A Wife Testifies Against the ISA

by Bahirah Tajul Aris

My husband, Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, was born in Kelang. He had his education at Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur, and the International Islamic University. He was Political Secretary to former Deputy Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, before Dato’ Seri Anwar was sacked by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Ezam has always been a man of strong principles. A brave and caring man who feels a great responsibility for his actions. He does not fight for position or personal gain. Instead he believes that when one is oppressed one must fight for one’s rights. That is the source of his struggles.

Currently, Ezam is the Youth Leader of Parti Keadilan Nasional (National Justice Party). He has been fighting against the corruption that has become very widespread and detrimental to Malaysian society. He wants to save the people’s money, the money the government has misused to save its political cronies from their financial problems.

No Terrorist

Ezam has always maintained that our Constitution allows the people the right to peaceful assembly so that the people are free to voice their opinions on issues of public interest, so that the people can express their dissatisfaction. Contrary to how the government has portrayed him, my husband is NOT a terrorist. My husband is a peace-loving man. He desires a peaceful country and wishes for good governance in the country.

It is not easy for anyone to be a leader of the Opposition. He must act against the wishes and interests of people who hold absolute power. Ezam has faced considerable hardship in his struggles and Keadilan’s struggles.

Ezam now faces 13 charges after having been detained four times by the police. Those charges didn’t slow him down. Instead he became more dedicated to his cause. He has been willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the people.

That is why Dr Mahathir’s regime is very scared. That is why it desperately tries to prevent Ezam from revealing further evidence of corruption in high places.

Charges Against Ezam

Ezam has been charged under the Sedition Act with inciting people to topple the government. Anyone convicted of the offence can be fined a maximum of RM5,000 or imprisoned for up to 3 years. But just imagine. At the request of the Public Prosecutor, Dato’Ghani Patail, the magistrate fixed bail at RM50,000.

The case is pending before the High Court. Even so it seems that whatever action taken aganst Ezam was not enough to stop him from pressuring the government.

I believe that is why Ezam has been detained under the draconian ISA. His detention, like the detention of other Keadilan leaders and social activists, is proof of the government’s abuse of the ISA as a means to imprison my husband indefinitely to ensure someone else’s political survival.

Where is Ezam?

There were no witnesses to Ezam’s arrest. I cannot express how sad I felt about this. Only Ezam himself can relate how he was arrested and what actually happened to him.

The affidavit submitted by the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Norian Mai, mentioned that Ezam was detained at 4.35 pm at Terminal 3 of Subang Airport. From what we know, that made Ezam the very first person to be detained under ISA in this current wave of arrests. But nobody, other than Ezam and the police and those who ordered his detention, knew of this until the next day.

In the past, Ezam was allowed to make a telephone call to inform someone each time he was arrested. But not this time!

I waited all night for his return. I feared that some gangsters had kidnapped him. The police who had detained him did not bother to inform the family. I only knew about Ezam’s arrest under the ISA from the newspapers. It was sheer cruelty that no one would even confirm the news of Ezam’s arrest when I contacted the Bukit Aman police by telephone.

In Bukit Aman's Hands

So I had to go to Bukit Aman myself. There I was met by the Public Relations Officer, DSP Joon. She could only offer her sympathy and acted as a mediator between the family and the officer-in-charge. But she refused to inform me of Ezam’s whereabouts. She wouldn’t even tell me the name of the officer-in-charge.

Today is 28 April 2001. It has been 22 days since Ezam was detained. I am still denied my right to visit my husband.

I am very anxious to know his whereabouts and his condition. I greatly fear for him. I hear so many rumors about him being physically abused that I no longer know what to believe.

I cannot help thinking that the police are hiding something from us. Not only would the police not allow family members or lawyers to visit the detainees, they would not even permit SUHAKAM Commissioners to have access to the detainees.

All I know is that if a former deputy prime minister, Dato’ Seri Anwar, could turn out to be badly injured and with a black eye, then my husband is exposed to a situation of great danger.

The image of the police has long been tarnished and they have done nothing to restore public trust in them. As far as I am concerned, there is no alternative to allowing me and my family to see Ezam and ascertain for ourselves the condition he is in and how he has been treated.

What do I tell my children?

Within two days of his arrest, on 11 and 12 April, I made two verbal requests for access to my husband. Both requests were rejected.

Then I submitted written requests to the police via three letters dated 13, 19 and 20 April respectively. Our children and Ezam’s mother submitted two other letters. My son, Muhmamad Hasif, and Ezam’s mother personally handed their letters to DSP Joon on 19 April 2001. Almost every day since then I have faxed letters to the police and the Minister of Home Affairs.

