The government used an array of restrictive laws to deny or place unjustified restrictions o­n fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression and freedom of assembly, said Amnesty International in its 2003 annual report.

The human rights movement said throughout last year, 37 people were arrested and detained under the Internal Security Act over their alleged links to terrorist networks.

The report, which was released in London today, added that they were detained for planning to use violent means to set up a pan-Islamic state in southeast Asia.

"No evidence to support these allegations was made public, and none of the detainees was brought to trial," said the report.

'Prisoners of conscience'

AI said at the same time opposition leaders were subjected to politically motivated arrest and prosecutions while some continued to be detained under the ISA, which allows for detention without trial.

The report mentioned the plight of the six reformasi activists detained under the security law since April 2001.

The detainees, five of whom are Keadilan leaders, were accused of planning to overthrow the government through "militant" means but no evidence has been revealed.

AI said the six were prisoners of conscience and added that they were continued to be detained despite a Federal Court ruling on Sept 6 that the initial 60-day detention of some of the activists was unlawful.

The organisation also reported that members of the political opposition were the target of politically motivated arrest, prosecution and imprisonment.

It cited examples of DAP leaders being arrested under the Sedition Act between June and August last year for distributing leaflets critical of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's declaration that Malaysia was an Islamic state.

AI also cited the case of Keadilan leader N Gobalakrishnan (photo) who was arrested under the Sedition Act last October for allegedly criticising the treatment of ethnic Indians under police detention.

This followed increasing publicity given to deaths in police custody; 19 people died in custody during the year.

The report also contained references to jailed ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim's (right) unsuccessful appeal against his six-year sentence for corruption and the two-year jailing of Keadilan Youth leader Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor under the Official Secrets Act for disclosing documents o­n investigations by the Anti-Corruption Agency into government ministers at a press conference in 1999.

Aliens mistreated

The report also said that peaceful demonstrations and meetings were broken-up or prevented by the police, and a ban o­n public political gatherings (ceramah) continued to be imposed.

It added that ill-treatment at the hands of the authorities was reported in detention camps during a mass expulsion of undocumented migrants.

AI said that the Immigration Act was amended so that anyone found guilty of being in the country without the appropriate legal documentation would face a mandatory sentence of up to five years' imprisonment and up to six strokes of the cane.

"Tens of thousands of people, predominantly migrants from the Philippines and Indonesia, were held in detention camps prior to deportation. They faced insanitary conditions, lack of medical care and ill-treatment.

The report also mentioned of the 13-year-old girl who was reportedly raped in a detention centre in Sabah by three policemen.

Suhakam's role

On matters pertaining to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), AI said the commission came under increased criticism from human rights groups last year, in which a coalition of 32 non-governmental organisations conducted a disengagement campaign for 100 days in protest of its poor performance and the government's lack of action o­n its recommendations.

It also added that Suhakam held an inquiry into conditions at the Kamunting detention camp, where ISA detainees are held.

"It held a workshop o­n press freedom in August, stating that the government should review all laws curtailing freedom of expression, including the Printing Presses and Publications Act, the OSA, the ISA and the Sedition Act.

"The government promised to build four new prisons in response to a Suhakam report o­n overcrowding and lack of segregation of juvenile offenders. Suhakam criticised the government's ban o­n political gatherings, and advised that the police need o­nly be notified of such events rather than having to grant a permit."

Insecure world

At the launch of the annual report, AI's secretary general Irene Khan (left) said people around the world are more insecure today than at any time since the end of the Cold War.

She said governments around the world have spent billions in an effort to beef up national security and the "war o­n terror", but for millions of people the real sources of insecurity were corrupt and inept systems of policing and justice; brutal repression of political dissent; severe discrimination and social inequities; extreme poverty and the spread of preventable diseases.

"The war o­n terror, far from making the world a safer place, has made it more dangerous by curtailing human rights, undermining the rule of international law and shielding governments from scrutiny. It has deepened divisions among people of different faiths and origins, sowing the seeds for more conflict. The overwhelming impact of all this is genuine fear - among the affluent as well as the poor," she said.

This years' report on Malaysia contained similar complaints by AI as in its report last year, where the movement had also raised concerns regarding the ISA and the strong measures employed to stifle dissent.