VZCZCXRO6690
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM RUEHNH
DE RUEHKL #1119/01 3650915
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 300915Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2174
INFO RUCNASE/ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA PRIORITY 2717
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0558
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA PRIORITY 0095
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC PRIORITY
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHHMUNS/COMSOCPAC HONOLULU HI PRIORITY
B/COMUSSOCOM INTEL OPS CEN MACDILL AFB FL PRIORITY
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY IA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 001119 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/MTS, INR, S/CT 
DOJ/OPDAT FOR BERMAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PTER PGOV PHUM KJUS KDEM MY
SUBJECT: SUMMARY OF DETENTIONS AND RELEASES UNDER 
MALAYSIA'S INTERNAL SECURITY ACT 
 
REF: A. KL 1114 - PRESSURE MOUNTS AGAINST ISA 
     ¶B. KL 1111 - 2008 CT REPORT 
     ¶C. KL 834 - KOK RELEASED FROM ISA 
     ¶D. KL 810 - UPROAR OVER ISA 
     ¶E. KL 806 - JOURNALIST DETAINED UNDER ISA 
     ¶F. 07 KL 1710 - HINDRAF LEADERS DETAINED UNDER ISA 
     ¶G. 07 KL 1497 - MALAYSIA'S ISA DETAINEES 2007 
     ¶H. 07 KL 902 - BEYOND ISA 
 
KUALA LUMP 00001119  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  The Malaysian government currently holds 46 
individuals under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which 
allows for detention without trial for terrorists and other 
persons deemed threats to national security, according to 
figures from a local NGO that reports reliably on ISA 
detentions.  The number of ISA detainees has declined from 85 
in 2007 and 93 in 2006.  Following the release in 2008 of 19 
persons held for terrorism-related reasons, 29 persons with 
suspected terrorist links remain in ISA detention. 
Authorities arrested nine persons under ISA in 2008, but none 
for terrorist-related activities.  This report lists the 
names and suspected offenses of persons currently held under 
ISA; those released from ISA during 2008; and those newly 
detained under ISA in 2008.  This cable supplements ref A 
report on mounting political pressure against the ISA.  End 
Summary. 
 
ISA Detentions Cut in Half Since 2006 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Abolish ISA Movement (GMI), an NGO coalition 
that has consistently and accurately recorded persons 
detained under ISA, provided the Embassy with its data on ISA 
detainees reportedly accurate as of December 16.  According 
to GMI, the Malaysian government currently holds 46 persons 
under ISA.  This represents a significant decline in the 
total number of ISA detainees, dropping from 85 in December 
2007 and from 93 held in 2006.  Of those currently under ISA 
detention, 29 persons (roughly two-thirds) are held for 
suspected links to terrorist groups, namely Jemaah Islamiya 
(JI) and Darul Islam (DI).  This represents a decrease from 
58 terrorist suspects held in 2006.  The remainder currently 
in ISA detention consist of document forgers (10 persons); 
ethnic Indian rights activists (5) from the Hindu Rights 
Action Force (HINDRAF), who are considered political 
prisoners by the human rights community; and two Malaysians 
allegedly acting as foreign agents. 
 
Current Detainees 
----------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The name, suspected offense and original arrest 
date of the current 46 ISA detainees are provided below.  We 
have indicated the reported nationality of those who are not 
Malaysian citizens (ID = Indonesian, RP = Philippines). 
 
1) Suhaimi bin Mokhtar         JI        12/29/01 
2) Abdullah bin Daud           JI        2002 
3) Mat Sah bin Mohd Satray        JI        04/18/02 
4) Shamsuddin bin Sulaiman        JI        04/07/02 
5) Zaini bin Zakaria              JI        12/02 
6) Zainun Rasyhid (ID)         JI        12/02 
7) Wan Amin bin Wan Hamat         JI        2003 
8) Mohd Khider bin Kadran      JI        2004 
9) Sufian bin Salih (RP)       JI        2004 
10) Hasim bin Talib  (RP)      JI        2004 
11) Mahfudl Saifuddin (ID)     JI        2005 
12) Mulyadi (ID)            JI        2005 
13) Mohd Arasad Patangari      DI        2006 
14) Adzmi Pindalun                DI        2006 
15) Idris Bin Lanama           DI        2006 
16) Ahamad Ghafar Shahril(ID)  DI        2006 
17) Jeknal Adil (RP)           DI        2006 
18) Binsali Omar (RP)          DI        2006 
 
KUALA LUMP 00001119  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
19) A Artas Bin A Burhanuddin  DI        2006 
20) Mohd Nasri Bin Dollah         DI        2006 
21) Francis Indanan            DI        2006 
22) Husin Bin Alih (RP)        DI        2006 
23) Yusoff Bin Mohd Salam (RP) DI        2006 
24) Abdul Jamal Bin Azahari(RP)DI        2006 
25) Pakana Bin Selama (ID)     DI        2006 
26) Ng How Chuang aka John     Forgery   2006 
27) Ng Keat Seng               Forgery   2006 
28) Mohd Azuan Bin Ariffin Foreign Agent 2006 
29) Zulkifli Bin Abu Bakar Foreign Agent 2007 
30) Amir Hussain (Myanmar)     Forgery   2007 
31) Mohd Amir Bin Mohd Hanafiah JI       2007 
32) Zulkifli Bin Marzuki           JI       2007 
33) Ahmad Kamil Bin Mohd Hanafiah JI     2007 
34) Mohd Nasir Bin Ismail aka Hassan JI  2007 
35) Shadul Islam            Forgery   05/14/08 
36) Tan Choon Chin                Forgery   2007 
37) Sundaraj Vijay (India)     Forgery   2007 
38) San Khaing (Myanmar)       Forgery   2007 
39) P. Uthayakumar             HINDRAF   12/13/07 
40) M. Manoharan Malayalam     HINDRAF   12/13/07 
41) R. Kenghadharan Ramasamy   HINDRAF   12/13/07 
42) V. Ganabati Rao Veraman    HINDRAF   12/13/07 
43) T. Vasanthakumar Khrishnan HINDRAF   12/13/07 
44) Abdul Sathar Mohammad Sarjoon  Forgery  NA 
45) Mahamad Nakhrakhel             Forgery  NA 
46) Muhammad Zahid Haji Zahir Shah Forgery  NA 
 
