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“Fear always springs from ignorance”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"It will not do to cling to the cause and wish the result away.Reality does not play mind games.What is more, to anesthetize the mind in order to abort what comes to birthwhen wrong ideas are conceived and borne in the womb of culture,will only kill the very life-giving force of the nation that nurtures the idea."- Ravi Zacharias *********************************************
Lately there have been some posts by bloggers who appear to have been able to "understand" the "need" for the ISA, and now start asking that the ISA simply "not be abused". Thanks to DSP Ong for that. He must have been pretty convincing in his argument for "Fear & Ignorance", and it makes me wish I was there to talk with him at Lotus last Sunday (
but of course, I saw him there & walked away, as he was just "doing his job" with Del Capo and others).
PatLu posted
"No to ISA or Stop Abusing the ISA?" , and DelCapo posted
"PJ Candle light vigil - sbotted" to express their opinions. The "soft touch" & TLC of PDRM appear to be making some inroads - or so it seems ... but then again, it may have just been a "PR" exercise by PatLu & DelCapo.
So, here's to you guys, and others who might be ambivalent about it:-
It's sad, and I find it strange that some of you guys have changed your stance from "No ISA" to "Stop Abusing The ISA", after just one conversation with a "security personnel".
There is however a certain level of "ambivalence", I notice.
Maybe it was the "convincing arguments" brought about in the discussions with DSP Ong .... and the fact that he has managed to impress his ignorance upon others quite well, based on the "fear" factors which are used to justify it. Contrary to what many believe, it isn't the batons and bullets that is their greatest weapon against the people - It is this "fear factor"!
Believe me - I understand those sentiments quite well, for I once belonged to that boat. However, after an online "debate" with RPK, months of thought and much writing to articulate them, the "spins" and feeble excuses (
not "reasons", okay) from the "security personnel"/politicians (and staged events of the past) don't convince me - not one bit, that it is necessary!
What we need is education and accountability - not laws to "keep the peace". Without the former, we end up with goons to fill in the places of intellectuals who should be running the country. What we are experiencing today in Malaysia is the result of "anti-intellectualism" that has been in practise since the 80s, and I'll bet on it that 75% of the lawmakers in office don't know the Federal Constitution.
It is for this very reason that we see the current crop of leaders who shamelessly flout the Federal Constitution with impunity, and find supporters among rakyat.
I'll try to make it simple - no amount of legislation or security personnel will guarantee you the "safety" which they promise, through these "violations" of fundamental human rights. A society that lives in fear and ignorance knows no "Law", nor do they respect or understand the need for it. In fact, they also don't know their rights, and hence make demands or do things that are "deemed acceptable" by those in authority. This sets the stage for open conflict, and hence the "the need" for laws that strip them of their rights.
Do you see the pattern/series of events for ISA/Police Act to make itself "necessary" and unaccountable?
The ISA, is the ISA - the same can be said of the Police Act. It was assured by our early leaders (Razak), that it would be abused, and only used on "insurgents & terrorist" prevalent at that time. However, the "sunset clause" as with all other forms of "restrictions have been deliberately left out so as to enable it to be used "subject to interpretation".
With the "modifications" that you might suggest, they aren't what we oppose anymore.
The issue here isn't just the ISA, actually - it also encompasses the Police Act, which is unconstitutional and violates the tenets of fundamental human rights.
There will be plenty of arguments for the "ISA" based on speculation & presumption. DSP Ong must definitely be an intelligent man - wish I had the opportunity to spend some time with him the other day.
To those who are "ambivalent", I take it that you guys have read the Federal Constitution and the
ISA 1960/
Police Act 1967 in full against the backdrop of
Universal Declaration of Human Rights ......
Maybe when somebody is arrested for eating
"kuaci" at Lotus - an act that might be deemed a "threat to national seciruty" for whatever reason by our HM, you might understand that it is a law that begs to be abused.
Cheers, guys!
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