Aliran Monthly 21(7) Page 12:

I VEHEMENTLY DENY ALL THE ALLEGATIONS

Hishamuddin Rais files an affidavit (Aug 6, 2001) against his arrest and treatment under the ISA

I, HISHAMUDDIN BIN MD RAIS (No. KP: 4154269) a Malaysian citizen of age and now under arrest at the address of Tempat Tahanan Perlindungan, Taiping, Perak Darul Ridzuan hereby vow and state the following:

1. I am the Fourth Appellant named above and am currently under arrest at Tempat Tahanan Perlindungan Taiping in accordance with an order which was given out under Section 8, Internal Security Act, 1960 (ISA). Unless expressly stated, all facts which are deposited within are based on my personal knowledge.

2. My profession before I was arrested was a writer, columnist, and film producer. My academic credentials are a Diploma in French Language from the Catholic University Leuven La Neuve, Basic Art from Brixton College, London and a BA (Hons) in Film, Video and Photography from Westminster University, London.

3. I was arrested on 10.4.2001 at around 5.30 in the afternoon at my office at No 52A Jalan Kemuja, Bangsar Utara, Bangsar by a group of policemen. At that time, I was alone in the office when I heard a loud knock on my door. When I opened the door, I found six policemen wearing remand uniform and a police officer in uniform who then proceeded to enter my office. The uniformed officer who arrested me did not introduce himself, either by announcing his name or rank until I reached Sentul Police Station where I saw his name and rank on a list of my personal belongings. The officer then informed me that I was detained under Section 73(1) Internal Security Act 1960 but I was not told the reason why I was arrested. My hands were cuffed and I was immediately escouted out of my office. I was not even allowed to switch off my computer or lock my office. When I requested to contact my neighbour to inform him that I had been arrested, I was denied the opportunity to do so on the excuse that I was now in police custody.

4. I was then escorted into an unmarked car and brought to the Sentul Police Station. Upon arriving at the police station, I was taken to a room where all my personal belongings were taken from me and when I saw an office list down the items. I also noticed that this process was captured on a videorecorder by a police officer. I sighned the list of items. When I was arrested, the reasons for my arrest were not read out to me. This initial process at the police station took 30 minutes.

5. After that, my hands were cuffed again and a pair of dark glasses were put over my eyes and I was put in a van. The van took me to a destination which I suspected was the Police Remand Centre. I did not know what I was being brought to the Police Remand Centre until I had arrived in Kamunting. Upon reaching the Police Remand Centre, I was given two pairs of shirts and a pair of trousers, one toothbrush and some toothpaste, one green blanket, bathing soap, and a small "Good Morning" towel. I was not supplied with any shoes or any form of protection for my feet. I was then given a pack of chicken rice and some food. After eating I was then placed in my cell.

6. The cell had two beds which were made of cement and plywood. There was also a squat toilet and a water pipe next to it. The room had no window and measured about 12 feet long by 6 feet wide. There was only one ventilation hole in the wall and it was impossible for me to tell night from day. No sunlight was able to enter the room. The room was lit by a red light bulb which was switched on virtually all the tim. After three nights in this cell, I was transferred to a newer cell.

7. During the first three weeks, I was barefoot (no shoes or slippers were provided) and I was not given a pillow to lay my head. I was told by the investigating officer that I may be allowed both these items if I cooperated with them, put on good behaviour and fave them all the answers. I was only given slippers and a pillow in the fourth week.

8. On 11.4.2001, at 8.00 am, I was given breakfast and then taken to see a doctor in an internal clinic. The doctor on duty was Dr Vasantha. There, blood samples was taken and tested and the doctor also took my blood pressure. I complained to the doctor about my migraine and asked to be supplied with garlic because at the time I was undergoing therapy with garlic. I also informed Dr Vasantha about my hereditary diabetes, and asked for a check on my glucose level. The doctor recorded all my complaints as stated avoce.

