| Various Quarters Support Use Of ISA To Deal With Street Demonstrations |
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KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- Various quarters have voiced support for the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on using the Internal Security Act (ISA) to deal with illegal street demonstrations.
They want the government to immediately implement the move so as to preserve unity and political and economic stability in the country.
They say as a moral society, Malaysians should uphold the principles of Rukunegara and not act as they please to the extent of depriving others peace and harmony.
President of the Federation of Peninsular Malay Students, Datuk Reezal Merican Naina Merican said it would be an apt move if the Prime Minister decided to use the ISA against street demonstrators.
"The Prime Minister's patience has reached the maximum as the people have been given the freedom, including criticising the government through the blogsites," he told Bernama here today.
Reezal, who is aso an Umno Youth committee member, said the action of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) to initiate an illegal rally in the city on Sunday was extreme and it ignored the sensitivities of the country's 26 million citizens.
Senior lecturer at Universiti Malaya's History Department, Dr Ahmad Kamal Arifin said if the government delayed in curbing the problem, it could lead to racial conflicts.
He said although some people said the illegal gathering by Hindraf was peaceful, violence did erupt among some in the gathering.
"Therefore, using the ISA is appropriate and a quick way to diffuse the unhealthy situation without waiting for a court decision," he said.
President of the Indian Muslim Congress Malaysia (KIMA) Syed Ibrahim Kader said the ISA shoud be used against anyone trying to threaten the country's peace and stability.
On Hindraf's demands, he said the Indians in Malaysia should remember that they came to this country 150 years ago to earn a living and not to take away the rights of others.
"However, we the Indian Muslims do not feel that we have been marginalised in this country or that there are quarters trying to take away the rights of the Indian community," he said.
Umno Youth treasurer Datuk Ab Hamid Mohd Nazahar also supported the move to use the ISA. Otherwise more people would become even bolder to challenge the government via street demonstrations, he said.
He urged the government to use the ISA against the Hindraf leaders for Sunday's incident, besides inciting racial hatred and arousing religious sentiments which could disrupt harmony in the country.
-- BERNAMA
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