Call to revive ISA draws strong protests

 Rights group says the authorities must stop responding to security challenges with calls for increased powers.

The ISA, which provided for detention without trial, had been used previously to detain opposition members and human rights activists. (Reuters pic)

PETALING JAYA:

A suggestion to revive the Internal Security Act (ISA) has drawn strong objections from a rights group and two politicians on fears that it could be misused by those in power.

Human rights organisation Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) and two politicians also pointed out that existing legislation was more than sufficient to meet the challenge of ensuring national security.

Suaram executive director Azura Nasron said calls to revive the ISA or to strengthen the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) are typically based on the “flawed assumption that expanding state powers will effectively reduce threats to the state”.

She said true security should not be measured by how much power the state possesses, but by how effectively, professionally and accountably those powers are exercised.

She pointed out that no law, regardless of how broad or severe, could eliminate radicalisation or extremism on its own.

“Malaysia must move beyond the recurring cycle of responding to every security challenge with calls for broader detention powers,” she told FMT.

“When governments respond by expanding extraordinary legal powers, they risk creating a dangerous shortcut — relying on detention without judicial oversight for administrative convenience instead of effective security.

“Driven by ideology, grievances and online ecosystems, these problems require comprehensive systemic reforms such as actionable intelligence, education and early intervention,” she added.

Deputy inspector-general of police Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay recently called for the revival of the ISA, while deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof said Malaysia needed stronger laws than Sosma to address extremist ideologies and sensitive issues.

Speaking at a recent event, Ayob Khan said his view was that the ISA was most effective at addressing threats to national security, deviant teachings and sensitive issues involving race, religion and royalty.

Fadillah, who was at the same event, said Sosma was not as robust as the ISA, suggesting that Malaysia needed to strengthen its laws in view of challenges posed by extremist ideologies and sensitive issues.

However, he said, legislation should only be used as a last resort and that Malaysia must strike a balance between safeguarding national security and complying with international legal standards.

Enacted during the colonial era, the ISA provided for detention without trial for up to two years. Human rights groups described it as a tool to suppress dissent. After years of pressure, the government repealed it in 2012 and replaced it with Sosma.

Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung pointed out that Malaysia already has a wide range of legislation to address terrorism, extremism and organised crime, including the Penal Code, anti-terrorism provisions, anti-money laundering laws, communications-related legislation, Sosma and other security statutes.

Lee stressed that the issue was not whether the government had sufficient powers to ensure national security, but whether those powers were exercised effectively, professionally and within the framework of judicial oversight.

“Strong law enforcement does not require abandoning due process … and strengthening the law does not mean reviving the ISA,” he told FMT.

“We can improve investigative capabilities, intelligence coordination, digital forensic capacity, counter-radicalisation programmes and targeted legislation while preserving judicial oversight and the right to a fair trial.”

No faith in intelligence?

Former Klang MP Charles Santiago of DAP said calls by police and government leaders to revive the ISA suggested that the country’s intelligence apparatus had failed to combat extremism.

Santiago also argued that Malaysia did not need new laws to address extremism and other national security threats when existing legislation had failed to eradicate them.

“If you have no faith in Sosma and want to bring back the ISA, that means your intelligence systems have failed. If they cannot inform the government about what is happening, then they have failed in their responsibility.

“By introducing new laws, you are admitting that you want to use laws to control people. That is the message you are sending,” he told FMT.

“Even though you have Sosma, have you stopped gangsterism and religious deviant behaviour? No. But what it has done is provide a basis to abuse people, create fear in this country, go after political enemies and put them in jail without recourse,” he added. - FMT