MALAYSIA'S INTERNAL SECURITY ACT (ISA) DETAINEES,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 KUALA LUMPUR 001497 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR S/CT, INL, DS/ATA, EAP AND DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/05/2017 TAGS: PTER PREL PGOV PINR KISL KJUS ASEC MY SUBJECT: MALAYSIA'S INTERNAL SECURITY ACT (ISA) DETAINEES, SEPTEMBER 2007 REF: A. KUALA LUMPUR 902 - BEYOND ISA ¶B. 06 KUALA LUMPUR 1977 ¶C. 06 KUALA LUMPUR 1996 ¶D. 04 KUALA LUMPUR 2981 Classified By: Political Section Chief Mark D. Clark for reasons 1.4 (b, c and d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Malaysia held eighty-seven persons under Internal Security Act (ISA) detention in the Kamunting prison as of September, according to a normally reliable source. Fifty-four of those held are terrorist suspects. The Malaysian government commonly releases a number of ISA detainees each year around the Eid Al-Fitr holiday (likely to fall on October 12 this year). This cable conveys the full list of detainee names, their reason for detention and the date of their original incarceration at Kamunting. End Summary. ISA Detainees at Kamunting: 87 -------------- ¶2. (C) Malaysia held eighty seven persons under Internal Security Act (ISA) detention in the Kamunting prison as of September, according to the update we received from a private source. The GOM uses the preventive detention measures of the ISA to confine suspected terrorists, criminals, and enemies of the state without trial for initial periods of up to two years. No later than at the end of each two year period (or at anytime prior),the Ministry of Internal Security reviews each detainee's case and determines if continued detention is warranted. There is no judicial review for detainees held under the ISA, and continued detention is wholly within the purview of the Minister of Internal Security. Authorities have held 25 persons in ISA for over four years, all of them suspected terrorists. The longest serving ISA detainee (terrorist suspect Yazid bin Suffat) has been held for almost six years (since January 2002). The average ISA detainee is held for approximately four years. In recent years, the GOM has targeted holding a maximum of ninety ISA detainees at any given time. Majority are Terrorist Suspects -------------- ¶3. (C) Malaysia continues to rely heavily on the ISA, and its detention without trial provisions, as it pursues an intelligence approach to counterterrorism (see ref A for discussion). Fifty-four detainees (62 percent) are identified as suspected terrorists through affiliation with the Jemaah Islamiah or Darul Islam groups. Of interest, ISA detainees also include two persons connected to the southern Thailand insurgency, two "foreign agents," and nuclear proliferator Seyed Abu Tahir bin Buhary (aka B.S.A. Tahir). Releases Likely around Muslim Holiday -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Each year around the Eid al-Fitr holiday, the Government of Malaysia releases a number of persons held in preventive detention under the ISA. We anticipate the GOM will make similar releases in the coming days or weeks, as Eid al-Fitr will fall on or about