“The MHA said the ISA was used to safeguard national security and I ask what national securtiy ? And what terrorism he was talking about ?” (frankyapp)

The then Home Minister Mr Botak Syed Hamid said that the ISA was used to protect the former ISA detainee, the Sin Chew Journalist Miss Tan Hoon Cheng. His statement had clearly shown that Umnoputras desperately wanted to invoke the ISA in order to protect something. Mr Botak’s claim that the ISA was used to protect Tan Hoon Cheng might just be a slip of tongue. He might subconscously wanted to say that the ISA was invoked on Tan Hoon Cheng as a means to protect the interest of Umnoputras. Tan Hoon Cheng had been accused by some Malay racists for being too outspoken in writing a frank report in the news media on some speeches, which were given by some Malay racists mainly to the targeted audiences of Malay origin in order to serve certain political agenda but were not meant for disclosure to the non-Malay groups of Malaysian citizens. Miss Tan Hoon Cheng had definitely violated some unwritten rules of Umnoputras, which insisted on the policy of “Divide and Rule” in Malaysia. Somehow or rather, Miss Tan’s frank and authentic translation of the Malay racists’ speeches in Sin Chew Daily could have been deemed to perform the function of going against the general interest of Umnoputras because it is always a taboo to have someone faithfully done the translation of the sensitive speeches given by the Malay racists, especially when the Malay racists were coming from Umno, and published in the Chinese daily newspaper the translations of the speeches without going through some kinds of doctor-spinning or moderation in favour of Barisan Nasional.

Mr Botak certainly found that he was obliged to protect the general interest of Umnoputras. And he could have also found that the best way to protect such interest of Umnoputras was to invoke the ISA on a journalist like Tan Hoon Cheng in order to send a clear message to all the outspoken journalists of Malaysia – a veiled threat to the other outspoken journalists in order to warn them not to be too outspoken in doing the translation which may have caused harm to the general interest of Umnoputras.

This is Umnoputras’ version of “National Security Threat” or “Terrorism Threat” of Malaysia!

ekompute,
If Umnoputras really launch another round of Op Lallang, your name will never be spared from the arrest list. This is because you have posted many comments which go against the interest of Umnoputras, the writing and posting acts themselves are deemed to have posed a “national security threat”.

Do you used a phone line registered under your personal name in Malaysia? The police will first go get your true name from Streamyx’s internet backbone service computer and you will never be able to escape, unless you live in a foreign country now!

ekompute,
I did not simply make accusation on the police out of no reason. If you have accessed to the list of former ISA detainees, then you will be able to find out how many of them were really a “tekong” who was suspected to have committed the crime of illegally harbouring the visa-less foreign aliens. You may also find out how many of the former ISA detainees were really the suspected drug traffickers who were not taken to court due to undisclosed reason!

Many naive Malaysians may just one-sidedly think that the ISA will have never done any harm to them so long as they don’t join PAS, PKR, DAP or the Chinese Educationists Organization by the name of Dong Jiau Zhong.

However, how many of us the Malaysian people really know that in the past 40 years the ISA Section 73 had been invoked by the Police to detain several ten thousands of innocent small men such as the roadside demonstrators, the defiant college or university lecturers, the secondary school activist students or university activist students or some activist social workers who were suspected to be the Communist sympathisers? Many of these former detainees could hardly be classified as the political dissidents or the political dissenters at all because many of them had no particular political party affiliation! Anyway, it was always the fact that an ISA detainee who came from the Opposition Camp would be given the maximum publicity in the news media and then be voted into the parliament. What kind of justice could those small men ISA detainees get in Malaysia if it was not a strong psychological inducement from the true conscience of those former detainees which encouraged them to seek better human rights treatment in a foreign country?

If Anwar Ibrahim wants to make himself a difference from Dr. Mahathir, then what assurance can Anwar make to Dr. Mahathir on the latter’s personal safety and property safety if Anwar is to become the next Prime Minister of Malaysia who holds the ultimate power of invoking the ISA on somebody? Pakatan Rakyat needs to declare a clear political stand on the treatment of the ISA draconian law as much as it can! Otherwise, how is Pakatan Rakyat going to convince people that it is going to be a much better alternative than Barisan Nasional? Perhaps, a small man who has tasted the bitterness of the ISA detention before really has some other aspirations which are different from the real politicians. Ultimately, it is the overall betterment of the majority Malaysian people which will make much better appeal to the needs of the people! Human rights issues should always be given the top priority by the Alternative Political Camp such as Pakatan Rakyat! We don’t want a tyrant to be replaced by just another tyrant in the near future!

“Hi Onlookerpolitics and ekompute, I really appreciated you guys comments but should you guys are afraid of being “ISAed ” ,then it’s better to stop it before it catches you LOL.” (frankyapp)

Somebody’s comment that repression is like love-making can never be wrong:
“I’m told repression is like making love-it’s always easier the second time. The first time, there may be pangs of conscience, a sense of guilt. But once embarked on this course, with constant repetition, you get more and more brazen…dissolve organizations and societies, banish and detain key political workers, then miraculously everything is tranquil. Then an intimidated press…can regularly sing your praises, and slowly people are made to forget the evil things done, or if these things are referred to again, they’re conveniently distorted…because there’s no opposition to contradict…” – Lee Kuan Yew (Legislative Assembly Debates Oct 4th 1956, col. 322) quoted on page 173 of Francis’s book.

