Malaysia mansuh ISA, Singapura yang kelam kabut

Lee Hsien Loong tidak seberani Najib?

Nota: Apabila Perdana Menteri Malaysia mengumumkan pemansuhan ISA, Singapura merupakan negara pertama yang mengeluarkan kenyataan. Kata Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri Singapura, Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) masih terus relevan dan penting sebagai usaha terakhir memelihara keselamatan negara. Katanya lagi, Kementerian itu menegaskan ISA hanya diguna pakai untuk menangani ancaman subversif, pelampau kaum dan agama seperti menghasut kebencian kaum dan agama, keganasan, pengintipan dan terorisme.

Singapura mempunyai ISAnya tersendiri bagi tujuan menahan individu yang dianggap boleh mengancam keamanan dan keselamatannya. Pada 1963 dalam operasi Coldstore seramai 100 individu-individu terdiri dari ahli-ahli politik dan persatuan telah ditahan. Pada 2006, Singapura menahan Mas Selamat Bin Kastari, anggota (JI) Jamaatul Islamiyyah.

Tidak hairan kenapa Singapura begitu kelam kabut mengeluarkan kenyataan kerana menurut Presiden Think Centre, badan politik tertua negara itu, Kong Soon Tan, pada 3 Februari 1991 Lee Hsien Loong, ketika itu timbalan perdana menteri, ada memberitahu bahawa Singapura akan dengan serius mempertimbangkan untuk memansuhkan ISA jika Malaysia berbuat demikian.

Bagaimanapun kata Khoo, kenyataan yang dikeluarkan oleh Kementerian Dalam Negeri semalam sungguh mengecewakan kerana bertentangan dengan pendirian Lee 20 tahun lalu. “Perdana Menteri Lee perlu dengan serius menunaikan kata-kata beliau, mempertimbangkan untuk memansuhkan ISA selepas Malaysia mengumumkan ia akan memansuhkan akta ini.”

Singapura: ISA masih relevan
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/bahasa/article/singapura-isa-masih-relevan/
September 17, 2011

SINGAPURA, 17 Sept ─ Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri Singapura berkata Akta Keselamatan Dalam Negeri (ISA) masih terus relevan dan penting sebagai usaha terakhir memelihara keselamatan negara.

Kementerian itu menegaskan ISA hanya diguna pakai untuk menangani ancaman subversif, pelampau kaum dan agama seperti menghasut kebencian kaum dan agama, keganasan, pengintipan dan terorisme.

Dipetik Bernama Online, katanya, kerajaan mengambil perhatian terhadap pemansuhan ISA oleh kerajaan Malaysia dan menggantikannya dengan perundangan baru bagi mencegah ancaman subversif, jenayah terancang dan tindakan jenayah.

Perdana Menteri Malaysia Datuk Seri Najib Razak mengumumkan langkah mahu memansuhkan ISA menerusi perutusan Hari Malaysia kelmarin.

Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri Singapura menambah, ISA di Singapura dan Malaysia mungkin mempunyai persamaan ketika dibawah jajahan British tetapi kedua-dua negara dan fabrik masyarakat dan politik telah berubah mengikut peredaran masa.

Seseorang yang ditahan mengikut ISA di Singapura ditahan sehingga 30 hari dan kemudian Perintah Tahanan atau Perintah Terhad perlu dikeluarkan dan sekiranya gagal mengeluarkan perintah itu maka tahan itu dibebaskan tanpa sebarang syarat.

Sejak 1991, Presiden Singapura mempunyai kuasa untuk membatalkan keputusan kerajaan untuk menahan seseorang mengikut ISA sekiranya Lembaga Penasihat ISA, yang dipengerusikan oleh seorang Hakim Mahkamah Agung, mengesyorkan pembebasan tahanan tersebut.

Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri Singapura berkata kerajaan Singapura menggunakan ISA dengan berhati-hati dan hanya diguna pakai terhadap individu yang mengugat keselamatan negara dan ketenteraman awam.

