Hisham says won’t use ISA on Mat Sabu — yet

Hishammuddin said there were other laws that could be brought to bear on Mat Sabu. — File pic

BAGAN DATOH, Sept 11 — Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein has said the Internal Security Act (ISA) would not be used against PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu for now, adding that the law should not be wielded against politicians as long as they did not threaten the country’s safety.

Mohamad, popularly known as Mat Sabu, has been under fire since Utusan Malaysia alleged that he had said on August 27 that the communists who attacked the Bukit Kepong police station during the pre-Merdeka insurgency were heroes.

Today, Home Minister Hishammuddin said there were other laws available that could be applied towards Mat Sabu’s alleged remarks, but did not specifically identify the offence the opposition leader may have committed.

“While awaiting a legal redress, it does not mean we cannot do anything sensible to correct the misconception,” Hishammuddin was quoted saying by Bernama Online today.

Mohamad has denied Utusan Malaysia’s report and said he will file a suit tomorrow against the Umno-owned daily over its report of his ceramah last month that touched on the Bukit Kepong tragedy.

The ISA is a holdover from British colonial days when it was used against communist insurgents, and its continued and broadened application has attracted criticism of being a weapon to silence political dissent.

The Act was famously used in the 1987 Ops Lalang crackdown during the Mahathir administration, when two dailies were closed along with two weekly newspapers and 106 people were arrested.