26 - ISA Repeal: Najib Should Push Ahead

Summary

Malaysian Premier Najib Abdul Razak's sudden announcement on Thursday night that he would very soon be repealing several unpopular laws, including the Internal Security Act (ISA) of 1960, should have won him praise from most quarters.

But it did not. Instead, a general wait-and-see sense of disbelief was the common reaction, be it from the opposition or the right wing of the ruling United Malays National Organisation.

Why? Is he not allowed to get anything right? The struggle to get rid of the ISA has after all been an issue that engages wide segments of Malaysian society.

Furthermore, he promised to have three emergency declarations lifted. These are the nationwide May 15, 1969 Emergency, the Sarawak Emergency from Sept 14, 1969 and the Kelantan Emergency from Nov 8, 1977. The first will mean that the Emergency Ordinance that, like the ISA, also allows for detention without trial will disappear. This ordinance was recently used against six members of Parti Sosialis Malaysia in the run-up to the Bersih 2.0 march for electoral reforms.

The Restricted Residence Act of 1993 and the Printing Presses and Publication Act of 1984 will also be reviewed. This will mean that the much hated requirement for annual applications for renewal by the mass media will be dropped.

No doubt, Mr Najib's personal popularity has been dropping badly. This should worry the ruling coalition. After all, since he took office in April 2009, he has consistently been more popular than his party or his coalition has been. A bad dip for him just when a snap election is being planned must be a big worry for his government.

But for the rest of Malaysia, the announcement surely bodes well. Who cares if Mr Najib is being a populist here and is doing the right thing for the wrong reason?

There are grounds for scepticism from the savvy pundits in Malaysia.

Well, for one thing, his own Home Affairs Minister Hishammuddin Hussein, the man who must bear the responsibility for any use of the ISA, was reported two days earlier to have replied thus to a request for clarification on rumours of a repeal of the ISA: “There is no talk about abolishing ISA. Who has been saying that?”