Malaysians Say The Darndest Things!

What Can We Really Do To Protest Against The ISA?

September 25, 2008

When RPK was put under a 2 year detention under ISA, I was surprised that I wasn’t that pissed off. Certainly not as pissed off when I learnt that the Hindraf 5 were put under lock and key. I think this is due to a certain degree of mental numbness when I hear these stories, whereby it is easier on my body and mind to feel apathy than to feel raging anger. Listening to the bald mofo’s nonsense (who calls himself Home Minister) also contributed to this apathy.

This explains my blogging absence for a week. It wasn’t that I had nothing to write, in fact, I had tons of material swimming in my mind. It’s just that I wasn’t in the mood to write it. Thankfully, I slipped out of this apathetic mood today (I thank zewt for writing something that kicked my senses back to work). I realize that we, as Malaysian citizens, cannot afford to do nothing about this situation.

I know, many of us have the mindset:

“I’m nobody, just a normal rakyat. There is nothing I can do, even though I am against the ISA.”

I understand where this is coming from, but I would respectfully tell you that there are things that you can do to make a difference. And the small differences add up.

For example, there have been some calls to drive with your headlights on during the day, or go bald in solidarity with RPK (see here and here, looking good, Nat). Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with the actions above, it’s just that in terms of making a difference, I don’t think it’s going to be effective unless done en masse. But don’t expect it to produce a favorable result.

There’s also an anti-ISA petition going around the net. As of writing, there are 27,000+ signatures, and in terms of numbers, that’s pretty good for an online Malaysian petition. The goal, according to some quarters is to get 100,000 signatures. If you read the petition, it is addressed to the Prime Minister of Malaysia, most likely Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Do you think he gives a shit about the 27,000+ signatures? I signed the petition not because I believe that it will be effective. I signed because I believe it is a numbers game, and to legitimize the claim that many Malaysians are against the ISA. So go ahead and put your signature in if you haven’t, but do not harbor hopes of the ISA being abolished because of the petition. Pigs have a greater chance of flying.

So what can we really do to make any difference? A very unique suggestion is to send greeting cards this festive season to the detainees of the ISA. You can get a list of names here, and it won’t cost you much to pick 5 people at random and send them cards. Yes, this won’t get them out of the ISA, but the difference you can make in the person’s life might be enormous. It tells the detainees not to give up hope of a fair trial, that there are people outside who give a damn about their situation. Here is the address:

Tempat Tahanan Perlindungan,
34009 Kamunting, Taiping.
Perak MALAYSIA

Actually, the only politician in Malaysia (either BN or PR) to lay out some sort of roadmap to abolishing the ISA is Lim Guan Eng, as was reported in Malaysiakini a few days ago:

Speaking at the ‘Abolish the ISA’ forum organised by his DAP party last night, Guan Eng said Pakatan will not be contented with merely organising gatherings against the tough security law.

Neither would Pakatan leaders spew mere rhetoric without commensurate action, he promised an audience of about 600.

“I myself will move a private members bill in Parliament for the abolition of the ISA, for its repeal,” said Guan Eng to cheers from the audience.

“And then we will see which leaders of Barisan Nasional will practice what they preach and who speak with forked tongue,” said Guan Eng, who was himself detained in 1987 at the Kamunting Prison where ISA detainees are usually held.

He said it would be an eye-opener for the nation to see whether BN MPs and ministers, who spoke against the ISA, would follow through and support the bill, or if they were merely paying lip service to soothe the public anger that followed the government’s recent crackdown.

This is why I have great admiration for Lim Guan Eng. At least he laid out a plan that might work (I said might because I don’t know how a private members bill works). If that happens, and if your MP is someone from Barisan Nasional, great. My suggestion is that you should try to contact or write that person and get their assurance that they will support the bill. It’s an even bigger bonus if your MP is from the MCA or MIC, because we will then see whether they are just NATO (No Action, Talk Only) when speaking out against the ISA. The difference you can make if you manage to convince just a few BN MPs to support the bill is enormous. This will signal a change in how our Parliament is conducted, whereby the MPs paramount task is to represent the people, and not represent the party.

Those are just some of the initiatives that you can take to register your protest against the ISA. There are other gatherings that you can attend to register your protest, like GMI’s meet at Masjid Jamek tomorrow, and Hindraf’s candlelight vigil at Dataran Merdeka on Saturday which you could attend just to show solidarity.

So what have you done for an ISA detainee lately (besides bitch about it)? Share your experiences and suggestions in the comment box.

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