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An Official Secrets Act detainee speaks


Nat Tan is a political activist and aide to former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim who was recently detained under the nation’s Official Secrets Act.His arrest was apparently and ostensibly because of a comment left on his blog. Below is an extract of Nat’s account of his incarceration before the Police released him.

It is a chilling account of what can happen to any of us when the apparatus of State have the power to detain people without due process of law in the name of the Official Secrets Act or the Internal Security Act. Nat writes well and his account is both in English and Bahasa Malaysia.

clipped from jelas.info
The fact that I appear to be the best suspect they could arrest in relation to this case indicates that the police do not understand how the internet works, and are at a complete loss as to how to handle true cyber crime.In my particular case as well, the government and police appear to be sending a signal that while irresponsible bloggers roam free, responsible bloggers who moderate their comments and put a name to their writing are more likely to end up as targets. This policy could not possibly be more ill formed and counterproductive.

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3 responses to “An Official Secrets Act detainee speaks”

  1. avearez Avatar
    avearez

    “Every breath you take
    Every move you make
    Every bond you break
    Every step you take
    I”LL BE WATCHING YOU

    Every single day
    Every word you say
    Every game you play
    Every night you stay
    I”LL BE WATCHING YOU”

    -The Police

    Welcome to Bolehland, folks. Our criminals are mainly activists, while the harcore bad to the bone roam free until they do something really bad, then only get arrested. or shot.

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  2. Jango Ang Avatar
    Jango Ang

    Nat is young, a graduate of Harvard. He has chosen to fight thegood fight, and the good fight is of course to fight the corrupt bastards in Umno and Barisan. But to me he is still a woolly-headed idealist who lives in a two-dimensional world. Will his youthful idealism last? Or will he end up as an establishment politician like so many idealists and reformers of the past. In Malaysia, idealism can be sold and transacted. This is a fact which will not be lost on Nat. This is Nat’s biggest test. And this is a test many have failed.

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  3. The Blogosphere silleth over…into politics « Unspun

    […] at how to control that which is impossible to control by prosecuting and intimidating bloggers like Nat Tan and Raja Petra […]

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