Pakatan Rakyat will not accept any legislation that replaces the Internal Security Act, which the government has pledged to repeal.

"Our poisition is clear: repeal the ISA completely; no replacement, nothing," PKR deputy president Azmin Ali said.

NONESpeaking at a post-ISA public forum last night, Azmin said Pakatan was prepared to assist the government in drafting a post-ISA framework.

"We, Pakatan Rakyat, will be happy to sit down and discuss the new legislative framework and content to ensure that it does not limit (individual liberties) or continue this law (ISA) or any element to its effect," he said.

Azmin, who is also Gombak MP, said he is now "throwing this idea" of cooperation and would wait to see if the government responds.

Asked what this "framework" would be if it was not on replacement legislation, Azmin said the opposition coalition would present its proposal to reform the police force.

"Our proposal is just to empower the police. We should have professional police officers, a strong team (that) we can support in terms of finances and training, so that we can have a very strong and credible police institution... not the replacement of ISA," he said.

He reasoned that a credible police force would be able to act against genuine national security threats without having to resort to detention without trial.

'Stop tailing politicians'

Also present at the forum organised by Yayasan Selangor in cooperation with Institute for Policy Research in Kuala Lumpur were Subang MP R Sivarasa, law professor Abdul Aziz Bari and political analyst Wong Chin Huat.

NONESivarasa said Pakatan would revive the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) and provide funds to the police force to ensure that they are professional and independent.

"The police have to act like detectives and infiltrate criminal gangs (as a preventive measure) but they are too busy focusing on the opposition... we don't need a Special Branch that is busy tailling politicians," he said.

Sivarasa said the police have enough powers under the Penal Code for dealing with terrorists, including the Planning and Assistance of Terrorism Act, that provides for up to 30 years' jail.

Pakatan would also abolish all detention-without-trial laws, including the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985, which is not part of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's reforms.

"We will ... use the normal criminal justice system," he said.

This, Sivarasa said, is important because in the past, when alleged criminals were detained without trial, the truth was never exposed in a court of law and those who were truly responsible at the top were spared.

"Take the Project IC in Sabah during the 1990s... if the case had been taken to court as it should, we will know who planned the whole thing, the person will confess as to who he got the orders from," he said.

Throughout the 1990s, several government officers were arrested under the ISA for systematically handing out Malaysian identity cards to foreigners, which ultimately granted them the right to vote.

Najib announced yesterday that today's cabinet meeting would decide on the timeline of his proposed reforms, which includes amendment of the Printing Presses and Publications Act, Police Act, the lifting of emergency declarations and the repeal of the ISA.

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