In my 10 years of legal practice, I never had to make a trip to the Detention Centre at Kamunting to visit a client until last Friday. What would it be like? Is it a prison like any other prison? What is so special about that place? Do they have other prisoners there? Are all detainees there detained without trial? These questions popped up in my head when I was told that I needed to go there with two other lawyers. Visiting clients in prison is a normal occurrence for me as a criminal litigator and these visits do not affect me emotionally or mentally. However, the thought of going to Kamunting did.
We left at about 6.00 am and reached the Kamunting Detention Centre at about 9.30am. The guards requested for our identity cards and registered all our details including our addresses and gave us a pass for the car. I then noticed that the centre comes under the Prison Board which has a motto "Mesra, Ikhlas dan Berbakti" which means " Friendly, Sincere and Dedicated". I was not sure to whom or what the motto was referring to.
We drove in and passed 2 grazing fields and finally reached the main entrance to the prison. We walked in and were told to register our names again and to fill up a form for their records. After which they requested that all mobile phones and wallets be kept in a locker provided by them and all bags and files must be searched before we could bring them in. They did not allow us to bring in some fruits that we bought along the way for Raja Petra. We were only allowed to buy food items from the prison cafeteria for him.
We were escorted into the area where the ISA detainees are kept. It is like any other prison I have visited except that here they also detain people without trial. Malaysia has two other laws other than the ISA where people can be detained without trial they are the Emergency Ordinance and the Special Preventive Measures under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. Convicted criminals , who have undergone the due process of a trial, are also kept here. The ISA detainees, detainees under the Emergency Ordinance and the convicted criminals are housed separately in the prison. There are 29 foreigners detained under the ISA and 34 of the detainees are Malaysians bringing a total of 63 ISA detainees.
We were brought to an office and were told to register our names again and waited for Raja Petra. We were told that we had only 1 hour with him and all documents given to us by him has to be recorded by them. He arrived at the office and a guard escorted us to a room with glass windows on each side with a long table in the middle of the room.
We left at about 6.00 am and reached the Kamunting Detention Centre at about 9.30am. The guards requested for our identity cards and registered all our details including our addresses and gave us a pass for the car. I then noticed that the centre comes under the Prison Board which has a motto "Mesra, Ikhlas dan Berbakti" which means " Friendly, Sincere and Dedicated". I was not sure to whom or what the motto was referring to.
We drove in and passed 2 grazing fields and finally reached the main entrance to the prison. We walked in and were told to register our names again and to fill up a form for their records. After which they requested that all mobile phones and wallets be kept in a locker provided by them and all bags and files must be searched before we could bring them in. They did not allow us to bring in some fruits that we bought along the way for Raja Petra. We were only allowed to buy food items from the prison cafeteria for him.
We were escorted into the area where the ISA detainees are kept. It is like any other prison I have visited except that here they also detain people without trial. Malaysia has two other laws other than the ISA where people can be detained without trial they are the Emergency Ordinance and the Special Preventive Measures under the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952. Convicted criminals , who have undergone the due process of a trial, are also kept here. The ISA detainees, detainees under the Emergency Ordinance and the convicted criminals are housed separately in the prison. There are 29 foreigners detained under the ISA and 34 of the detainees are Malaysians bringing a total of 63 ISA detainees.
We were brought to an office and were told to register our names again and waited for Raja Petra. We were told that we had only 1 hour with him and all documents given to us by him has to be recorded by them. He arrived at the office and a guard escorted us to a room with glass windows on each side with a long table in the middle of the room.
During our meeting with him, the prison guards walk past the room every now and then and I am not sure why they do that. Raja Petra was not going anywhere and neither were we. We also got to meet 3 of the 5 Hindraf detainees while on their way for mandarin classes. Probably preparing to also fight for the Chinese when they are released.
After the hour long meeting with him, it was safe to say that Raja Petra is still in high spirits. Always cracking jokes in between conversations with us and can still afford to smile. We said good bye to him and told him to keep his spirits up and there is still support for him outside the prison walls.
This is the first time I have visited a prison where people who believe in themselves are incarcerated. It is difficult to believe that my country has such laws that can do this. These laws apply to every citizen in Malaysia no matter what your status, race or religion is. The development of a nation should not be judged by the size of the buildings it has or the amount of money it has but by its evolution of laws on human rights. With laws like these still being utilised, Malaysia has a long way to go before even getting close to being a developed nation.
I condemn the draconian laws that allow detention without trial and it should all be abolished if the government is even interested human rights.
After the hour long meeting with him, it was safe to say that Raja Petra is still in high spirits. Always cracking jokes in between conversations with us and can still afford to smile. We said good bye to him and told him to keep his spirits up and there is still support for him outside the prison walls.
This is the first time I have visited a prison where people who believe in themselves are incarcerated. It is difficult to believe that my country has such laws that can do this. These laws apply to every citizen in Malaysia no matter what your status, race or religion is. The development of a nation should not be judged by the size of the buildings it has or the amount of money it has but by its evolution of laws on human rights. With laws like these still being utilised, Malaysia has a long way to go before even getting close to being a developed nation.
I condemn the draconian laws that allow detention without trial and it should all be abolished if the government is even interested human rights.
