In light of the recent visit by former Malaysian prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to London, the Anti-ISA Movement UK (AIM-UK) would like remind the world that for all Mahathir's contributions to the development of Malaysia, it has come at an enormous cost to democracy, rule of law and fundamental human rights in the country. AIM-UK believes that like many people throughout the world, Malaysians and non-Malaysian alike, we will not forget how the freedoms of Malaysian citizens have been utterly compromised by Mahathir's authoritarian rule.

We also call the Malaysian government to reject Mahathir's preservation of the colonial legacy in the form of the Internal Security Act. The ISA goes against the right to trial and provides indefinite detention, thereby breaching the federal constitution and the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. This provides too much power to an executive that has little history of true democracy.

We would like to join the chorus of our colleagues in Hong Kong by demanding the Malaysian government under the premiership of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to stop the torture and bring rule of law and democracy to Malaysia. If the detainees are truly terrorist threats to the country, they should be openly charged in court under existing laws.

While welcoming the release of 19 detainees on the eve of Hari Raya, we hope Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will not repeat Dr Mahathir's previous attempts at portraying himself as a reformer in his early days as prime minister, but Abdullah should leave a true mark in history by repealing ISA from the Malaysian law and putting it in the dustbin of history.

AIM-UK will continue to remain active and persistent in our calls for the repeal of the law and will not simply be satisfied with token releases. AIM-UK also demands the release of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim who we regard as a prisoner of conscience and was treated with utter contempt by the government of Dr Mahathir.