Rights vs. a "terror law" in Malaysia

we in the u.s. do a really, really BAD job of staying up on what's happening in other countries... if we paid more attention, we might actually learn something but, instead, we sit around contemplating our navels, totally sucked up in our own shit... it grinds me severely that even the most liberal, broad-minded folks among us (and i'm referring to a number of my fellow bloggers here), seem to have a limited repertoire, consisting of rove, bush, roberts, iraq, et al, and seem to conveniently ignore the rest of the world, something they accuse the red-staters of doing... (and, yes, i tend to do it myself...!) ok, rant over...

take a look at how one country is abusing a law that was originally intended to facilitate clamping down on terrorists... (and don't for one second think that the same thing isn't happening in the u.s...)

Behind the gleaming skyscrapers and the wide, manicured highways with luxury cars gliding by -- the symbols of Malaysia's vaunted economic success -- lurks what one rights activist calls the 'White Terror'.

The preferred weapon of this terror is the Internal Security Act (ISA), a law passed in 1960, which provides for indefinite detention without trial. Ostensibly enacted to fight communist insurgents it has since been used against all and sundry.

The common denominator is dissent against the established status quo and any challenge to the official pecking order of society.

The ISA is frequently used against forgers, counterfeiters, Islamists, political opponents and even against people who campaign to abolish the ISA itself.

It has claimed a steady stream of victims since 1960. Many survivors gathered this week to recount the horror they suffered and, united with NGOs and opposition parties, renewed their determination to force the repeal of this draconian law.

They recounted stories of horror -- arrests in the dead of the night, interrogation for days on end, beatings and torture and severe psychological pressure to recant, confess and join political parties in the government.

This week marks the 45th anniversary of the ISA, a convenient reference point for victims and campaigners to press for the repeal of the law that has jailed over 3,500 since 1960.

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