FAC News - Tuesday, February 26, 2002 9:11 PM

THE ISA HABEAS CORPUS APPEAL HEARING – Day 2 – The forgotten ISA detainees

The second day of the Internal Security Act (ISA) Habeas Corpus appeal hearing ended at the Kuala Lumpur Federal Court today to an almost deserted courtroom.

Except for a handful of media personnel, there was hardly anyone else in court. At least, yesterday, there was one member of the public - the Selangor State National Justice Party Women’s Chief, Animah Ferrar. Today, there were none.

This case is crucial not only for the freedom of the ISA detainees, but to the future of the ISA itself. If the detainees succeed in their action, this may change the way the ISA is applied in future. But no one seems interested to know how the case is developing – or whether the detainees are going to see freedom.

It looks like the ISA detainees are no longer at the top of the priority list. The fact that those ISA detainees seeking to get their detention declared illegal are senior leaders in the party seems to be of no importance.

Saari Sungib and Dr Badrulamin Bahron were both once Supreme Council members. But none of the party leaders were in court.

Ezam Mohd Nor is the Youth Leader of the party. Yet, none of the Youth Movement leadership was there.

Hishamuddin Rais is a Reformist. And the only Reformist in court was "Pak Din", en ex-ISA detainee himself.

Even the NGOs that have been campaigning hard all these years to get the ISA abolished were not represented in court.

You could see written all over the faces of the detainees’ wives that they knew they were on their own. Not only has the money run out. Now even the support has disappeared.

Are the ISA detainees already forgotten, barely ten months down the road? Or is it as everyone says, Reformasi has lost its steam?