The Bar Council today criticised the use of the Internal Security Act (ISA) against 10 people for their alleged involvement in a militant movement said to be bent on toppling the government through violence.

Its chairman Mah Weng Kwai said there are other statutory provisions available to effect the arrests of the so-called Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM) members.

He said the 10, which included Kelantan Mentri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat's son and several other PAS members, can be charged under the Penal Code, Arms Act or the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act if the police have sufficient evidence.

"The incessant use of the ISA with seemingly complete disregard of other available statutory provisions can only serve to perpetrate a long trend of unjust detentions without trial," said Mah.

"The use of the ISA also sidesteps the constitutional right of Malaysians to consult lawyers of their choice upon arrest," he added.

(Those arrested under the ISA are subjected to an initial 60-day interrogative period and are denied legal access.)

Mah said the Bar Council, which represents about 10,000 lawyers, is of the view that the right to legal representation upon arrest and the right to trial must be granted to all persons irrespective of their disposition to criminality or violence.

Last week, Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai said that those detained had undergone militant training in Afghanistan and are a threat to national security.

The police chief also linked KMM to another 'militant group' which had recently attempted to rob a bank in Petaling Jaya. However, the heist failed when a security personnel shot dead one of the suspects.

Following this, police detained several suspects and subsequent investigations led police to recover a cache of weapons. This group was also alleged to be behind the killing of Barisan Nasional member of Parliament (MP) Dr Joe Fernandez last year.

Clarify report

Meanwhile, DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang is asking PAS leaders to clarify a Nanyang Siang Pau report yesterday which quoted a PAS activist and a former youth committee member admitting to the existence of KMM.

He said that this revelation was striking in the light of earlier claims made by top PAS leaders regarding the militant group's actuality.

"PAS president Fadzil Noor said yesterday (in the Sun daily) that the party had no knowledge of the term KMM used by the government and police," said Lim.

Lim added that Nik Aziz, too, had questioned as to whether KMM really existed or was just a figment of the government's imagination.

He added the statement by the PAS activist, who had also said that the 100-member KMM was not part of an international militant network, gave rise to confusion and credibility problems.

Lim also repeated his call for the government to discharge its duty and prove the existence of KMM.

Families of the 10 detainees will be submitting a memorandum to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) tomorrow.