October 12. Reliable NGO Source; Some Detainees Held Elsewhere -------------- -------------- ¶5. (C) The Malaysian NGO "SUARAM" (Suara Rakyat Malaysia, Malaysian People's Voice) (protect source) provided the attached list of ISA detainees. SUARAM monitors the GOM's ISA detentions and is an active member of the coalition of NGOs which form the Abolish ISA Movement (Gerakan Mansuh ISA KUALA LUMP 00001497 002 OF 004 - GMI). SUARAM's lists have proven largely accurate in the past. Although most ISA detainees are held at Kamunting prison, the GOM has been known to hold various ISA detainees at locations other than Kamunting. Such persons are not reflected in SUARAM's list. One example of this is Noralawizah Lee Abdullah, wife of JI leader Hambali - detained in August 2003 and held in solitary confinement at the Police Remand Center in Kuala Lumpur since October 2003 (ref D). The List -------------- ¶6. (SBU) The following is a list of all reported ISA detainees in Kamunting Detention Center as of September 2007. The Kamunting Detention Center (KDC),located near Taiping, Perak, holds ISA prisoners detained for sixty days or longer. The contents of the list are sensitive but unclassified. BEGIN LIST NAME - ALLEGATION - DATE SENT TO KDC ¶1. Yazid bin Suffat - Jemaah Islamiah - 31 Jan 2002 ¶2. Suhaimi bin Mokhtar - Jemaah Islamiah - 22 Feb 2002 ¶3. Shahrial a/k/a Svahrial bin Sirin - Jemaah Islamiah - 28 Feb 2002 ¶4. Abdullah bin Daud - Jemaah Islamiah - 28 Feb 2002 ¶5. Abdullah Minyak bin Silam - Jemaah Islamiah - 09 Mar 2002 ¶6. Mat Sah bin Mohd Satray - Jemaah Islamiah - 14 Jun 2002 ¶7. Shamsuddin bin Sulaiman - Jemaah Islamiah - 14 Jun 2002 ¶8. Masran bin Arshad - Jemaah Islamiah - 27 Aug 2002 ¶9. Abdul Murad bin Sudin - Jemaah Islamiah - 02 Dec 2002 ¶10. Nik Abdul Rahman bin Mustapha - Jemaah Islamiah - 02 Dec 2002 ¶11. Bakkery bin Mahhamud - Jemaah Islamiah - 02 Dec 2002 ¶12. Mohd Zamri bin Sukirman - Jemaah Islamiah - 31 Dec 2002 ¶13. Sabri bin Jaafar - Jemaah Islamiah - 31 Dec 2002 ¶14. Zamzuri bin Sukirman - Jemaah Islamiah - 16 Jan 2003 ¶15. Zaini bin Zakaria - Jemaah Islamiah - 06 Feb 2003 ¶16. Zainun Rasyhid - Jemaah Islamiah - 06 Feb 2003 ¶17. Mohidin bin Shari - Jemaah Islamiah - 06 Feb 2003 ¶18. Abd Razak bin Abd Hamid - Jemaah Islamiah - 06 Mar 2003 ¶19. Abdul Hanif bin Mansor - Jemaah Islamiah - 08 Mar 2003 ¶20. Rezzal Shah bin Jamal Shah - Jemaah Islamiah - 08 Mar 2003 ¶21. Wan Amin bin Wan Hamat - Jemaah Islamiah - 20 Mar 2003 ¶22. Azman Hashim - Jemaah Islamiah - 17 Apr 2003 ¶23. Mohd Fadhali bin Abdul Raof - Jemaah Islamiah - 17 Apr 2003 ¶24. Zakaria bin Samad - Jemaah Islamiah - 30 Jan 2004 KUALA LUMP 00001497 003 OF 004 ¶25. Ahmad Zakaria - Jemaah Islamiah - 30 Jan 2004 ¶26. Terhamid bin Dahalan - Jemaah Islamiah - 30 Jan 2004 ¶27. Mohd Khider bin Kadran - Jemaah Islamiah - 28 Feb 2004 ¶28. Sufian bin Salih - Jemaah Islamiah - 28 Feb 2004 ¶29. Hasim bin Talib - Jemaah Islamiah - 28 Feb 2004 ¶30. Sulaiman bin Suramin - Jemaah Islamiah - 01 Aug 2004 ¶31. Seyed Abu Tahir bin Buhary - Nuclear - 28 May 2004 ¶32. Tan KokSeng - Counterfeiting coins - 06 Oct 2004 ¶33. Yong Wai Chin - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶34. Ng