broad positions - ISA and societal constraints

1. Two opposite positions stand when discussing ISA. Any discussion is bound to fail if we don’t subject this within a context, and the only relevant context is society-building, and we can’t run away from providing a framework of providing justice for all citizens and equitable distribution. Isn’t this the maqasid and the cornerstone of all civilized societies?

2. Hence, ISA is an injustice, where pre-emptive detentions and no recourse for trial is an obsolescence, and a Bushism to boot. Mahathir was crowing on how the US imitated Malaysia’s ISA when Bush introduced Gitmo, but was strangely silent when Obama removed it. ISA is, by all accounts, an injustice that should be consigned to the history books, like slavery and other inequity society has outgrown. These are strong words, indeed, fully knowing the argument it is to enhance internal security and peacekeeping, but these are relics of a military dictatorship of an administration insisting that it alone knows best and the nation’s citizens should disavow thinking. And we still wonder why we are relatively immature.

3. Has the ISA succeeded in keeping the communist threat? I believe the communist threat was nullified through good intelligence, strategies and execution of our military troops back in its day. Yet even in the 60s, we have seen that the ISA has been abused to dissolve political threats, rather than threats to the country. So, why still keep it?

4. In that respect, ISA should be removed.

5. So, when people demonstrate on the streets, knowing there are lives affected NOW… listen and take bloody action, and I don’t mean spray laced water at demonstrators and labeling them traitors. From Barisan’s strategic point of view, the best way to overcome this growing dissident voice on the ISA is to take concrete action steps now, not to hide behind “we will review” remarks.

6. Next question will be – is the demo justified? I would say yes, until the bloody thing is repealed, and wiped off our law books. It is not an escape clause for desperate and immoral politicians, of which it has become an obedient and hateful lapdog to its political masters.

7. Innovation in Malaysia is hindered. And the reasons for these are? I would like to point out to our education system, but also more importantly, how society utilises and celebrates success, while rare, is hardly ever featured prominently in the national psyche. We celebrate solo round-the-world voyages, world-class sportsmen, make-it-big businessmen living off easy licenses but who then spins story of how difficult things were if it were not for his intrinsic capabilities (step forward, Francis!) and of course, Datuk Siti Nurhaliza and Mawi for making it big. That’s quite a list.

8. The point here is that, society is too confused when looking at role models, some more eligible than others judging from my list above. Whence innovation, scientific inquiry and endeavour, fact-finding and research? In the meantime, we’ll live off rumour mongering yet again. Omar may be the next Chairman of Petronas and Azman his CEO, haven’t you heard?