Internal Security Act
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The Internal Security Act was used in many occasions by the Government to make arrest without trial. Although this was permitted by Law, the government can therefore arrest anyone they deem fit as approved by the Minister of Security concern.
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[edit] History of this Act
In the wake of World War II, a number of countries around the world introduced legislation that severely curtailed the rights of known or suspected communists.
[edit] Malaya and Malaysia
British colonial Malaya introduced a set of Emergency Regulations in 1948 during the Malayan Emergency in response to a communist uprising. The regulations allowed the police to arrest anybody suspected of having acted or being likely to act in a way that would threaten security without evidence or warrant, hold them incommunicado for investigation and detaining them indefinitely without the detainee ever being charged with a crime or tried in a court of law.
In 1960, three years after Malaya's independence, the Emergency was declared over. However, a new Internal Security Act (ISA) was passed in its place with much of the same powers. During parliamentary debate, Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak stated that the ISA would only be applied against the remaining communist insurgents. On its separation from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore also retained the ISA.
In practice, both countries have widely deployed the ISA to quash political opposition. Some of the better-known cases include:
- 1963: Operation Coldstore, a joint Malaysian-Singaporean operation to arrest 117 opposition party and labor union leaders, some of whom were detained for up to 17 years;
- 1966, Singapore: Chia Thye Poh, a member of the Barisan Sosialis, released after 23 years under the ISA without being charged;
- 1987, Singapore: Operation Spectrum, 22 activists arrested;
- 1987, Malaysia: Operation Lalang, 106 arrested but only 40 detained for 2 years or more;
- 1998, Malaysia: Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim arrested for being a threat to national security by organizing massive demonstration after being fired from his position.
The ISA remains in force in both countries. The former Malaysian Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed commented on the ISA during a BBC interview, "Which one would you prefer, arresting the bomber after the bomb explodes and hundreds of innocent lives are lost or arresting that bomber before the bomb explodes? Do you think we did that just for fun?"
[edit] United States
See McCarran Internal Security Act.
[edit] Link
- Was the workers' party in Singapore marxist or not? Or did they get infiltration by them people labelled as Marxist?? It's take a fool to believe such...
