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July 31, 2009
M'sia detention protest



Police road block at Jalan Cheras near Taman Midah ahead of the Pro-ISA and Anti-ISA rally to be held tomorrow. -- PHOTO: THE STAR

KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIA'S opposition pledged on Friday to stage a large street protest aimed at pressuring the government to scrap a law allowing imprisonment without trial. The Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party, the country's biggest opposition group, said it expected thousands of members to take part in Saturday's rally in Kuala Lumpur, despite police warnings that the planned gathering would be illegal. Police set up roadblocks at key areas in the city Friday in a bid to discourage what activists hope will be the biggest show of public displeasure against the Internal Security Act, which provides for indefinite detention without trial of people regarded as security threats. Salahuddin Ayub, the Islamic party's vice president, said in a statement on the party's news Web site that the demonstrators plan to march to the national palace to submit a petition to Malaysia's king, the constitutional monarch. 'The rally will be staged peacefully,' Salahuddin said. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on Thursday warned that authorities would not allow the protest, saying it could undermine public peace. Police have often cracked down on previous rallies using tear gas and chemical-laced water. Human rights groups estimate at least 17 people are currently held under the security act, mainly for alleged links to militants and document forgery. Opposition activists have long decried the decades-old act, instituted during the British colonial era, saying it is sometimes used to jail government critics and to dampen dissent. Prime Minister Najib Razak has promised to consider amending the act, though government officials have repeatedly said it remains needed to safeguard national security. -- AP

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