Freedom from fear
The pressure of ISA over the past 20 years has been very real for us journalists. Many a time we have to get ourselves psychologically prepared for the worst for some of the “sensitive” articles that may have ticked the nerves of the authorities.
Tay Tian Yan, Sin Chew Daily
The ISA is set to become a part of the nation’s history. All of a sudden I feel a sense of relief as scenes of the past begin to flood into my mind once again.
Sure enough I have never become a detainee under the ISA; neither have I been a student at the notorious Kamunting University. That said, the shadows of ISA gloom over me every now and then, having been in the journalistic line for more than two decades, especially during the more tumultuous stages in the county’s political history.
My first encounter with the ISA was when the publication of Sin Chew Daily was suspended during the 1987 Ops Lalang, which also saw the detention of more than a hundred politicians and activists.
During the 1999 Reformasi campaign, the ISA was once again employed against some media organisations and journalists seen as having a hand in causing the chaos. Reporters were detained alongside politicians in the aftermath of the political tsunami in March 2008.
The pressure of ISA over the past 20 years has been very real for us journalists. Many a time we have to get ourselves psychologically prepared for the worst for some of the “sensitive” articles that may have ticked the nerves of the authorities.
Some of the people in politics have warned me, “Be careful! You could be next!”
Scared? To be very frank, I was scared before.
Who wants to lose his or her freedom? Moreover, we have heard enough of stories from ISA detainees about the mental and physical torments they had to go through. Anything could happen in there!
However, articles that should be penned must still be completed, and obligations that fall on us must never be evaded.
Sometimes I feel I accomplished my duties under the shadow of fear.
I am no hero, but I just want to do my job as a responsible journalist. To play such an all-important role I would inevitably land myself in heads-on conflicts and even confrontations with the power that is.
Once those in power get hold of this infallible weapon called ISA, you can easily be thrashed without a chance to argue or communicate.
The biggest harm wrought by the ISA is that anyone can be thrown into the jail owing to ideological differences. This invariably poses a formidable menace to people imbued with political aspirations and fervently seeking social ideals.
Malaysians are beginning to get more and more aware of their rights to freedom and civil rights.
The ISA was first employed by the government in the 1960s to deal with the communists and leftists, and no one questioned its credentials. People began to get sceptical when it was employed again in Ops Lalang in the 1980s although they did not rise up and challenge the Act. When the ISA was deployed against political dissidents in 2000s, people began to rise up against it.
In a democratic age when civic awareness is on the rise, ISA is no longer a powerful weapon the government could freely manipulate. It has become the biggest blemish of the government.
Albeit late, the repeal of ISA is a step in the right direction.
Many people have reservations about the Security Offences Act, feeling that the new act still retains some of the elements of the antiquated ISA. Such a concern is absolutely understandable.
It is the duty of the BN administration to ensure that the new act will not pose any threat to human rights while upkeeping national security.
More importantly, the new act must never be used against people holding dissimilar political aspirations.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt said people are entitled to the freedom from fear. In Malaysia, this freedom from fear should start from this very minute.
