Malaysia Day and ISA

So how was your Malaysia Day?  Great?  Fantastic?  Good for you.

Mine?  Well, can't really say, coz I wasn't in Malaysia.  And I'm not used to celebrate Malaysia Day yet.  Still a very new celebration for me.  I guess, I appreciate Merdeka better.  Simply because of the word MERDEKA is soooo liberating.  Yup, I definitely need more time to get used to this Malaysia Day.

Received news from back home that ISA is finally abolished.  Well....that's sad.  I'm a little bit disappointed about this decision.  I can't understand the motivation behind the decision. I mean, is this really the wish of the MAJORITY.  Is democracy in our beloved country being defiled by this so-called draconian law as claimed.  Is the person who labeled the law draconian even ever experienced draconian laws? 

A friend of mine who strongly opposes the law and everything the government does, said that he is not in favor with ISA because he feels that everyone deserves a day in the court.  Ehehh....I don't blame him.  He wasn't wrong,  just being too idealistic.   Clearly, the words were not his.  He was just parroting it.  

I got news for you buddy.  The law is far from not perfect.  Sometimes, it just don't work.  It does not provide justice, it only provides the opportunity for justice.  

Let us now see a simple example.  Indonesian intelligence informs us that a suspected terrorist is en route to Malaysia and will enter through KLIA.  He is expected to launch a fatal attack on Malaysian soil a couple of hours after he arrives.  The target cannot be confirmed.  So now, the police has a decision to make.  To arrest or not.  If arrest, under what law?  They don't have enough evidence, only information from their Indonesian counterparts.  If they do not, innocence lives may be in danger.  So what to do?

As a citizen, I would expect the police to arrest the guy.  I'm not in a mood, to take any chances of me or my family being attacked in my own country.  I want to be able to feel safe.  I don't want to walk around in the city wearing a kevlar bullet proof jacket.  Nahhh....that's not the Malaysian life.  We like to lepak at our ubiquitous mamak stalls, alfresco style!  We like to lepak at Uptown, enjoying the our black pepper steaks, nescafe ais and listening to a few guys basking their hearts out.  Yup, they may not sing perfectly, but that's enough to entertain us.  

See, we are not complicated people.  Yup, some people may have been complaining and bitching about how hard is it to live in Malaysia, and how other countries are way better than us.  You know what, by all means, please leave!  We are very much better off without you.  We need people who can appreciate the country.  We need people who aspires to build this country.  We certainly don't need people who'd jump to the first opportunity the get to leave and live a so-called 'better' life in another country.  All I can say to the receiving country - Good Luck!  They are your problem now!

So back to the question on the suspected terrorist.  This is specifically why we need ISA.  If some people abuse it, blame the people.  Not the law.  Well, what's done is done.  I just hope that the government will come up with a new law similar to ISA.  

By the way, Happy Belated Malaysia Day!