Interrrogation

9. At around 10.00 am I was taken to an interrogation room where I was interrogated by five Malay policemen in reman uniform until around 5.00 pm. The interrogation session was continuous and was only punctuated by lunch breaks from 1.00 to 2.00 in the afternoon. All five of the policemen did not introduce themselves and hid their nametags.

10. The next day and the days following that, the interrogations only started from about 9.00 until 5.00 pm with only breaks for lunch between 1.00 and 2.00 pm. This profcess was repeated daily throughout my detention there.

11. After a month, I was taken to a detention in another place which I did not recognise. The conditions in this cell were worse and more oppressive compared to my previous cell in the PRC because there was absolutely no spare for sunlight or fresh air. The cell did not have any toilet and I was only given a bottle to urinate in at night. The quality of the food and medication was worse and the cell door was rarely open. There was only a panel in the door, enough to fit two observing eyes.

12. When I was detained in the cell, every time I was taken to be interrogated on the third floor, my hands could be cuffed, but I would hve to wear darkend glasses, compared to the PRC where I had to wear darkened glasses every time I was brought to interrogation.

13. When I was first informed by the interrogating officers that they knew everything about me, my political activities, my movements and my acquaintainces. Therefore I could not lie as they knew everything.

14. I was then instructed to tell everything about myself to them. I told them that I did not know what they wanted from me. They then responded by shouting vicious, lewd, and abusive words at me and tried to denigrate me and threaten me.

Insulted, Shamed and Abused

15. From the start of the interrogation process, for about four continuous weeks, the questions put to me were a form of mental and emotional torture. I was insulted, shamed and abused with swearing and derogatory words meant to reduce my self-esteem. The worst period of abuse was during the first three weeks of interrogation. Among the vicious abuse hurled at me included:

1. You are a coward
   
2. You are not a Malay
   
3. You are a traitor
   
4. You like sucking ... (deleted because of excessive obscene references)
   
5. You suck .. (deleted because of excessively obsence references)
   
6. You are useless to this country
   
7. Why did you come back to Malaysia?
8. You are a corruptor of the Malays
   
9. You are a stooge for the Chinese;
   
10. You are a foreign agent;
    
11. You work for the United States;
    
12. You are Al Gore's stooge;
    
13. You aren't a Muslim, you are an infidel, you are damned and you will burn in hell. you will be rejected by the earth when you die.
14. You are an adulterer and you are like PAS, a party of the devil;
15. You eat pigs, snakes and centipedes;
16. You will not be accepted in heaven;
17. You have one foot in the grave;
    
18. You will die alone;
    
19. When you die, your body will be thrown away;
20. There will be no grave that will accept your body;
21. You will be fuel for the hellfire;
22. No one will pray for you when you die.

16. On about the eighth day of my interrogation, I was ordered to recite my life story from the time I was in school. One of the interrogating officers started insulting me like this: "We do not want any intellectual stuff from you." In the middle of the interrogation session, a man who I believed was a higher-ranking officer among the interrogators entered and interviewed me privately. At this juncture, the other interrogating officers left the room. I was accused by the interrogating officer that I had given a speech at Lenggeng where I allegedly incited the people to demonstrate on the streets. I vehemently denied it because I had never gone to Lenggeng and I was not even shown proof of the statement which I had allegedly made.

Black 14, Kesas and Student

17. The pattern of interrogation was based on topics below:

17.1 About my role in the Technical Committee for the Handing over of the People's Memorandum on 14 April 2000, where they referred to that day as "Black 14". This was brought up on the third day of interrogation. I informed them that that day was not "Black 14" as alleged by them but the day of handing over the memorandum to SUHAKAM. I clarifid that my responsibility was to prepare banners only. Among the questions were:

1. Whose idea was it?
   
2. What did I say at the meeting?
   
3. How did you plan the program?
   
4. What was my role in the Technical Committee?

These questions were repeated for the next three to four days because they did not believe my statements.

