FAC News - Friday, June 21, 2002 8:21 AM

SUHAKAM INQUIRY ON THE ISA: ISA detainees denied legal assistance

The Kamunting Detention Centre detainees were told that, under the Internal Security Act (ISA), they are not allowed the services of a lawyer.

This statement surprised the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) that was conducting a two-day public inquiry into the treatment the detainees were receiving and the conditions of their detention.

When asked who had told them this, the detainees replied that it was the Special Branch officers.

It was found that, except for a few, most of the detainees did not have any legal representation.

Some detainees said they were informed that it was no use getting a lawyer. Even if the lawyer succeeded in getting them off, they would just be rearrested and their two-year detention would start all over again. This would mean they would have to serve a longer detention period in Kamunting.

One detainee was not aware he was being detained under the ISA and, when asked further, he did not even know what the ISA was. The only thing he knew is that he was being detained for a crime he had committed.

This particular detainee did not speak a word of English or Bahasa Malaysia and spoke through a Chinese interpreter. It is believed that, due to this communication problem, he was left in ignorance about the details of his detention and his rights.

Other detainees revealed that they had been persuaded to admit to their “crimes” as, they were told, this would ensure their early release. However, after admitting to these “crimes”, their confession was used against them to detain them further in Kamunting.

Those arrested and detained for their alleged involvement in the KMM said they had never heard of the KMM before their arrest and were never a member of this fictitious organisation. They, in fact, do not know why they are being detained as their alleged crime was never clearly revealed to them.

Most of the so-called KMM members had, in their student-days, more than a decade ago, studied in Pakistan or India and had gone to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Mujahideen against the Russian Communist.

Even the Malaysian and US governments were assisting the Mujahideen then, argued the detainees, so how could this be a crime justifying their arrest and detention?

Today, that same government, part of the present Northern Alliance, is being supported by the US and is Malaysia’s “friend”. But, now, those who fought alongside them in the late 1980s and early 1990s are under ISA detention for this “crime”.