Waking up to a crackdown

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 ~ Malaysians woke up this morning to the looming spectre of more arrests under the Internal Security Act (ISA) as the authorities moved to quell rising racial tensions.

Yesterday, Seputeh MP and Selangor state executive councillor Teresa Kok, Sin Chew Daily reporter Tan Hoon Cheng and blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin were all picked up under the ISA.

More arrests are being anticipated over the weekend.

Raja Petra was arrested under Section 73(1) of the ISA, for allegedly posting articles on his Malaysia Today website deemed seditious and belittling to Islam.

Tan is believed to have been arrested over the story she filed which reported Bukit Bendera Umno chief Ahmad Ismail as saying the Chinese were squatters in Malaysia.

Ahmad's remarks had sparked off controversy, with Gerakan threatening to pull out of the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, before Umno finally acted against him with a three year suspension from holding party posts.

Kok is believed to have been picked up in connection with a residents' petition over a mosque in Puchong.

Former Selangor mentri besar Mohd Khir Toyo accused Kok of stirring up racial tensions in the area, which Kok denied strongly.

The arrests followed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Badawi's warning this week that the ISA would be used to calm rising racial tensions in the country.

Three newspapers ~ Suara Keadilan, Sin Chew Daily and The Sun ~ were also issued show cause letters by the Home Ministry yesterday.

Yesterday's arrests also happened ahead of September 16, the day in which Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says his Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance would topple the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

-TMI