updated version

Student activist Khairul Anuar Ahmad Zainuddin who was detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA) early this month was released from the Kuala Lumpur police headquarters at about 1.30pm today.

Khairul, who is also known as Jonah, has been in police custody for 23 days under the ISA, which allows detention without trial.

On July 5, Khairul, 24, was detained under Section 73(1) of the Act when he accompanied six student activists to the Dang Wangi district police headquarters who were required to report to the police over their arrest in the June 8 anti-ISA demonstration outside the National Mosque.

Following his arrest, Khairul was expelled from the Institut Kemahiran Mara (IKM) where he was pursuing an electrical engineering course.

IKM claimed that Mohd Khairul had tarnished the image of the institution by participating in anti-government activities.

Another student, Universiti Malaya's Mohd Fuad Ikhwan, who was detained under the ISA early this month, was released on July 16 after being held for 10 days.

Show-cause letter

According to Farah Syuhada, a friend of Khairul who was with his sister, Azwah, to meet Khairul at the police headquarters today, the student activist was tired but physically healthy.

"He is okay and fine," Farah told malaysiakini , adding that Khairul needed some rest.

Khairul is currently at his sister's residence in Cheras and he is expected to return to his home town in Malacca later today.

Last month, Khairul was served a show-cause letter by IKM, which among others accused him of "being involved in a reformasi motivational workshop intended to spur reformists to carry out plans to overthrow the government via street demonstrations".

The letter stated that the charges were based on information provided by the police Special Branch.

The campus authorities also accused Khairul of receiving orders from Keadilan's Youth to rally varsity students to participate in illegal demonstrations sponsored by the reformasi movement.

"You and 10 other Malays youths have also showed open support for the protest against the closure of SJK (C) Damansara," the letter stated.

"You were also present at a secret meeting with the reformasi group and Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to discuss street demonstrations to corrode the people's faith in the government."

In search of his cats

According to Khairul's sister Azwah, when the student leader was released from police custody this afternoon, he went to his residence-cum-tutorial centre in Bangsar Utama, Kuala Lumpur, to look for his cats.

Unfortunately, his three cats - Hitam, Abang and Siti - could not be found.

Khairul was the principal of the tutorial centre dubbed as Universiti Bangsar Utama, which offered free tuition and confidence building classes to working-class students who reside around the area.

The tuition centre, which survived on proceeds from public donations and theatrical performance such as ' Tok Ampoo ' -a political satire written by ISA detainee Hishamuddin Rais - was staffed by student volunteers.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad warned that the government would take "radical actions", including slashing the bumiputra quota for university admission, to prevent more students from being involved in campus activism.

He said some Malays have taken their rights for granted and assume that they will still get financial assistance and support from the government no matter what they do.

"But we shall see, if the government takes everything away from the Malays, what will happen to them?" he warned.