There is ready no way to stop the Malaysian police from coming after any citizen of Malaysia if the Police really want to do it. Anyway, God does not give us a mouth simply to serve the purpose of eating or drinking or kissing! God also wants us to use our mouth to cry out for help and supplication on behalf of the repressed and oppressed!

“Okay, okay, Jeffrey… give her chance. The only way I can think of to defend her if I were her defense counsel is that she left her former employment to join Malaysiakini because she realized that Malaysiakini’s values are consistent with her. Can? Okay, we pass judgement. Not guilty. Court dismissed, LOL.” (ekompute)

ekompute,
I think you can be a good merciful judicial judge if given a chance!

Pakatan Rakyat leaders should also hold the same forgiving, merciful and magnanimous attitude towards the majority members of Barisan Nasional. It is good for Pakatan Rakyat leaders to announce an amnesty programme to all Barisan Nasional grassroot members immediately before the next General Election. This amnesty programme will most likely invite some Barisan Nasional members to switch party in order to find new “rezeki” under the umbrella of Pakatan Rakyat. There is an old Chinese saying stating that “it is the normal human nature to choose the right paymaster to serve, just like it is only too wise for a clever bird to choose a sturdy tree wood to make nest!”

The amnesty programme will ensure that Pakatan Rakyat can win the next General Election much more easily!

“I don’t think the people who voted in such large numbers for the opposition at the last election imagined they would get the same people but with different logos.” (OrangRojak)

OrangRojak,
You may change the political culture but it is not easy for you to change the human nature of taking care of one’s stomach first. There were people who voted in a large number of opposition members at the last election but the number was not large enough to overthrow Barisan Nasional from the Federal Government! The Asian people are basically much more practical (or pragmatic). No matter how or no matter what, they will still take care of their own stomach first! Pakatan Rakyat needs a strong support from the clumpsy and obsessive bureaucracy in order to effectively take over the rule of government from Barisan Nasional! Therefore pacifism would sometimes help to attract votes among the Malay bureaucrats!

“Anyway, as LKS says, ISA is a good sabbatical, unless he has special treatment inside.” (ekompute)

It is good that LKS can take such big adversary as the ISA solitary confinement as a blessing in disguise. LKS’s strong determination to take up the opportunity to study law in Kamunting Detention Centre was a good example (but a rare one) for the high moral value of endurance, perseverance and persistence.

“Is ISA really that bad once you past 50? And if it is Operation Lalang, so much the better…. you get to make so many friends inside, a holiday camp, so to speak, LOL.” (ekompute)

ekompute, you may be a bit over-optimistic when you think that you are able to make many friends while being kept in the solitary confinement under the ISA. Holiday camp??? I think if the Investigation Officer doesn’t like you, the treatment you receive in the ISA camp may be even much worse than what Teoh Beng Hock got. For your information, I had to wait for two weeks in order to get the medical treatment on my pinkeye disease, which had been passed on to me by lockup mates in the crowded lockup of a police station.

You are the only person whom I have met in so far childishly holds the opinion that ISA detention camp is like a holiday camp! Do you know that when an ISA detainee is instructed to come out from the solitary confinement room, his eyes have to be covered? If the camp guard tries to play him out by giving him a false direction instruction, he will most likely fall into the dirty foul-smelling longkang with some blue black stains on his skins or on his forehead.

In the ISA camp, if the camp guard doesn’t like you, then the rice pack you receive will most likely be added with some sands. And I can assure you that you are bound to meet some racist Malay guards in the ISA detention camp!

“What I detest most are hyprocrites who think that God is at their beck and call, and that their prayers are effective.” (ekompute)

ekompute,
I believe that if anyone of us who has faith in God and cares enough to pray hard to God in order to ask for supplication, God will listen. However, whether a person’s prayer is effective or not will all depend on God. It is always my belief that when we ask something from God, then this “something” will be given to us. The most important thing is to ASK. If God agrees that we can have this “something”, then it will be given to us.

However, there are also times that God may be in the opinion that even though this “something” which we ask may be good to us, it will not be given to us too soon too hastily, lest we do not know how to handle it properly at present because we are still lack of knowledge or capability to resist bad temptation which may be brought about by this “something”! Therefore, God will tell us to WAIT until the time is right. Then only this “something” will be given gracefully to us!

Occasionally, there are also times that we may fail in getting what we want badly from God, no matter how hard we pray! When God thinks that this “something” which we ask is no good to us, then it will not be given to us, lest it will bring more harm than good to us! Sometimes I tend to ask God to give me a visa for migrating to a western country. However, God may think that it is no good for me to live in a western country because I may be tempted to indulge myself in the lifestyle of sexual immorality because of sexual openness in the western country. When this is the case, then most probably God will not create a situation which allows me to get an immigrant visa for migrating to a western country.

Whatever God gives, delays or rejects us, it is all decided on one good reason. It is solely for the well-being of us in the eyes of God with God’s own wisdom, which sometimes surpasses the human understanding!

If you care to ask God for what you want, I believe God will give you what you want if it is good for you to have what you ask for!

“Onlooker Politics, I don’t know what you are driving at. Are you trying to tell me:
* not to write so much in this forum;
* not to attack UMNOputras; or
* to write favorably about UMNO?” (ekompute)

ekompute,
If you believe that what you are trying to articulate here is something which will serve the righteousness and justice of God, then why should you stop doing it?

However, since we live in a fallen world, the jail risk is always real for anyone who attempts to criticize the power-that-be. Nevertheless, I believe that with our prayers, we can rely upon the divine intervention or the divine intercession to get us out of the risky situation.

May God bless you in the course of your continuing e-commenting!