Foreign Minister Dr Rais Yatim reminded Malaysians to exercise caution when it comes to reviewing the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA).
He believes that ‘the ISA was not 100 per cent perfect and that the sections which did not allegedly meet humanitarian aspects could be reviewed’.
‘When the time is right, there should be a review and it will not be contrary to any law,’ he added.
It is obvious that his view, like that of his like-minded friends in the BN, comes into sharp conflict with the opinion of Malaysians who demand that the ISA be repealed — i.e. not to be reviewed at all.
But what’s noteworthy and interesting here is that Rais dismissed the demand for the abolition of the ISA as ‘merely a political opinion which should not be expressed’.
Pray tell, which opinions, especially those pertaining to controversial laws such as the ISA, that aren’t ‘political’? Besides, what’s wrong with having ‘political opinion’? Does calling for a mere review of the law constitute an apolitical view?
Moreover, to say that such a view is ‘merely a political opinion which should not be expressed’ does not really address the issue head-on. This only skirts it.
