Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad must apologise for the unlawful detention of lawyer Karpal Singh under the Internal Security Act 14 years ago, said DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang today.

Yesterday, the High Court ruled that Karpal's 10-month long detention from April 1, 1988 to Jan 25, 1989 was unconstitutional due to the Advisory Board's failure to hear his representation within three months from the date of his detention order which was issued on Dec 18, 1987.

In his 11-page judgment, Justice Abdul Hamid Said stated that the delay had breached Article 151 (B) of the Federal Constitution.

(The article states that no citizen shall be detained for more than three months unless a representation is made to an advisory board which will make its recommendations to the King.)

Karpal who is DAP deputy national chairperson had sued the home ministry and the government in 1990. The court also awarded costs to Karpal and set Feb 20 next year to hear assessment of damages.

However, Lim said the victory could not restore the months of personal freedom which Karpal lost during his detention.

"As the home minister responsible for Karpal's unconstitutional detention, a public apology from Mahathir would be in order and most appropriate", he added.

Karpal was among some 100 activists, educationists and opposition politicians who were arrested under the ISA, which allows for detention without trial, in an operation codenamed ' Ops Lalang '.

The arrests were carried out under the orders of Mahathir who was also the Minister of Home Affairs.

Anwar's appeal

Lim said yesterday's ruling should be more than a "jolt" to the judiciary to be ever mindful of the need to deal with cases expeditiously and urgently, as this concerns the deprivation of liberty of the person.

In view of this, Lim called on the Federal Court not to further delay in deciding jailed ex-deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's appeal against his conviction for four counts of corruption which landed him a six-year jail sentence.

His appeal was originally scheduled for Nov 27 last year, but was postponed due to his chronic backache which resulted in him being hospitalised.

Anwar who was sacked from his cabinet position in 1998 is currently serving a 15-year jail term for corruption and sodomy charges.