17.2 My role in the demonstration at the Kesas Highway. They stated that the program was meant to topple the government. I explained to them that my role was to prepare the banners only. I also said that the incident at the Kesas Highway was not a planned demonstration. The owner of the land at Jalan Kebun which was located near the Kesas Highway and the Kota Kemuning toll had donated his land to Parti Keadilan Nasional to built the party's Selangor's headquarters. Many people had the intention of going there to witness the official handing over ceremony of the land and the declaration that the land would used for party headquarters in Selangor. Among the questions asked were:

1. What date was the event planned?
   
2. Who organized the program?
   
3. What was my role in this program?
   
4. What was the objective of the program?
5. Who was to give speeches there?
   

17.3 They asked me about my talks as follows:

1. Who gave the speeches?
   
2. Who invited me?
   
3. Who I went to the talks with?
   
4. What time I came back from the speeches?
5. What I said?
   
6. Who paid the cost for my giving a speech?

17.4 They asked me about my involvement with local university students; who was involved in Student Societies; and how I knew about the STudent Societies.

Even though I had answered all the questions truthfully, the interrogating officers persistently created their own answers which were contradictory to my statements.

17.5 They asked about the Alternative Front;s Hari Raya Gathering at Jalan Kebun and what my role there was.

17.6 They also interrogated me about my role in holding the theater production of "Tok Ampoo" as well as the content of that particular theater production. Even though I had explained to them about it, they still accused me of writing aplay which was anti-government.

Trying to Mislead

18. During the third week of my interrogation, they brought an alleged photocopy of my Identification card. I am sure what they showed me was a falsified identification card and they then threatened me concerning my citizenship status by alleging that:

1. I had entered Malaysia illegally in 1983;
2. I was not a Malaysian citizen;
   
3. I had hired someone to obtain a falsified IC for myself;

These threats were constantly thrown at me to pressure me in falsely admitting that I was not a Malaysian citizen.

19. I was also interrogated for three days straight about my views concerning Dato' Seri wan Azizah binte Wan ismail, Lim Kit Siang, Dr Chandra Muzaffar, Parti Keadilan Nasional, Parti Rakyat Malaysia, DAP and Party Islam Se-Malaysia. I was asked about how close my relations with Datin Seri Wan Azizah binti Wan Ismail was.

20. I was also interrogated about my views concerning government policies, especially the University and University Colleges Act (UUCA), the Indah Water Konsortium privatisation projection, cultural policies, and the decision to buy back MAS/LRT.

21. The Interrogating Officers tried to influence and mislead me with the following statements:

1. Regarding the existence of a sexual relationship between Dato' seri Anwar Ibrahim and Sukma by saying they had photos of Dato' seri Anwar s###mizing Suka, Munawar dan Meor. They also told me that Datuk Zahid Hamidi (former Chief of the UMNO Malaysia Youth Movement) after seeing the pictures, immediately "mengucap", asked to stop a moment, took his "wudhu" and prayed. Zahid Hamidi had repented after seeing the pictures of Dato' Seri Anwar and Sukma.
   
   

2. They told me they had proof of Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim's sexual relationships with prostitutes who were Chinese, Indians and from other races;
   
   

3. They also told me that Tun Haniff Omar (former Inspector-General of Police) also had proof against dato' Seri Anwar.
   
   

4. They told me that Dato' Seri Anwar was an agent of the United States of America;
   
   

5. They told me that Dato' Seri Anwar was a homosexual;
   

6. They told me that ... (deleted because of excessively obscene references)
   
   

7. They said that ... (deleted because of excessively obscene references)
   
   

8. They told me that there was allegedly an affair between Mohamed Ezam and Nurul Issah where they had proof of phone calls between the two;
   
   

9. They told me that Ezam obtained funds from America;
   

10. They me that Ezam had made a written confession;
    

11. They said that Ustaz Dr Badrulamin had affairs with many women;
    
    

12. They also insulted PAS, Tuan Guru Nik Aziz dan Tuan Guru Haji Hadi by saying that they were no Muslims but infidels disguising as Muslims.
    
    

13. They also insulted Haji Mahfuz Omar (PAS Youth Chief) by saying that he did not have any knowledge of religion.

These questions and statements were directed at me continuously throughout the whole of my interrogation.

