Nearly all former detainees under the 1987 Ops Lalang who spoke to Malaysiakini agree with the recent call by former Court of Appeal judge Hishamudin Yunus for the government to apologise for their detention under the Internal Security Act 1960.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia leader and labour activist Dr Nasir Hashim also concurred with the sentiment that the government should apologise even though many years have passed.
“I agree. Even though time has passed, the wounds of cruelty, violence, and injustice cannot be easily forgotten.
“In order to protect their bread and butter, as well as their positions, the judiciary, administration, political leaders, newspapers, RTM, and security forces conspired under the thumb of (the then prime minister) Dr Mahathir Mohamad to sacrifice and victimise us as long as their cracks (the tensions within Umno at the time) could be neatly covered up,” said Nasir, who previously served as deputy dean of UKM's Faculty of Medicine.
Under Mahathir’s first stint as prime minister, 106 activists, journalists, and opposition politicians were detained without trial in November 1987.
Ops Lalang took place at a time when Umno was split into two camps, with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah challenging Mahathir for the Umno presidency in the 1987 party election.
Meanwhile, Nasir said many victims of detention without trial suffered severe trauma, including himself.
“Many ISA victims faced trauma, becoming paranoid and cautious to the point of becoming unable to engage with society. Many ISA victims also easily forget, even praising and supporting Mahathir again in order to seek political positions.”
The ISA was abolished in 2012 and replaced by the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act.
Since its enactment in 1960, it was reported that more than 10,000 people had been arrested and detained under the ISA.
Before its abolition, the ISA was criticised for alleged abuse of power, torture, and denial of detainees’ rights including access to lawyers and family members.
Dark History
Hishamudin had also delivered key judgments regarding ISA when he was a high court judge, including his 2007 decision to award RM2.5 million in damages to political activist Abdul Malek Hussin for being unlawfully detained and the injuries he suffered.
However, the Federal Court later ruled that Malek’s detention under the ISA was valid and he had to pay RM50,000 in costs.
In 2010, Hishamudin ordered that RM3.3 million be paid to former ISA detainee, businessperson Badrul Zaman PS Mohamed, and the court agreed that his 1994 detention was unlawful and unconstitutional.
In a series of cases involving the former ISA detainee Abdul Ghani Haroon, Hishamudin made landmark decisions including that habeas corpus applicants have the right to be present in court during proceedings.
Unfortunately, this was overruled by the Federal Court, which took a literal interpretation of Article 5(2) of the Federal Constitution.
Meanwhile, Women's Aid Organisation activist Irene Xavier, who was also a former Ops Lalang detainee, said it would be good for the government to apologise as the mass arrests without trial were a black mark on Malaysia’s history.
“So, if the government officially apologises to us (for what happened before), it is closed in a good way.
“That’s because victims of the detention had to face many problems. Some of us faced difficulties getting their jobs back, and so I think it’d be good for the government to apologise to us,” she said.
“I am open to accepting the apology but I hope it doesn't happen again,” she added.
Provide compensation
Meanwhile, former chemical engineering professor Tan Ka Kheng said the government should provide compensation to former Ops Lalang detainees in line with the compensation amount set by the Federal Court in a case involving five Reformasi activists.
In the 2016 decision, the Federal Court ordered the government to pay damages to former Batu MP Chua Tian Chang or Tian Chua, former Hulu Kelang assemblyperson Saari Sungib, activist Hishamuddin Rais, former PKR supreme council member Badrul Amin Baharom, and Badaruddin Ismail, amounting to RM10,000 for each day they spent under ISA detention in 2001.
The court had ruled that their detention was unlawful.
“The government should apologise to the victims of Ops Lalang and the nation because it led to a ‘dictatorial’ rule and the destruction of major public institutions and state governance, and was a serious assault on the intellectual community,” Tan told Malaysiakini.
“Ops Lalang allowed the ‘dictator’ to practice money politics and racial policies that divided the people, which has become a culture afflicting politicians and politics in Malaysia to this day,” he said in a WhatsApp message.
Before his detention under Ops Lalang, Tan was a lecturer at Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (now Universiti Putra Malaysia) and was involved in the committee protesting against rare earth processing in Bukit Merah, Perak, which was alleged to have caused the radioactive poisoning of residents.
However, former Perkasa president Ibrahim Ali, who was detained twice under the ISA for his involvement in the 1974 student movement and Umno politics in 1987, had a different view.
Ibrahim told Malaysiakini that Hishamudin’s call was merely his personal opinion.
“That’s just his view. In my view, we have to look at Ops Lalang from a national security perspective. The Court of Appeal judge looked at it from the point of law.
“The point of law and national security cannot be equated at times,” said Ibrahim, who at the time was an Umno Youth exco member.
Ibrahim said although he was a victim of Ops Lalang, he still believes the ISA detentions were carried out to prevent chaos.
“They were not yet involved but had the potential, meaning all parties were detained to ensure there were no individuals who could continue to fuel this racial tension,” he explained, referring to preventive laws on potential crimes that have yet to be committed.
‘Apologise to all ISA detainees’
Meanwhile, academic and political figure Syed Husin Ali questioned why the government should only apologise to Ops Lalang’s former ISA detainees.
“I don't understand why there needs to be an apology only for the ISA detentions under Ops Lalang.
“Why not include the students, lecturers, and children who were detained under the ISA during the Baling incident?
“In fact, why not apologise to all ISA detainees? Moreover, the ISA has been abolished,” said Syed Husin, who was detained under the ISA from 1974 to 1980 for fighting for the plight of poor farmers in Baling, Kedah.
As for book publisher Chong Ton Sin, an apology from the government would show regret for past mistakes.
“For me, whether they apologise or not is in the past, but if they do want to apologise, it's still good because at least they realise they were wrong.
“Apologising also proves they were guilty because if they weren't wrong, why apologise? One cannot simply arrest innocent people,” he said.
Chong was arrested in 1968 as a teenager and spent eight years in detention without trial.
“But what the victims have endured cannot possibly be forgotten, and some have died. The pain and fear their families have endured cannot possibly be erased,” he added. - Mkini
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