Life: The Journey Continues…

UPDATED (20 Sept, 2008 - 12.08am)

Teresa Kok is free! Read her full press statement, and her description of her week-long detention under the ISA.

Anyway, that’s one down, and some 60-odd detainees to go! (By the way, RPK’s habeas corpus petition will be heard this coming Friday (26 Sept).) Sign THE PETITION to free the ISA detainees and spread the word! As I type this, 8834 people have signed. That’s not bad in such a short space of time, but we can still do better.

Meanwhile, Kickdefella has been remanded for another day.

UPDATED (19 Sept, 2008)

There is currently A PETITION underway to appeal for the release of RPK, Teresa Kok, and the other ISA detainees. If you feel as I feel that ISA detainees should be released immediately or tried in a court of law, then please sign the petition without delay. Spread the word far and wide. Put it up on your blogs and your Friendster and Facebook profiles. Email the link to family and friends. As I type this, there are currently 678 signatures. I know we can do a helluva lot better than this. The petition on judicial reform garnered about 25,700 signatures. We can surely equal if not better this figure.

ORIGINAL POST

Blogger Syed “Sheih Kickdefella” Azidi was arrested yesterday afternoon (17 Sept, 2008), under the Sedition Act. In the absence of better information, it seems his sedition charge is against his putting up the Malaysian flag upside down on his blog as a sign of the distressing state of affairs in this country. Earlier today, he was remanded in Kota Bahru Court and left in police custody, to go to Dang Wangi police station for “further investigation”. As you no doubt know, last Friday (12 Sept, 2008), blogger RPK, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok, and Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng were arrested under the ISA (Tan Hoon Cheng was subsequently  released on Saturday).

(Picture taken from http://www.freefoto.com/images/05/04/05_04_51—Candle_web.jpg)

I’m keeping this candle lit on my blog until Sheih and the ISA detainees are freed or get their day in court. These latest detentions are unwarranted (I suspect the same is true of Sheih’s detention, but I shall not comment in full until the police release a statement explaining reasons for the arrest). They seem to be blatant intimidation attempts to silence the press and civil society in this time of political uncertainty.

The ISA is a draconian law (and frankly so is the Sedition Act). If indeed the detainees have commited crimes, they should be charged in open court. Everyone deserves to be treated as innocent until proven guilty (I admit I’m not 100% sure about my stance on the use of the ISA on terror suspects, but at the very least we can all agree that the Act must be amended, so that they can’t be detained without trial forever). Otherwise, the government could randomly go about arresting anybody they wanted whenever they felt like it, exactly as they appear to be doing now. I pray this is not the latest round of Ops Lalang. And the worst may be yet to come. Anwar Ibrahim could be next, if the Prime Minister’s thinly veiled threat is taken seriously.

AN APPEAL TO CALM

This latest wave of arrests could perhaps be a clumsy attempt to anger us so much that we riot or take to the streets in a disorderly manner (a la May 13), instead of an attempt to silence us. BN may be itching for any excuse they can get to call emergency rule and/or suspend the Constitution to stop Anwar Ibrahim’s potential takeover of government. So let’s keep our cool and not give them the excuse they could be searching for. Any peaceful rallies that are held should be properly planned (candle-light vigils are the safest). Also, please send letters/postcards of solidarity to the ISA detainees to help lift their spirits. You can send them to:

Kamunting Detention Centre,

34600 Taiping, Perak,

Malaysia.

For is a list of all current known ISA detainees as of 13 Sept, 2008, please visit the Aliran Online webpage: http://www.aliran.com/oldsite/monthly/2001/3e.htm