Chill Down Our Spine

I wrote an article this July calling for the repeal of ISA. In it I noted that:

"We have a vast array of legislation that provides adequate legal frame work to deal with threats against national security. However, the executive have repeatedly chosen the easy path of invoking the ISA that deprives a man his day in court and send chills of fear down the spine of its citizens."

Well, the executive had once again sent chills of fear down our spine by arresting controversial blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin, DAP MP and Selangor exco Teresa Kok as well as Sin Chew Daily journalist Tan Hoon Cheng under ISA last Friday.

The chill down our spine is not due to fear as to who will be next but more as to where our country is heading.

One wonders who is really in charge and calling the shots. Why do we need to arrest a journalist under ISA for reporting what she saw and heard?

Shouldn't the police be taking action against the source instead of the person reporting it? Arrested for her own safety? Come on, its like putting a potential rape victim in prison for her own safety. If at all the authorities have information that the journalist's life is under threat, shouldn't they be taking action against the party posing the threat instead of the victim? Thank God they have released Tan Hoon Cheng. In any event, there goes Tan's vote and the votes of her extended family, friends and well-wishers.

I just hope the authorities complete their investigations against Raja Petra and Teresa Kok on an urgent basis and release them as soon as possible. Enough damage is done to the country's standing internationally by once again invoking the ISA.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to go to the ground and tell people that BN is a better choice when authorities use ISA against journalist and politicians. ISA was passed to deal with terrorist, not with people that you can't stand.

I salute Zaid Ibrahim for having the moral courage to stand up and walk the talk. The PM did the wise thing in not accepting Zaid Ibrahim's resignation. BN will lose further credibility if courageous individuals such as Zaid Ibrahim were to leave the government.

BN can ill afford to allow more actions that will further alienate the very people it seeks to serve and protect.