The Federal Court decision on Sept 6 that the initial 60-day police detention of five reformasi leaders under the Internal Security Act (ISA) was unlawful now puts Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on the spot.

Now we will see what kind of person he is, and what kind of prime minister he will be.

Since the Federal Court says that the initial detention was unlawful, that means that Pak Lah's order to commit Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua, Keadilan Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Keadilan party leader Saari Sungib, and malaysiakini columnist Hishamuddin Rais to two years detention under the ISA was also illegal.

That's because Pak Lah's order was based entirely on the original police detention, which now has been declared unlawful. If the original premise for arrest was illegal, then any subsequent detention that follows from it also has to be illegal. That is common law — and common sense.

The Federal Court says that it did not rule on the two-year detention because the petitioners did not file a habeas corpus application to overturn the home minister's detention order. That is a technicality at best and judicial cowardice at worst.

Why should the petitioners have to spend another 19 months proving that Pak Lah's order was illegal?

Or will the DPM do the right thing, and correct the miscarriage of justice to which he was a party?

This is Pak Lah's chance to show what kind of person he is, and what kind of Malaysia he wants to lead when he becomes prime minister. To his title of "Mr Clean", he now can add the accolade, "Mr Decent".

Rather than force the petitioners to go through the process all over again, there is a far easier and just solution. Since Pak Lah's detention order was illegal and had no basis in law, he should now sign another order releasing the four detainees from ISA detention. He should do the right thing, and right a wrong.