Dr M: Police stopped me from scrapping ISA

Mahathir also said he had sought to cut ISA detentions to one year instead of two. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 17 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad claimed today that he had wanted to abolish the Internal Security Act (ISA) when serving as the prime minister but had faced opposition from the police.

The 1960 security law allows for detention without trial and a 1989 amendment under Dr Mahathir’s rule removed the option for judicial review, granting the home minister absolute discretion to extend or reduce detention time.

“ISA must be invoked when necessary, but when I was the prime minister I wanted to abolish the ISA but the police were against it,” Dr Mahathir told a forum on parliamentary democracy here.

“When I suggested that the period be reduced from two to one year, they said ‘cannot’,” he added and pointed out that he had to rely on the police as his advisors on national security.

Dr Mahathir had recently also blamed the police for a mass ISA arrest in 1987, which led to the detention of then Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang, his son Lim Guan Eng and 104 others.

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