Opposition leaders today accused the government of trying to ape the United States when it said it is considering tightening present security laws to deal with "modern-day terrorism".

"We hope the government would not learn from the US on how to make our security laws even more repressive than they already are," PRM president Dr Syed Husin Ali told malaysiakini .

"Many of the major newspapers there have already labelled President George W Bush a dictator," added Syed Husin.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today announced that the government may be amending the existing national security laws to combat terrorism.

According to the deputy premier, the amendments would not be limited to the Internal Security Act - which provides for indefinite detention without trial.

"We are not confining ourselves to certain laws. We need to have a wider perspective because modern-day terrorism, it seems, is a phenomenon which needs to be tackled with a broader range of action, not specific and not restricted to certain agencies," said Abdullah who is also the home affairs minister.

Following the Sept 11 terror attacks, the US government recently passed the Patriot Act which among others allows wiretaps without prior clearance from judges, trials to be conducted in closed courts and a detention period without recourse to judicial review and habeas corpus .

However, Syed Husin argues the government is using terrorism as an excuse to make existing laws more repressive when they should be abolished or amended to create more democratic space.

"The laws as they stand are already draconian enough especially the ISA. Are they going to make it more repressive?" asked Syed Husin, a former ISA detainee himself.

Taking advantage

Meanwhile, DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock said such moves by the government could scare away investors.

"I don't think this move will help to shake the image that militants are present in Malaysia. It will make things worse and will give the wrong impression. Our laws are effective enough as they are; why do you need to tighten them?" he queried.

Kerk also questioned the motive behind Abdullah's statement, concluding that "the government must be taking advantage of the Sept 11 attacks to further tighten its control".

PAS Youth Chief Mahfuz Omar said although the US' Patriot Act was meant specifically for terrorists, the Malaysian government has a track record of abusing such laws like the ISA.

"In the past the ISA was meant to deal with communist insurgents, but the government has abused the act by using it to arbitrarily detain political enemies.

"Based on the government's past record, it would not be surprising that new arrests are carried out against its political enemies," Mahfuz said.

In April, 10 Keadilan leaders and reformasi activists were detained under the ISA for allegedly planning to overthrow the government via militant means. Four have been released unconditionally, one remains under restricted residence.

A fresh round of ISA arrests occurred in August when 15 PAS members, including the son of the party's spiritual adviser Nik Aziz Nik Mat were detained.

They were alleged to be part of the Malaysian Mujahideen Group (KMM) - an Afghan-trained 'militant outfit' wanting to overthrow the government.

However, the government has yet to provide evidence of their involvement and several have been released.