Tricia Yeoh

I encourage everyone to READ the Internal Security Act for themselves.

You can download it at the CPPS website here – where selected laws of Malaysia have been posted up for all to download. Must make sure that people have access to the very laws that are being used against them in this period of time.

Read!!!

Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim has threatened to quit his position if the ISA is not revoked.

I applaud his bravery. Let’s see how PM responds.

De facto Law Minister Zaid Ibrahim today threatened to resign if the government continued to use the Internal Security Act, which he described as ‘unjust’.

Read more here.

We need more such Ministers to stand up as such.

Home Affairs Minister made several jokes at the press conference yesterday, which can be viewed in the Malaysiakini.tv video here. These jokes are shared with me by a reporter friend who was present, and I agree fully:

1. That the arrest of Tan Hoon Cheng under the ISA was for her own protection and safety.
2. That he (Syed Hamid) had nothing to do with the arrests. He was only duly informed by the police, but the police had authority to make the arrests independently.
3. That even he could be detained under the ISA should the police find fault with him.
4. That Ahmad Ismail has been punished enough, under the party itself – sufficient.

If it was for her own protection, why not just get the police to give her a protection order? And since when in the history of Malaysia has the ISA been used to protect individuals?

 Utusan Malaysia reported on the release of Tan Hoon Cheng,

“Apa yang penting, dia dibebaskan tidak sampai sehari setelah polis berpuas hati dengan siasatan,” katanya.

Saying that the important thing is that she has been released less than a day after she was originally arrested. I totally disagree. That she was actually arrested at all under the ISA is cause for concern. This is a blatant bullying tactic, and one that cannot be stood for under any circumstance.

 Jokes aside, we must be exercise utmost vigilance in reading the statements given to us officially now.

In the meantim, PM and DPM have denied any knowledge of the ISA arrests of Tan Hoon Cheng and Teresa Kok. There should be a contest for the biggest jokes in town.

The biggest one right now for me is when Syed Hamid said, “We have always considered freedom as sacrosanct in this country.” To laugh or to cry?

Neither. And instead, to stand in solidarity against this draconian use of the ISA.

This is from a friend, on Facebook.

“We need to express our opinions in a rational manner less we fall into the trap set by the ones that perpetrated the ISA detentions. Truth and justice shall and will prevail if we show solidarity.”

Teresa Kok’s arrest is covered in Utusan Malaysia as follows (portion only, and for the full article click here):

Wakil rakyat DAP itu dilaporkan turut cuba menghapuskan penggunaan tulisan jawi pada papan tanda nama jalan di ibu negara dan mencadangkannya digantikan dengan tulisan Cina serta Tamil.

This part of the story (correct me if I am wrong) I have not seen covered in any other news sites. On Malaysiakini it was cited that the reason for her arrest was the alleged petition that she organised against the masjid’s azan. But this is completely new to me: that she is now allegedly attempting to remove the Jawi writings on the street names in KL, suggesting to replace it with Chinese and Tamil writings. Is this the reason for her arrest?

News coverage in various mediums of language is of crucial importance, because these are sending completely different messages to different audiences. Information must be disseminated fairly and wisely. Let us take heed of this – I encourage all of us to read different newspapers over the next few days.

Once again, do not play to the tactics and political games. Be wise.

The Star covered MCA’s response here:

State MCA deputy chief Lau Chiek Tuan condemned Tan’s detention under the ISA, noting that MCA, together with the Chinese community, is upset with the move.

The entire article highlights MCA’s response to only Tan’s arrest (the Sin Chew reporter who has since been released). I hope that the MCA did not merely highlight Tan’s arrest, since RPK and Teresa are the other detainees under the ISA as well. Perhaps they thought it was treading on sensitive ground.

Whatever the case, I have cautioned over and over again that this must not be allowed to descend into precisely what we fear – a Chinese-Malay thing. All groups regardless of race or religion must emerge to stand for justice. Belief in principles must transcend any one community or group.

Two very very strong principles must stand clear:

1. Do not allow the politicisation of race and religion. Chinese: do not react since this will play to the game.
2. Do not allow any provocations to instigate violence. Any show of solidarity and support must be done in peace and goodwill. Emphasis must be on “non-violence”, “non-threatening”. Again, do not react.

Anything done outside of the above two principles will legitimise worse action. Please take heed, and tell your friends this.

We know that Raja Petra’s two articles have been cited for insulting Islam and Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), resulting in his ISA arrest.

We know that Tan Hoon Cheng, the Sin Chew Jit Poh reporter, was cited as threatening national security because of her reporting of Ahmad Ismail’s statements against the Chinese. It is ironic that only she is being singled out, since there were other newspapers/journalists who reported the same thing.

The story behind Teresa Kok, which many are still befuddled about, is this. A mosque in Bandar Kinrara area had its morning azan (the morning call to prayer for the Muslims) cut. The truth is that the speakers were simply not working. They were spoilt.

On the other hand, Khir Toyo was quoted as warning the Pakatan-led government against issuing directives against loudspeakers by mosques and suraus for the azan. He accused Teresa Kok of issuing a petition to Dato Satim Diman, the State Assemblyman for Serdang. Teresa Kok has denied organising any such petition. The website Pembela Melayu also quoted Khir Toyo’s statement.  

Dr. Siti Mariah from PAS did her investigations. She spoke to Teresa Kok. She also spoke to Dato’ Satim Diman, and both confirmed that the allegations about the azan were not true. She then lodged a police report against Khir Toyo for spreading “malicious slander” and “lies”. She said that Khir’s statements were:

lies, slander, and maliciously intended at raising the anger and anxiety of Malay-Muslims in the country and to incite their hatred against party leaders in Pakatan Rakyat, particularly DAP.

It is important to note the developments of this case. More importantly, that PAS has stood up firmly for DAP’s Teresa Kok, and against Umno. This is what Dr. Siti Mariah has also repeated strongly:

“Pakatan will ensure that the position of Islam as the official religion of the Federation is not affected while maintaining unity between the various communities.

“Never once will we allow any party to raise feelings of discontent among Malaysians. The position of Islam as the official religion of the Federation is enshrined in the Constitution.

“If any issues arise that makes any racial or religious community uncomfortable, that issue can be discussed between leaders of Pakatan Rakyat and the leaders of the five states that we hold,” she said.  

Siti Mariah said only Umno has exploited racial and religious issues in its attempts to regain its lost support. During its rule in Selangor, it was behind the “locking up” of mosques and the ban against some religious speakers.

“DAP leaders have never stepped into or meddled in Islamic affairs. All this while, it has been Umno that has oppressed Islam,” she said.

In these tense times, it is imperative that we citizens take several steps back and determine which are the politically maneouvred strategies. We must weed out the lies from the truth. We must not allow such tactics to cause any confusion amongst us. PAS is standing up for DAP, which obviously means that Teresa’s intentions were never to insult Islam at all. It was a spoilt speaker in the mosque, plain and simple. Do not allow the facts to be twisted, lest this plays into the perfect political ploy to polarise Malaysian races one from the other.

In these moments, we must again look beyond race and religion and focus on the injustice and arrogance being demonstrated by the powers that be. Do not get waylaid by the petty issues. Do not get yourselves tangled up with the different theories. Just focus on staying calm and pushing for justice. Speak the truth boldly and surely. Do not play to the political “race” and “religion” wild cards being waved around, waiting to be picked up.

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