Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today dismissed a US Embassy report that Malaysia used national security laws to silent political dissidents.

He said political arrests only took place when Dr Mahathir Mohamad was prime minister and he had used the now defunct Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) to silent dissidents.

"But his successors did not," added Zahid.

"Political arrests only occurred during Mahathir's era, where the ISA was used. Under the era of Pak Lah (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) and Najib Razak, nobody was arrested due to political differences," he said...