Malaysian police arrest another opposition leader<\/p>\n
KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Police arrested a prominent Malaysian
\nopposition leader on Tuesday after he delivered a fiery speech at
\na rally, bringing to nine the number of anti-government activists
\ndetained in the last two weeks under tough security laws.<\/p>\n
About eight plainclothes officers seized Lokman Noor Adam, a
\nyouth leader in the National Justice Party, or Keadilan, as he
\nwas leaving the site of the rally just after midnight on Tuesday in
\nShah Alam city, 30 kilometers south of Kuala Lumpur,
\nwitnesses said.<\/p>\n
Police said in a statement that Lokman was detained under the
\nInternal Security Act, the national news agency, Bernama
\nreported.<\/p>\n
The act was introduced in the early 1960s to stem a communist
\ninsurgency and allows authorities to detain people indefinitely
\nwithout trial.<\/p>\n
\"This is a clearly growing crackdown on our leaders,\" Anuar
\nTahir, Keadilan's secretary-general, told The Associated Press.
\n\"We don't know where they have been taken, we have no contact
\nwith them. The authorities want to cripple us.\"<\/p>\n
Seven activists, six of them Keadilan officials, were arrested
\nApril 10-11, and another party leader was detained at his home
\nlast Friday.<\/p>\n
At the time of the first arrests, police said the activists
\nbelonged to a group that planned in 1998 to use explosives in
\nstreet protests to topple Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Mahathir has defended the arrests, saying that enforcement of
\nsecurity laws \"protects the freedom of the people.\"<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, about 40 opposition lawmakers, relatives of the
\ndetainees and supporters gathered outside federal police
\nheadquarters in Kuala Lumpur to demand a meeting with national
\npolice chief Norian Mai over the arrests.<\/p>\n
A small group of relatives was allowed into the building to
\nmeet with senior officers, although Norian was not present.<\/p>\n
\"I am shocked,\" said Noorfarahin Ahmat, Lokman's wife, of his
\narrest. \"This is my son's first birthday. I wish Lokman was here
\nto celebrate it.\"<\/p>\n
The family of another detainee, Keadilan youth wing chief Ezam
\nMohamad Noor, brought a cake to the police station to mark his
\n34th birthday, and the protesters sang \"Happy Birthday.\"<\/p>\n
Ezam's wife, Bahirah Tajul Ariff, said after the meeting that
\nauthorities refused to reveal where the detainees are being held.<\/p>\n
\"This has caused so much distress to us,\" she told reporters.
\n\"We are in great fear for our loved ones and cannot help coming
\nto the conclusion that the police are hiding something.\"<\/p>\n
The relatives then went to the Human Rights Commission office,
\nwhere they filed a complaint against the latest arrest.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Anuar Zainal Abidin said that \"arrests under the
\nISA are certainly an abuse of human rights.\"<\/p>\n
Most of those arrested, including Lokman, were organizers of a
\nrally to mark the second anniversary of former deputy premier
\nAnwar Ibrahim's conviction on corruption charges on April 14,
\n1999.<\/p>\n
Anti-government gatherings, once rare in Malaysia, have become
\nregular occurrences since Mahathir fired Anwar from the Cabinet
\nin September 1998.<\/p>\n
Anwar, who is serving prison sentences totaling 15 years for
\ncorruption and sodomy, is seen as a symbol for the opposition's
\nbattle for democratic reforms.<\/p>\n
Lawyers for five of the activists arrested this month have
\nasked Malaysia's High Court to order their release, insisting the
\ngroup were detained for political reasons, not because they posed
\na security threat.<\/p>\n
Judge Augustine Paul is scheduled to deliver his ruling on
\nWednesday.<\/p>\n
Lawyer Zainur Zakaria said that hearings aimed at securing the
\nrelease of two other activists began in a Shah Alam court on
\nTuesday.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/malaysian-police-arrest-another-opposition-leader-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}