What does the public think of this week's arrest of seven pro-reform activists under the Internal Security Act (ISA)?

A street poll conducted by malaysiakini in Kuala Lumpur today saw strong opinions being expressed by members of the public, with some opposing the police action, claiming it was against human rights, and others agreeing with it, citing instability and chaos as justification.

Ita, 26, said, "I don't agree with the arrests. The use of the ISA is against human rights and the guilt of those detained have not even been decided yet. Not enough evidence has been produced."

A man who declined to be named also noted the lack of evidence.

"The police have not produced any evidence, so I am suspicious of the arrests," he said.

Rajan, 41, a businessman, said that the seven should be released immediately.

"They were only planning a gathering. It hasn't even happened yet so the arrests don't make any sense and we don't know the full story," he said.

Pro-active stance

Another businessman, Chan, 43, was vocally opposed to the arrests, saying that they were "very wrong".

"If I want to accuse somebody and if I have the power, I can say a lot of bad things about them whether they are true or not. If there is a big boss in the driver's seat driving the car, then everybody has to follow where he wants to go," he said.

He added that the public should adopt a more pro-active stance if they disagreed with the arrests.

"But the question is, will they do anything about it?" he asked.

WC Wong, 36, an accounting clerk, while saying that the arrests were not right, admitted her apathy towards the political scenario in the country.

"Most of the time I only read the entertainment section of the Chinese newspapers, but I feel that the protest (Black 14) won't threaten the country's security and the seven should be charged in an open court," she said.

Were forced

On the other side is Ramadha, 40, a government servant who said that "demonstrations are unprofitable".

"If those people really create disturbances, then they should be arrested. It would be tragic if we were to become like Indonesia," she said.

A 31-year-old Malay man said, "Before trouble takes place, it is better that it is curbed. Although the police have not produced the evidence that these individuals were taking militant action, I am sure that they will let us know later."

Khairee Anuar Ismail, 31, a businessman, said that if the arrests did not take place it would be very hard to control the situation.

"The authorities were forced to do this," he said.

Elieena, 27, a clerk, said that it is better for the police to take action before chaos happens.

"But they should consider the rights of the individuals. The seven arrested have rights, too," she said.

Another clerk, Phoebe, 17, stated that the arrests could curb any untoward incidents that might occur.

Overthrow government

Those seven detained under the ISA on April 10 and 11 were Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua, Youth leaders Mohamad Ezam Mohd Nor, N Gobalakrishnan and Abdul Ghani Harun, Free Anwar Campaign (Freeanwar.com) webmaster Raja Petra Raja Kamaruddin, social activist-cum-malaysiakini columnist Hishamuddin Rais and Saari Sungib, organiser of the 'Black 14' event tomorrow.

In a press conference on Wednesday, the Inspector General of Police Norian Mai said the seven were arrested because they were planing to overthrow the government by employing "militant tactics".

'Black 14' is being held to mark the second anniversary of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim's sentencing in 1998 for abuse of power, and will see the handing over of a memorandum on human rights to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).