My daughter, Tihani and my son, Hasif, have repeatedly asked me whether the police have beaten their father. How can I possibly answer this question when the police will not allow me to visit my husband? My children have also asked why they have not been allowed to see their father for such a long time.

How do I answer such questions? I cannot answer them. This causes me deep distress. My youngest son, Haaris, has had nightmares and frequently calls for his father.

Our greatest fear is that my husband, the father of my children, is being tortured and we are helpless to prevent it. We can’t even reach him.

Special Branch Runaround

On the morning of 23 April, I called the IGP’s secretary to inquire about the police response to our requests to visit Ezam. I was referred to Dato’ Yusuf Rahman, Director the Special Branch. Since Dato’ Yusuf was not available, I spoke to his secretary. She asked me to call her later in the day.

I duly called only to be informed that Dato’ Yusuf had directed another officer to reply to my letter. Dato’ Yusuf’s secretary promised that I would receive a reply the same day. She declined to provide other details including the name and contact number of the officer concerned.

On 24 April, our children, Ezam’s parents and I went to the Police Headquarters at Bukit Aman. That day was Ezam’s 34th birthday. Present, too, were some of his supporters and family members of other detainees.

We all went with one hope. We hoped to see our loved ones who had been detained. Our request was again rejected. The police would not accept the asam pedas, Ezam’s favourite, we had prepared and brought for him. Nor would they accept the birthday cake given by his supporters.

Only on 27 April, after exerting much pressure on the police, I managed to get in touch with the office-in-charge, DSP Phillip. We requested for an answer to our letters. DSP Phillip said he had no authority and awaited directions from his superior officer, that is, the Director of the Special Branch.

The next day I received the police’s answer. No no access would be given ‘until further notice’.

I was very upset over this decision. What could I say to my children? They were anxious to see their father. They missed him a lot. They needed his love and care.

Later, our family requested DSP Philip to arrange for us to meet Dato’ Yusuf on Monday, 30 April. Dato’ Yusuf refused to see us.

No Access for Suhakam

Our family was also very disturbed that the police decided to keep silent on SUHAKAM’s letter which was sent to the IGP on 16 April. SUHAKAM’s letter informed the police of the Commissioners’ intention to visit the detainees.

The police replied SUHAKAM’s letter on 27 April. The police refused to grant access to the detainees because, they claimed, they were still conducting their investigation.

Even then the police only replied SUHAKAM’s letter when High Court judge, Dato’ Mohd Hishamuddin Mohd Yunus, asked the prosecutor if SUHAKAM had been given access to two ISA detainees. The judge raised the question during the hearing on the habeas corpus applications filed on behalf of Abdul Ghani Harun and N. Gobalakrishnan.

Under Section 4 of the National Human Rights Commision Act, SUHAKAM has the right to have access to all prisoners, including ISA detainees. This is a legal right granted by Parliament.

If the police can so blatantly deny SUHAKAM’s right, why do their political masters keep talking as if there is still democracy in this country? To whom can one now express his or her grievances when one is oppressed?

Our family has also filed for habeas corpus. Our application stated that Ezam’s detention was unlawful and that he, like all the other detainees, should be released immediately. Judge Augustine Paul heard the case and, as we expected, he rejected the application for habeas corpus.

Down with ISA!

I will not give up this struggle to obtain my husband’s freedom from unlawful detention. If necessary, I will appeal all the way to the Federal Court.

My struggle will continue. I will fight for my husband’s freedom so that he can fight for a nation built on true democracy and freedom. We will fight for a day when justice truly reigns over this country.

Detention without trial under the ISA absolutely violates the fundamental rights of citizens. ISA denies my husband and his fellow detainees the right to defend themselves.

How can the government claim that this is a democratic country when it must resort to the ISA to silence its opponents?

How can the police claim to be neutral when they allow themselves to be used as a political tool to safeguard certain individuals who want to cling onto power? Using the ISA greatly violates the rule of law. It causes the public to lose confidence in both the government and the police.

I pray that Ezam and his fellow detainees will be given the strength to come through this torturous episode.

For myself, I vow to continue the struggle to free my husband and all other ISA detainees. I vow to struggle with other concerned Malaysians to abolish the oppressive ISA once and for all.

Today we fight for our loved ones so that in future our citizens will not find their loved ones similarly oppressed.