By VIOLET CHO Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Burmese opposition groups are protesting the Malaysia government’s recent arrest of an opposition member of parliament, a blogger and a journalist under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which allows for extended periods of detention without trial.
Malaysia authorities arrested Teresa Kok, Malaysia Today blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and journalist Tan Hoon Cheng of Sin Chew Daily on Friday. Tan Hoon Cheng was released the following day. The others remain in detention.
Burmese opposition leaders condemned the arrests, which included Ms Teresa Kok, a member of parliament representing the Democratic Action Party and the current secretary of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC), a regional advocacy group for democratic change in Burma.
Bo Kyi, the general secretary of the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP) in Mae Sot, Thailand, said, “We are very sad about the arrest of an opposition party member who is very active on Burma.”
“We want justice and a full explanation from the Malaysian government as to why they arrested Teresa Kok,” he said. “We do not agree with this arrest and call on the government to immediately release her.”
Teresa Kok has been accused of causing racial tension by petitioning a mosque in her area to lower the broadcast volume of call to prayer. According to the Malaysian human rights group SUARAM, she has denied the accusation, and her denial was supported by the head of the committee of the mosque in question.
Ye Min Htun, the general secretary of the Burma Worker Rights Protection Committee in Kuala Lumpur, said Teresa Kok is currently the secretary of AIPMC, a group of legislators in Asean countries who work for democratic change in Burma.
“She is a committed leader who continuously campaigns for the release of political prisoners in Burma including pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.” said Ye Min Htun. “The arrest of Teresa Kok is a very bad thing for Malaysia, and at the same time also for migrants and refugees who depend on her.”
“She wants to bring full human rights and democracy to Malaysia, including all people in Malaysia, even undocumented migrants.”
Meanwhile, Soe Aung of the National Council for the Union of Burma called for the repeal of the Internal Security Act.
“The ISA is similar to the Emergency Provision Act (EPA) in Burma,” he said. “This kind of law should not be practised by any government in the world. This arrest under ISA is unjust, and we especially shouldn’t see this in democratic countries like Malaysia. The Malaysian government should release everyone detained under the ISA.”
“The arrest of an MP has alarmed many people and created divisions even amongst the government in Malaysia. It is very important for the Malaysia government to rethink and try to deal with this problem in a fair and just way,” he said.
The ISA was introduced in Malaysia in 1960 during the British colonial occupation as a tool to control a communist insurgency movement. It has been used by successive Malaysian governments as a way to silence dissent and free speech, say critics.
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org
Roshan Jason
AIPMC Executive Director
mobile: +6012-3750974
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