KL slams U.S. for interference

KL slams U.S. for interference

KUALA LUMPUR (AP): Under increasing pressure to free opposition activists sent to jail without trial for up to two years, the Malaysian government defended a tough security law and accused the United States of interfering in its internal affairs.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, quoted on Thursday in local media, rejected criticism of his order to extend the detention of four activists arrested in April, saying the move was justified and was "not done for fun."

Abdullah was responding to comments by U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, who said in Washington that, "The United States is deeply concerned about the detentions, which seem intended to prevent the detainees, against whom there are no criminal charges, from exercising internationally recognized rights of free speech, political expression, and assembly."

Abdullah said Malaysia had been "more peaceful" since the activists' arrest and that previous opposition demonstrations had "inconvenienced people."