first to "knock on the police's doors".