| Be ready for a fresh round of government crackdown akin to the 1987 Operasi Lalang, warned an opposition party DAP leader at a forum last night.
I poh Barat Member of Parliament and the party’s vice chairperson M Kulasegaran said that more political leaders and social activists will be arrested under the dreaded Internal Security Act which allows for detention without trial.
The infamous Operasi Lalang, executed by the government on Oct 27, 1987, saw the detention of 119 opposition leaders and social activists, including several high profile DAP leaders including its senior leader Lim Kit Siang and party secretary general Lim Guan Eng.
Kulasegaran said that he had reliable information that the government would use the ISA as a follow up to the arrest of five Hindu Rights Action Force leaders.
When asked who were in the 'second list', Kulasegaran said he believed that the list included himself and another DAP leader A Sivaresan.
Both Kulasegaran and Sivanesan have also played a prominent role in Hindraf. The movement has organised a series of demonstrations to highlight the poor state of the Indian community in Malaysia.
The last demonstration held by Hindraf on Nov 25 saw some 30,000 people descending to the streets of Kuala Lumpur. Five Hindraf leaders were then arrested and sent to a two-year detention at the Kamunting Detention Centre for being a threat to the national security.
Kulasegaran was speaking at a forum organised by DAP at the Kuala Lumpur-Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall last night. More than 600 people attended the forum which started at 8.00pm. The forum was titled “ISA arrests of Hindraf 5 – Ops Lalang2 coming?”. Making it an election issue
Kulasegaran said that ISA served two purposes for the ruling party - one was to instil fear in the people, another was to threat opposition leaders and activists from speaking up.
He said the next general election was a good opportunity to bring about changes in the country. He also stressed the importance of women empowerment.
He ended his speech saying: “women are the real force in the country”, followed by a big applause from the audience.
T he only non-politician panellist at the forum, lawyer and activist Haris Ibrahim also touched on the ISA in his talk.
He stressed that ISA was a legitimate law. However he added that it was a “bad law” because it was crafted in a way that opened for abuse.
“There is no fair check and balance,” he added.
Citing a Malaysiakini report on reasons for detention of the five Hindraf leaders, Haris said that the government have abused the ISA although they claimed they have been investigating the movement (Hindraf) since July and have enough evidence to charge them under Sedition Act.
“Why aren't they (government) charging them under Sedition Act if they have evidence? If you have evidence, bring them to court, let the public assess the evidence.” he added.
Pondering on de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Aziz's statement that the people supported ISA based on their continued support for the BN, Haris urged the civil society to take on Nazri's challenge and make ISA an election issue.
“We are law-abiding people ... only one way we can (abolish ISA) – change the parliament,” he said.
Everyone is disappointed
Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said that Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi have disappointed the people over the last three years by not keeping to his promises in the last general election in 2004.
“What [have been] done by Dr Mahathir have been done by Pak Lah (Abdullah). Dr Mahathir curbed press freedom, Pak Lah did the same,” she said.
“Pak Lah has shown no sympathy at all ... (and) has failed to see the (underlying) cause of the demonstration. Everyone is disappointed,” she added.
Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw meanwhile called for the immediate release of Hindraf leaders as detention without trial was unacceptable.
He also said that he believed Hindraf leaders do not have any connection with Sri Lankan Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) as claimed by the police.
Other panellists included DAP leaders Fong Kui Lun, Loke Siew Fook and Lim Guan Eng. The forum was chaired by Tony Pua.
Special fund launched
Sivaresan and Lim Kit Siang, whose arrival were greeted with applause and standing ovation by the enthusiastic audience, also spoke at the forum.
Kit Siang said that the Malaysian Indian community must continue to exert legitimate political pressure on all leaders in the MIC and other Barisan Nasional component parties to end their denial syndrome and own up to the injustices suffered by the community.
“ As Malaysian citizens, Malaysian Indians have the unquestioned democratic and constitutional right to unite and mobilize support for change and justice to end their long-standing marginalisation,” he said.
His speech was similar to the one he made in Ipoh on Wednesday night where he said that the Indian voters can play a big role in determining their elected representatives in the next general election.
At the forum, DAP launched a special fund to support the five Hindraf leaders detained under ISA and other 31 Hindraf supporters who face court sentencing next week for participating in the Nov 25 rally.
“The donations will help to support the families of these people while they are being detained and after they are released as they hardly could find a job,” said Kulasegaran. |
