Arms heist prompts KL to keep ISA

Arms heist prompts KL to keep ISA

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia has put on hold its review of a law that provides for detention without trial following an arms heist that shook the nation, a Cabinet minister said on Monday.

"The review of ISA has to take a back seat," Rais Yatim, minister in charge of legal affairs in Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's Cabinet, was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

The ISA, or Internal Security Act, is a draconian colonial-era law for indefinitely detaining individuals deemed a threat to national security.

During the early 1950s, Malaysia, then known as Malaya and under British rule, faced a communist insurgency and the ISA was used to crack down on those suspected to have links with communist rebels.

The government said in recent years it was reviewing the use of the ISA after widespread criticism from local and international rights groups.