New York-based Human Rights Watch yesterday urged the government to repeal the Emergency Ordinance (EO) law presently used to detain more than 700 people without trial.

In a 35-page report titled Convicted before Trial: Indefinite Detention under Malaysia's Emergency Ordinance , the organisation described inhumane and degrading conditions during such detention.

The group's researcher and lawyer Sahr Muhammed Ally said the time has come to repeal the 37-year old law as it denies detainees their basic rights such as defending themselves in court.

"None of the detainees are charged, none are tried in court and they almost never really know the allegations brought against them. The detentions deny a person's due process to be heard and convicted in court," she said during the launch of the report.

This, the reports says serves as a short cut to detain 'suspected gangsters and criminals' without conclusive evidence.

Detention orders normally last two years, renewable at the discretion of the Internal Security Minister. Most detainees are held in the Simpang Renggam detention camp in Seremban while others are placed under the restricted residence ordinance in remote areas.

As Malaysia had recently ascended to the United Nations Human Rights Council, Sahr said the government must take their membership seriously, and improve their human rights record.

She added that while Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had repeatedly criticised the US-run Guantanamo detention camp in Cuba, he had ignored a similar institution in his own country.

"The prime minister echoed the universal call for the closure of Guantanamo but he conveniently forgot that there are not one but two Guantanamo-like detention centres in Malaysia," said Sahr.

Outdated law

Social activist S Arutchelvan ( right ) who was at the launch, said the report backs the findings of the Royal Police Commission which recommended for the EO to be repealed as there were cases of abuse of basic liberties.

Like Sahr, Arutchelvan too questioned the relevancy of the ordinance today, as it was not an act of Parliament.

"The EO was signed by the King in 1969 during a state of 'emergency'. So are we still in a permanent state of emergency?," he said, explaining the historical background of the law.

The launch also saw former EO detainee Samsudin Mohamad, 41, describing his experience of being victim to a 'serial remand' before finally being slapped with a two-year restricted residence order in 1999 over alleged involvement in a robbery.

"I was detained for seven days in Alor Setar, then transported to Jitra, back to Alor Setar and from there to Kulim for another 14 days. Before the day was over, I was brought to Sungai Petani for another 14 days," describes Samsudin, adding that he was denied legal representation the whole time.

"I was ordered to live in a village called Kampung Bantal in Jerantut district, Pahang accessible by a six-hour boat ride. My wife gave me money and I rented a room. There wasn't any work avaiable...

"When I think back, I'm not at peace with what had happened (to me)," said Samsudin, adding that he is in the process of suing the Home Ministry and the police for his incarceration.