I certainly sympathise with people-with-disability as I have a brother who has a physical handicap resulting from a car accident. However, I strongly object to the comparison made by Anthony S Thanasayan, a spokesperson for a non-governmental organisation for the disabled, in your report Disabled people face ISA every day.

According to Anthony, people with disabilities or PWDs suffer more than Internal Security Act detainees, and yet human right organisations like Suhakam does not treat PWDs fairly. With due respect, I must say that Anthony is wrong

PWDs either acquire their physical or mental disabilities naturally or from accidents. They certainly should be assisted by a good and compassionate government, and treated with dignity by all. There is no doubt about that.

However, to categorise their hardships within the realm of human rights is not right intellectually, if not politically and could even be considered morally mischievous.

Detaining innocent people without trial for an uncertain length of time under the ISA is a human decision. It can be avoided, stopped or changed. It is due to human folly, arrogance and wickedness that many legitimate dissenters have lost their personal freedom, family life, health and even physical life without ever being tried of any charge or proven to have committed a crime.

I hope this will not make Suhakam under the new chair shift its focus from the ISA detentions to an issue which best be handled and managed by the Social Welfare Ministry and other welfare NGOs. Genuine human rights NGO must continue to press Suhakam to focus on ISA detentions.