10 Islamic activists arrested under ISA in Tawau

The 10, arrested on Monday, are either PAS members or supporters, including respected religious teachers.

TAWAU: Ten religious teachers and Islamic activists were arrested here under the Internal Security Act (ISA) by a team of police officers from federal police headquarters Bukit Aman.

The counter-terrorism operation by the Special Assignment Team was led by DSP Azman Omar. The police gave no information on the arrests.

The families of the detainees were informed on Tuesday that their relatives were being detained under the ISA which allows for detention without trial. They can be kept incommunicado for 60 days, after which the Home Minister can detain them for two years.

According to sources, those arrested were all PAS members or supporters, including respected religious teachers in the Tawau district.

Sabah PAS commissioner Mohd Aminuddin Aling questioned the arrests which he said were made without warrants, notice or any prior information. He also complained that the police operation was conducted in front of wives and children.

He said the police should “clarify the real situation so the news of the arrests will not be misinterpreted and raise negative assumption of those detained”.

He said the police were heavily armed and rough. They also seized several laptops and cash.

Mohd Aminuddin said the police operation was all the more shocking as Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak had just announced in September that the ISA would be scrapped.

“People are shocked by the ISA detention,” he said.

“The cruel and inhuman act has caused chaos in the families of the detainees,” he said. He demanded the 10 to be immediately released without conditions or be charged in court.

Tawau police chief Ibrahim Chin declined to comment but the local media noted that there was a heavy police presence along the road to the Tawau airport in the Apas area where the arrests were made.

According to sources, the arrests could be for any number of reasons, including for terrorism threats in Sabah.