Katanya tiada individu pernah ditahan mengikut akta itu semata-mata kerana kepercayaan poltitik masing-masing.

Kebebasan Media: Singapura lebih teruk dari Zimbabwe

"Amnesty International criticises the government for penalising activists for exercising their right to free speech, while Reporters without Borders ranks Singapore 136th in terms of press freedom, below the likes of Iraq and Zimbabwe."

Singapore poll shows many still upset with long-ruling PAP

By Kevin Lim

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/8/28/worldupdates/2011-08-28T125938Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-590117-1&sec=Worldupdates

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Former Deputy Prime Minister Tony Tan's narrow win during Singapore's presidential election shows many voters are still unhappy with the long-ruling People's Action Party (PAP), but that they favour moderate rather than radical alternatives.

Supporters of the opposition Workers' Party of Singapore cheer as they wait for election results at a stadium in Singapore May 7, 2011. (REUTERS/Tim C/Files)

Tan's low share of Saturday's vote, unlikely to affect financial markets, was partly due to closest rival Tan Cheng Bock's ability to attract PAP supporters, who analysts say would not have endorsed candidates set on shaking up a regimented political system that has been key to Singapore's economic success.

Tony Tan, who was backed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and many business groups, received 35.2 percent of the 2.15 million votes cast in the first-past-the-post contest, just marginally above medical doctor Tan Cheng Bock's 34.8 percent.

Investment adviser Tan Jee Say, who had been more vocal in his criticism of the PAP, got 25.04 percent while the fourth candidate, former insurance executive Tan Kin Lian, won 4.91 percent.

The PAP, which was co-founded by Lee's father, Lee Kuan Yew, has ruled strait-laced Singapore since independence in 1965.

Tony Tan's share of vote was well below the 60 percent obtained by the PAP in May parliamentary elections, when the opposition made historic gains amid unhappiness over soaring property prices and the rapid immigration into the rich Southeast Asian city-state.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Chua Hak Bin said the presidential election showed many Singaporeans were still unhappy with the PAP, which has boosted the supply of government housing and made it costlier for employers to hire foreigners since the May election.

"They are unhappy with the status quo and yet they are not willing to swing completely to a candidate they think will be too radical," he said.

Singapore's directly-elected president has historically performed mostly ceremonial duties. But the president wields veto powers that will let him delay the appointment of people to senior government positions as well as in government entities such as GIC and state investor Temasek.

Tan Cheng Bock, a former PAP parliamentarian with a track record of speaking up against unpopular policies, had said that if elected, he would use the president's powers to scrutinise government appointments more closely.

But he adopted a more conciliatory tone towards the government during the hustings than Tan Jee Say or Tan Kin Lian, and his election team included a mix of opposition figures as well as many rank-and-file PAP activists.

"PAP supporters are comfortable with both Dr Tony Tan and, to a lesser extent, Dr Tan Cheng Bock. The latter, for all his strong-willed independence, is not someone who is going to rock the boat," said Eugene Tan, a law lecturer at Singapore Management University.

Tan is the most common family name in Singapore, where ethnic Chinese make up about 75 percent of the population.

The PAP did not formally endorse Tony Tan although Lee had described him as a "unifying figure" who would bring honour and credit to Singapore.

In a message after the results, Lee said the margin of victory was narrow because both Tony Tan and Tan Cheng Bock "conveyed strong unifying messages, and declared their intention to work closely with the government".

Singapore, the Asian base for many banks and multinational companies, gets top rankings as an investment destination and for ease of doing business in international surveys.

But critics say that despite the facade of modernity, the city-state has few of the outlets for grievances normally found in a democratic society.

Amnesty International criticises the government for penalising activists for exercising their right to free speech, while Reporters without Borders ranks Singapore 136th in terms of press freedom, below the likes of Iraq and Zimbabwe.

Saturday's election, which went into a recount because of the closeness of the result, is the first contested race for president since 1993 largely due to the tough conditions set by the government for prospective candidates.

(Reporting by Kevin Lim; Editing by Nick Macfie)