Releases in 2008 
---------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) In keeping with the overall decrease in ISA 
detainees, releases (32 persons) outstripped new ISA arrests 
(9 persons).  Those released include B.S.A. Tahir, who was 
held for his connection to the A.Q. Khan nuclear 
proliferation network.  Below is the list, in reverse 
chronological order, of ISA detainees released during 2008. 
The list includes name, suspected offense, year of arrest, 
and date of release, and also indicates the nationality of 
non-Malaysians if known.  The two released Thai separatists 
reportedly are dual Malaysia-Thai nationals. 
 
1) Mavalavan Muthuramalingam      Foreign Agent 2007 
12/04/08 
2) Mohd Faizol Bin Shamsudin    Foreign Agent 2007 
12/04/08 
3) Mat Tarmizi Bin Shamsudin  S.Thai Separatist 2005 
12/04/08 
4) Abdul Rahman Bin Ahmad     S.Thai Separatist 2005 
12/04/08 
5) Abdul Murad Bin Sudin                 JI          10/16/02 
  12/02/08 
6) Yazid Bin Suffat                      JI          09/12/01 
  11/24/08 
7) Sulaiman Suramin                      JI          2003 
   11/24/08 
8) Faycal Mamdouh                        Forgery    05/08 
11/11/08 
9) Muhd Shuaib Hazrat Bilal(Pakistan)Forgery    05/08 
11/11/08 
10) Shaykinar Bin Guat (RP)          DI        2006 
11/11/08 
11) Argadi Bin Andoyok (RP)          DI        2006 
11/11/08 
12) Kasem Dayama (Thailand)              DI          2006 
   11/11/08 
13) Raja Petra Kamaruddin Racial tension        09/12/08 
11/07/08 
14) Zakaria Samad (ID)               JI        2004 
11/05/08 
15) Ahmad Zakaria (ID)                  JI           2004 
   11/05/08 
16) Terhamid Dahlan (ID)                 JI          2004 
   11/05/08 
17) Ariffin (ID)                   JI          2005 
 
KUALA LUMP 00001119  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
11/05/08 
18) Lian Kok Heng             Foreign Agent   2007 
09/03/08 
19) Sanjeev Kumar Khrishnan   Foreign Agent   2007 
09/03/08 
20) Tan Hoon Cheng                 Racial tension  09/12/08 
09/13/08 
21) Teressa Kok               Racial tension  09/12/08 
09/13/08 
22) Jaki Bin Hamid (ID)                 DI           2006 
   08/15/08 
23) Shahrial aka Syahrial bin Sirin (ID) JI     01/02/02 
08/15/08 
24) Abdullah Minyak bin Silam (ID)      JI     01/14/02 
08/15/08 
25) Zainuddin Suharmo (ID)                   DI 2006 
08/15/08 
26) Jaki Bin  Hamid (ID)                     DI 2006 
08/15/08 
27) BSA Tahir (Sri Lanka)            Nuke Prolif.  2004 
06/23/08 
28) Kandaraju Raman            Immigrant smuggler  2005 
05/08 
29) Masran bin Arshad                        JI 2002 
05/17/08 
30) Nik Abdul Rahman bin Mustapha       JI      10/16/02 
05/17/08 
31) Mohidin bin Shari                        JI 12/02 
05/17/08 
32) Azman Hashim                       JI 2003       05/17/08 
 
Arrests in 2008 
--------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In 2008, Malaysia made only nine new arrests under 
the ISA's detention without trial provisions, and none of 
these were related to terrorism.  (Note:  Police arrested a 
tenth individual, Cheng Lee Wei, under a separate ISA 
provision in 2008, and released him within 24 hours; we have 
not included Cheng in this count.  End Note.)  The three ISA 
arrests in September were widely viewed as politically 
motivated, rather than security related, and resulted in 
increased public pressure to amend or abolish the ISA (ref 
A).  In the case of blogger Raja Petra, a court ordered his 
release after ruling in favor of his habeas corpus 
application.  The following list provides the name, suspected 
offense, date of arrest and release date. 
 
1) Shadul Islam                 Forgery 05/14/08 N/A 
2) Abdul Sathar Mohammad Sarjoon  Forgery NA       N/A 
3) Faycal Mamdouh               Forgery 05/22/08 11/11/08 
4) Mahamad Nakhrakhel                Forgery NA    N/A 
5) Muhammad Shuaib Hazrat Bilal   Forgery NA      11/11/08 
6) Muhammad Zahid Haji Zahir Shah Forgery NA       N/A 
7) Raja Petra Kamaruddin      Racial tension 09/12/08 
11/07/08 
8) Tan Hoon Cheng       Racial tension 09/12/08 09/13/08 
9) Teressa Kok          Racial tension 09/12/08 09/19/08 
 
KEITH