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."