The credibility and the authority of the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has come into serious doubt with the detention of seven reformasi activists under the Internal Security Act (ISA) in the past two days, opposition leader Lim Kit Siang said today.

Lim said that the ISA crackdown was a public slap in the face for Suhakam which had earlier agreed to accept an April 14 memorandum on human rights this Saturday.

"Suhakam chairman Musa Hitam should lead a delegation to meet Home Affairs Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over the ISA arrests as well as on the need for full support and respect for the commission's statutory responsibility to protect and promote human rights," said Lim in a press statement.

Suhakam had issued a statement late yesterday calling for the immediate release of the seven, adding that it deeply regretted the use of the ISA for the arrests.

"The present crackdown is cause for concern," the commission said, adding that those arrested should be charged and tried in an open court if they had committed any offence.

Those arrested are Saari Sungib, organiser of the Saturday's event, Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua, the party's Youth leaders, Ezam Mohd Nor, N Gobalakrishnan and Abdul Ghani Harun, Free Anwar Campaign (Freeanwar.com) webmaster Raja Petra Kamaruddin and former student leader and malaysiakini columnist Hishammuddin Rais.

Tian and Hishammuddin are also committee members of the event on Saturday.

'Fairy tale'

The handing over the memorandum, known as the 'Black 14' gathering, is organised by reformasi activists to mark the second anniversary of jailed former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's sentencing for abuse of power. While a small delegation will be handing the memorandum over to Suhakam, the organisers have encouraged the public to attend as a show of support.

At a press conference yesterday, Inspector-General of Police Norian Mai said that the seven were arrested under the ISA for being involved in negotiations to buy arms to be used to topple the government. He said police received intelligence reports that the activists were in the midst of buying grenade launchers and explosives.

Lim said that the media conference by Norian was "most bizarre and shameful" where allegations were made without any substantiation.

"Everyone is entitled to ask whether Norian was concocting or narrating a fairy tale unless he comes out with full substantiation of his tall story," he said. "It would be mind-boggling and inconceivable that the police has absolutely nothing in terms of hard evidence apart from hearsay to back up its story of a militant conspiracy for the violent overthrow of the government," he added

He also said that Norian's accusations that the memorandum handing-over committee was the centrepiece of the militant conspiracy seemed to imply that Suhakam was "aiding and abetting" the committee's action by agreeing to accept the memorandum from them.

Yesterday the Home Affairs Ministry and the police warned the public not to attend this Saturday's gathering, claiming that it could be an unlawful assembly.