Misplaced idealism indeed
He should not get carried away with his overactive imagination and fearful pessimism. Here in peaceful Malaysia, the ISA is not being used against communist, terrorists or armed insurgency and the country is not under any emergency. It is being used against opposition politicians who have never been known to be violent or bear arms.
The sweeping powers accorded by the ISA which circumvent checks and balances lend itself easily to abuse. Governments are made up of humans who have their flaws and ambitions and subject to the corrupting influence of power.
Andre himself exhibits a misplaced idealism that the wielders of the ISA will not abuse it but only use it to "protect the nation's security". The universal idealism of justice and fairness to the accused has been replaced with the dangerous idealism that the authorities are always right.
Most people will not protest if the ISA is being used to keep the peace. But this is just not so. The fact is that the ISA is being used now to protect those in power under the nebulous excuse of national security. It is being used to imprison and squash legitimate dissidents of the establishment because their cases will not hold up in court.
Perhaps in his overriding anxiety to avoid riots and unrest, the writer is willing to give the authorities the benefit of the doubt. Let's not gamble our nation's future, some say. So what if a few innocent people are imprisoned without trial provided it does not happen to him or his family?
Perhaps better to have a misplaced idealism than to have a corrupted sense of justice. At least people with idealism sacrifice their time, resources, freedom and sometimes their lives for what they believe in. They fight for what they believe is the common good even as other people maintain a core of selfishness and callous disregard for the individual provided the misfortune does not happen to them.
As for the writer's diatribe against Anwar Ibrahim, he misses the point as to why Anwar has become a rallying point for reformation. Let's not argue on the merits of the man. Granted that Dr Mahathir Mohamad had the right to sack a fallen political rival from the government and the party, this does not justify abusing every instrument of government to arrest and imprison him for umpteen years under trumped up charges.
Why should we care if it doesn't happen to us? Is not the cruelty and injustice Anwar suffered the price he has to pay for a failed challenge to his political adversary?
But as the former Lord President, Tun Salleh Abas said, "Even if one man is manifestly denied justice then we are all in danger."
If the entire machinery of law enforcement and the judiciary can be subverted to crush one man, than it can be used to deny justice to anybody else, even those who condone it on the selfish comfort that it will not happen to them.
In a state of normalcy, the peace and security of the nation can be preserved by normal laws and court processes. We should not delude ourselves that the ISA is being used judiciously. That it is being used against opposition politicians says it all.
