Judges will fail in their duties to the public if they put too much trust in the authorities alone, an activist and lawyer told a conference on the Internal Security Act today.

"The judges now place too must trust in the administration and because of this they have abdicated in terms of the very important duty to the public," said Dominic Puthucheary.

"When I read the judgements of the various judges who heard habeas corpus applications, I am struck by their faith in the administration, they do not look beyond the affidavit of the minister," Puthucheary said.

Habeas corpus is legal writ which forces a detaining authority to release detainees if bad faith on the part of the authority can be proven. ISA allows for detention without trial.

The former ISA detainee and member of Parliament for Nibong Tebal said judges must not ignore affidavits submitted by ISA detainees.

Puthucheary was one of the five panelists who presented their views on an ISA panel discussion organised by Suaram in conjunction with the 14th anniversary of Operasi Lalang .

In Oct 27, 1987, over a hundred activists and politicians from both ends of the spectrum, were arrested under the ISA as part of a swoop for allegedly firing up racial sentiments.

Among those arrested were DAP national chairman Lim Kit Siang, his deputy Karpal Singh, social activist Kua Kia Soong and PSM protem chairman Dr Nasir Hashim.

Wrong perception

Puthucheary also said the public had a wrong perception of the ISA's origin, propagating apathy from the public.

"The ISA promulgated by the Emergency Ordinance 1948 was being used against not only communists and terrorists but also against nationalists calling for independence.

"One, however, cannot blame the judges as the judiciary grew out of the Emergency and armed revolt," Puthucheary said.

He also said that the most important aspect of the rule of law was the freedom of the individual to express himself and to think.

"There should be no law to restrict this and the duty of the judiciary is to intervene on behalf on the individual when these rights are being threatened.

"Even when people are arrested, they must be assumed to be innocent until proven guilty. Article 10 which guarantees freedom of speech is plucked from history and put into words," he added.

ISA has no basis in Islam

Another speaker, International Islamic University academic Dr Abdul Aziz Bari told the audience that the ISA has no basis in terms of Islamic law.

"In Islam, the concept of justice is also accompanied by transparency and accountability. Any attempts to justify the ISA from the view point of Islam will find no clear basis to defend the act," Aziz said.

"I admit that the state must be protected but the principles of justice and equality must be there but these concepts are amiss in the Act," he added.

Fan Yew Teng, a social activist and former DAP parliamentarian, dubbed the Sept 11 terrorist attacks on the US as the beginning of an ISA globalisation.

"Sept 11 has become the excuse for retaining or enacting the ISA and ISA-like laws; it is being used to rationalise or justify detention without trial in the most obscene and vulgar show of triumphalism seen for a long time," Fan said.

"Even killers and rapists have the rights to a trial but not those detained under the ISA. So where is the justice," Fan added.

A tool for torture

Another panel member, academic, human rights activist and ISA detainee Dr Kua Kia Soong spoke on the ISA being used as a tool for torture.

"We have to decide whether the terror of detention without trial, especially the infamous ISA, is part of the Malaysian way of life or a relic of our former colonial past.

"We cannot allow political leaders to contradict the avowed national objective of reaching Vision 2020 by using laws and methods of torture typical of banana dictatorships," Kua said.

Dr Syed Husin Ali, PRM president and also another former ISA detainee, said the Act was a good political tool to antagonise opposition parties and groups in Malaysia.

"The government is using the ISA to arrest suspected terrorists associated with opposition parties in Malaysia and then later use that pretense to ban opposition parties.

"They can also use the Act to create a psychology of fear among the populace and effectively cutting off those who wish to express their views," Syed said.