Imagine you have four children and your wife is eight months' pregnant. You are the only source of income for your family.

But then one day, you are handcuffed in front of your family, for a crime you did not commit, and brought to the police station to help them investigate a robbery case.

You are released as there is not enough evidence to charge you with the crime that you had nothing to do with in the first place.

Unfortunately, you still cannot go home to your family as now you are being detained under the Internal Security Act for your religious activities that the police think might be linked to an 'international terrorist group'.

You will be detained for another 60 days. Your 'crime': being an opposition party member who actively carried out your duty in the party as well as in religious activities.

You have served your party well during the 1999 general elections by letting your house be part of the operations centre for the election campaign. You and your friends have climbed trees to put alternative coalition banners.

Unfortunately again, you are not the 'big alternative fish' like Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, Tian Chua, Saari Sungib and others whose ISA detention has caught the attention of the media, reformasi websites, NGOs and alternative front supporters.

The news about you and your family's suffering after you are detained is mentioned briefly in one or two websites. Only a handful of people notice it and extend help to your family. Till this letter is written, none of the top Alternative party member have visited your family or even called to give their assurance or offer to help.

Maybe they are still unsure of your ISA detention case, maybe it is none of their business due to the fact that you might be linked to an 'international terrorist group', and maybe there is nothing to gain in terms of political milestones by helping a nobody.

You are Mohamad Sobri Haji Abu Hassan, just a 'small fry' whose contribution towards the alternative front is too little to be noticed.