[Isteri Ezam, Bahirah sekali lagi mengejutkan kerajaan. Beliau membawa kes ISA ke pejabat bangsa-bangsa bersatu UNHCR di Kuala Lumpur pula. Komen beliau amat menonjol dan ini pastinya akan menekan dan memalukan lagi kerajaan Mahathir - kali ini di mata dunia pula.

Kita petik beberapa kata-kata pedas Bahirah:

"Dakwa mereka di mahkamah, atau bebaskan sahaja mereka. Menahan mereka itu adalah satu penderaan".

"Tangkapan ISA itu semata-mata bermotif politik. Salah satu perkara yang mereka tanya adalah agar Ezam meninggalkan DS Anwar Ibrahim. Bagi saya itu tidak ada kena mengena langsung dengan keselamatan negara"

"Penangkapan Ezam dan yang lainnya bertujuan untuk 'melumpuhkan' (jika tidak untuk memusnahkan) Keadilan".

Mahathir telah tersilap besar di sini. Sejarah melayu lama telah melahirkan Tun Teja. Sejarah Asia pula telah melahirkan banyak wira dari kaum hawa yang hebat-hebat belaka. Kini sejarah melayu moden mungkin melahirkan kehebatan yang serupa.... dan itu semua berlaku secara tiba-tiba dan dengan tidak disangka-sangka.

(Sila maklum Rencana ABC di bawah tersilap mengeja Bahira menjadi Yahira) - Editor]

Families appeal to UN to help free Malaysian detainees

KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 (AFP) - Families of six opposition supporters who have been jailed without trial under a tough Malaysian security law appealed to the United Nations on Wednesday to help secure their release.

About 30 family members and rights group members gathered outside the UN office here to hand in some 10,000 postcards addressed to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.

The postcards called for the abolition of the Internal Security Act (ISA), a successor to British colonial-era legislation which was passed almost half a century ago to combat a communist insurgency.

The opposition activists, all supporters of jailed politician Anwar Ibrahim, are being held for up to two years under the ISA at the Kamunting detention camp in the northern state of Perak.

"We want the UN to intervene to abolish ISA because it has been used to cause suffering," said Aliza Jaffar, wife of detainee Saari Sungib, after handing the postcards to a UN representative.

Bahirah Tajul Aris, wife of Mohamad Ezam Mohamad Noor, said the families were disappointed that senior UN officials were not present.

"This is a very important issue. At least their presence would show that they are concerned about our plight and the sufferings of the detainees," she said.

Bahirah urged Robinson to demand that Malaysia immediately release the detainees.

"Charge them in court or else release them. Holding them is torture," she said.

Bahirah said the detentions served the political goals of Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad and had nothing to do with national security.

"It is very much political. One of the things they asked Ezam to do was to leave Datuk Seri (honorific) Anwar Ibrahim. To me that has nothing to do with national security," she said.

Ezam is the former political secretary to ex-deputy premier Anwar.

Mahathir and police chief Norian Mai have said Anwar's supporters planned to use weapons during violent street demonstrations to topple the government.

No evidence of this has been made public. Opposition parties say the law is being used to stifle peaceful dissent to Mahathir's 20-year rule.

Bahirah said the arrest of Ezam and the others was meant "to destroy Keadilan."

Ezam is youth chief of the National Justice Party (Keadilan), led by Anwar's wife. Most of the other detainees are also leading members.

Anwar himself is serving a total of 15 years in prison for abuse of power and s###my. He says he was framed to avert a political challenge to Mahathir, who denies the allegation.

http://www.abc.net.au/asiapacific/location/ asia/GoAsiaPacificLocationStories_316831.htm

Malaysia's PM celebrates 20 years of power [Portions Only]

22/06/01 14:14:56 | PM

In Malaysia, Prime Minister Mahathir marked his 20-year reign as Asia's longest serving leader in the style which he's made famous as one of the more pugnacious players on the world stage. Among his thoughts to the faithful at UMNO's Annual General Assembly; foreigners hate him and want to overthrow his government, and reform activists are idiots, promoting mob rule to bring the worst of Indonesia's violence to Malaysia. On the sidelines, an attempt at protest by the wives of Opposition figures gaoled under the Internal Security Act was literally shouldered out of the way.

Transcript:

MARK COLVIN: Now to Malaysia where Prime Minister Mahathir has been marking his 20 year reign as Asia's longest serving leader in a style which he's made famous as one of the most pugnacious players on the world stage.

Among his thoughts to the faithful at UMNO's Annual General Assembly, foreigners hate him and want to overthrow his government, and reform activists are 'idiots', promoting mob rule to bring the worst of Indonesia's violence to Malaysia.

On the sidelines an attempt at protest by the wives of opposition figures gaoled under the Internal Security Act was literally shouldered out of the way.

From Kuala Lumpur, South East Asia correspondent Geoff Thompson.

GEOFF THOMPSON: Prime Minister Mahathir walks the red carpet, making his centrepiece appearance at the Annual General Assembly of his United Malaysia National Organisation. Everything is going as planned - the loyal and adoring UMNO faithful clamour for a look at their still undisputed champion.

But suddenly to the side there is a small and strange sight. Half a dozen diminutive women in colourful Muslim head scarves feebly attempt to push through and deliver a memorandum of protest against the gaoling of their husbands under the Internal Security Act. Their efforts are short lived. Dr Mahathir's plain clothed protectors barged them back, literally shouldering them away.

One of them cries. Yet another, Yahira [phonetic], the wife of Anwar Ibrahim's protégé, Mohamad Ezam Mohd Noor, holds the crumpled memorandum in her hand.

YAHIRA: They have no proof or any evidence in this manner where he's put in isolation. He is defenceless, therefore I have to come forward to defend him but prosecution and detention is part and parcel of the struggle. So, we have to keep on fighting like the famous phrase 'lawan ta lawan'.

GEOFF THOMPSON: And what does that mean?

YAHIRA: That means the fight will continue.

22/06/01 14:14:56 | PM