Dear History,

Barack Hussein Obama will soon take office as the 44th president of the world’s largest superpower. A catalyst that has done what has long been thought as the unthinkable. One who has vowed that “a new dawn of American leadership is at hand”. The man who is looked upon to undo, not just the mis-steps of the Bush administration, but perhaps even taking Reaganistic propagandas head on. To propel his country to greater, more progressive heights. The man who has been called the heir to John F. Kennedy.

These are certainly interesting times. The internet has played a crucial role in the Obama-Biden campaign. Also, during the last Malaysian general elections, we saw how powerful a medium of propagation the blogsphere can be. Perhaps this not only heralds changing times for the world of politics, but also for the Internet and online communities. Such as the one we have with the Foundation.

So what does this mean to you? What does this promise of “Hope, Action and Change” mean, not just for our American friends, but also for the rest of us? What do you, people of the Foundation, make of all of this? How will this new wave of optimism translate into further liberalising the arts and online communities?

As Arundhati Roy once said: “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

The revolution has begun and we’re going to be a part of it, like it or not. What are you going to do?

Head to the comments and leave us your thoughts.

This might be a little too late. Still relevant, nonetheless.

Abolish The I.S.A. and Free All Detainees

The draconian Internal Security Act has long been imbued into the Malaysian psyche. The act, passed in 1960, has been the battering ram of the powers that be to exact their will and purpose upon those who are claimed as a threat to national security.

Section 73(1) Internal Security Act 1960 states:

“Any police officer may without warrant arrest and detain pending enquiries (sic) any person in respect of whom he has reason to believe that there are grounds which would justify his detention under section 8; and that he has acted or is about to act or is likely to act in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof or to maintenance of essential services therein or to the economic life thereof.“

Where else Section 8 of the ISA grants the power to order detention or restriction of persons.

“(i) If the Minister is satisfied that the detention of any person is necessary with a view to preventing him from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia or any part thereof or to the maintenance of essential services therein or the economic life thereof, he may make an order (hereinafter referred to as a detention order) directing that that person be detained for any period not exceeding two years.“

However, as most Malaysians will attest, the Act has long been abused by the vice grip of the ruling coalition, dating all the way back to the infamous May 13^th Incident of 1969, the Ops Lalang of 1984 and the much publicized arrest of former Deputy Prime Minister, Anwar Ibrahim. The ISA enables sectors of the ruling coalition to detain a person for not less than 60 days, incommunicado with lawyers and family members prohibited from reaching the detainee.

The blatant abuse of the act and the complete disregard of basic human rights continue to this very day with the recent unfounded arrests of the Hindraf 5, Raja Petra Kamarudin , Tan Hoon Cheng and Teresa Kok. While Tan Hoon Cheng and Teresa Kok have been released, due mostly to the voice of utter disapproval by the Malaysian public and opposition leaders, there are still numerous detainees who are held without any justification and are not allowed their basic right to defend themselves in a court of law.

The detention of journalist Raja Petra Kamarudin shows that the ruling coalition will do whatever it takes to silence those who expose the various misdeeds and corrupt practices of those who walk the Corridors of Power. Trumped up charges and blatant abuse of authority have reigned down upon this man and all those who have felt the brunt of this medieval law.

The Foundation would like to underscore and vehemently denounce the use of such draconian and uncivilized law as means of intimidating and silencing public outcry. We demand that all ISA detainees be released from detention and be tried in a court of law immediately.

We would like to ask our readers to take a few moments and sign the petition below in support of the cause. Let’s do this for a better and brighter Malaysia. Amar maaruf,nahi munkar.

http://www.petitiononline.com/isa1234/petition.html