See Hoo - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶35. Law Meng Keong - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶36. Tan Cheng Kiat - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶37. Lai Thin Foo - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶38. Choo Tuon Loi - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶39. Khong Poh Chuan - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶40. Yip Chee Sun - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶41. Leong Seong See - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶42. YeeTangHon - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶43. Gu Foong Lean - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶44. Choi Weng Mun - Counterfeiting coins - 10 Nov 2004 ¶45. Khow Soon Chai - Document forgery - 10 Nov 2004 ¶46. Yap Eng Keong - Document forgery - 10 Nov 2004 ¶47. Lai Kin Choy - Counterfeiting coins - 26 May 2005 ¶48. Lai Kee Yew - Counterfeiting coins - 1 Aug 2005 ¶49. Khadijab Binti Ahmad - Document forgery - 14 Jan 2005 ¶50. Ho Chee Mun - Document forgery - 22 Feb 2005 ¶51. Ab Rahim Bin Jaafar - Document forgery - 17 Feb 2005 ¶52. Han Euu Tiam (Chinese National) - Document forgery - 17 Feb 2005 ¶53. Sulaiman Bio Mohd Kasem - Document forgery - 17 Feb 2005 ¶54. Yeo Hwa Boon - Document forgery - 26 Mar 2005 ¶55. Abd Rahman Bin Ahmad - Southern Thailand Separatist Movement- 04 Feb 2005 ¶56. Mahfudl Saifuddin - Jemaah Islamiah - 02 Aug 2005 ¶57. Mulyadi - Jemaah Islamiah - 02 Aug 2005 ¶58. Ariffin - Jemaah Islamiah - 02 Aug 2005 ¶59. Saidur Rohman - Document forgery - 27 Oct 2005 ¶60. Almas A Kader Bepary - Document forgery - 27 Oct 2005 KUALA LUMP 00001497 004 OF 004 ¶61. Omar FaroQue - Document forgery - 27 Oct 2005 ¶62. Kandaraju a/l Raman - Illegal militant - 13 July 2005 ¶63. Mat Tarmizi bin Zakaria - Southern Thailand Separatist Movement- 09 Nov 2005 ¶64. Mohd Arasad Patangari - Darul Islam - 16 May 2006 ¶65. Adzmi Pindalun - Darul Islam - 16 May 2006 ¶66. Idris Lanama - Darul Islam - 16 May 2006 ¶67. Ahamad Ghafar Shahril - Darul Islam - 16 May 2006 ¶68. Zainuddin Suharmo - Darul Islam - 11 May 2006 ¶69. Jaki Bin Hamid - Darul Islam - 11 May 2006 ¶70. Jeknal Adil - Darul Islam - 11 May 2006 ¶71. Binsali Omar - Darul Islam - 11 May 2006 ¶72. A Artas Bin A Burhanuddin - Darul Islam - 11 May 2006 ¶73. Francis Indanan - Darul Islam - 16 May 2006 ¶74. Husin Bin Alih - Darul Islam - 28 July 2006 ¶75. Yusoff Bin Mohd Salam - Darul Islam - 24 Aug 2006 ¶76. Abdul Jamal Bin Azahari - Darul Islam - 24 Aug 2006 ¶77. Pakana Bin Selama - Darul Islam - 28 Oct 2006 ¶78. Shaykinar Bin Guat - Darul Islam - 19 Oct 2006 ¶79. Argadi Bin Andoyok - Darul Islam - 19 Oct 2006 ¶80. Kasem Dayama - Foreign Agent - 19 Oct 2006 ¶81. Ng How Chuan a/k/a John - Document Forgery - 30 Nov 2006 ¶82. Ne Keat Seng - Document Forgery - 30 Nov 2006 ¶83. Mohd Azuan Bin Ariffin - Foreign Agent- 18 Dec 2006 ¶84. Mohd Faizul Bin Haji Samsudin - unk - 20 March 2007 ¶85. Mohd Amir Bin Mohd Hanafiah - Jemaah Islamiah - 30 May 2007 ¶86. Ahmad Kamil Bin Mohd Hanafiah - Jemaah Islamiah- 30 May 2007 ¶87. Zulkifli Bin Abu Bakar - unk - 15 April 2007 END OF LIST KEITH