From:
Date: 27 Sep 1999
Time: 01:47:54
Malaysian opposition leader urges no detentions without trial
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 27 (AFP) - A Malaysian opposition leader on Monday urged the government to give assurances that it will never again detain demonstrators without trial following a wave of protests here. An assurance offered by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Sunday that there would be no series of arrests under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) similar to a crackdown in the 1980s did not go far enough, said Lim Kit Siang, secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party.
"Although Abdullah's statement is meant to give assurances that the government has no plans to launch another Operasi (Operation) Lalang at present, it is not really reassuring, as his assurance is very strictly limited to the recent street demonstrations," Lim said in a statement.
"There is no general statement and commitment that the government will never again resort to mass ISA arrests against the opposition."
Operation Lalang was carried out in October 1987 when the government detained 106 political opponents under the ISA amid a rise in racial tensions over the issue of Chinese education.
Lim was among the last two detainees from the 1987 crackdown to be released after being incarcerated for 18 months.
"As Abdullah is also the home minister, can he give a solemn undertaking that there would be no Operation Lalang II, whether before or after the general election and that the Internal Security Act would never again be used against the opposition, NGOs (non-government organizations) and dissent," Lim asked.
Malaysia must hold an election by next June but Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the 74-year-old political veteran who has led the country since 1981, is widely expected to call a snap poll as the economy recovers from recession.
Fourteen leading members of opposition parties were charged in court Saturday with taking part in recent street demonstrations and illegal assemblies.
Those arrested were among thousands of supporters of jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim, who gathered at the national mosque on September 19 in the biggest rally here since his arrest a year ago.
Anwar was sacked by Mahathir on September 2 last year amid a falling-out over economic policies, and arrested 18 days later.
He was sentenced to six years' jail in April for corruption, and is now on trial for sodomy.