22. Besides the statements above, the interrogating officers also insulted and hurled abuse at me by accuse me of sexual improprieties:-

1. How many European women had I slept with? Questions like these were put forward to me repeatedly. Among the questions asked of me repeatedly were ... (deleted because of excessively obscene references). Nevertheless I refused to answer such questions and informed them that it had nothing to do with national security.
   
   

2. They told me how Tan Sri Samad Ismail when he was detained under the ISA, had confessed to sleeping with many women ... (deleted because of excessively obscene references). I did not answer these questions.
   

Threatening statements

23. I was repeatedly threatened mentally. Among the incidents and threatening statements were:

23.1 During an interrogation, the Interrogating Officer stood up and pointed his hand at me (in the style as if he was hold a gun in his hand) and said "Kamu hanya berdemo - nanti jika PAS atau Barisan Alternatif menang, kami semua akan turun dengan senjata mengganas di jalan raya. Kami ada pengalaman dan dilatih. Tak sampai seminggu Barisan Alternatif akan bungkus" ("You guys are only demonstrating - if PAS or the Alternative Front wins, we'll take to the streets with weapons. We are trained and we have experience. The Alternative Front won't last a week")

23.2 "Tidak ada pemimpin yang baik dan teulung kucuali Mahathir" ("There is no leader greater than Mahathir")

23.3 "Barisan Nasional adalah tunggak kejayanan negeri ini" ("Barisan Nasional is the source of success in this country")

23.4 "Kami tidak suka pembangkang terutama Keadilan dan PAS" ("We don't like the opposition, especially PAS and Keadilan")

23.5 "Kami paling berkuasa untuk menurun dan menaikkan sesiapa sahaja di negara ini" ("We have the ultimate power to raise and bring down anyone in this country")

23.6 "Kami lebih berkuasa dari Menteri. Malah Menteri ikut cakap kami" ("We are more powerful than Ministers. Even Ministers do what we say.")

23.7 "Tanpa kami negara ini akan hancur. Kami lebih baik dari CIA dan Mossad. CIA minta bantuan kami untuk berhubung dengan pengganas Arab" ("Without this, this country would be in ruins. We're even better than the CIA or Mossad. The CIA asked for our help to contact the Arab terrorists")

23.8 "Kami dan ISA adalah kuasa dalam negara ini" ("We and the ISA are the power in the country")

23.9 "ISA tidak zalim malay perlus diwujudkan untuk keselamatan negara dan baik untuk kerajaan kerana parti pembangkang dapat dipatahkan" ("ISA is not unjust but necessary for nationwide security and good for the government because the opposition can be destroyed with it")

23.10 They showed me walls with scratches and bootprints while describing to me the techniques they used until blood was splattered on the interrogation room walls. They threatened me by saying that they would push detainees forcefully to the wall and beat them until their sprayed onto the walls. This was the method that they were going to use against me if I did not cooperate.

23.11 They warned me that if the people's support to the Alternatif Front increased, they would use the ISA to detain Mahfuz, Hadi Awang, Dr Hatta and Mat Sabu.

Another 60 days

24. The interrogating officers wanted me that if I filed a habeas corpus application, they would detain me again and put me in Police Remand Centre for another 60 days. According to them, the lawyers only wanted money and because of that the habeas corpus applications would not help me.

25. The family visit for me was only allowed about one and half (1-1/2) months in detention. The visitation was under heavy surveillance by police officers. Before that, I was informed that the family visit was cancelled because of the actions of Mohamed Ezam's wife. I was then told that my family visit was only because of their mercy.

26. The next day, after the family visit, I was asked about a news report in Malaysiakini concerning comments from my family. I was asked avout who spread the news and why my sister did so.

SUHAKAM

27. Two days before the visit from SUHAKAM, senior police officers who were interrogating me came to the interrogation room and informed me that SUHAKAM would come and meet me and that I would have to put on a good appearance to SUHAKAM about the treatment that I was receiving. He tried to obtain my views about SUHAKAM. he tried also to poison my mind avout SUHAKAM by saying:

27.1 SUHAKAM was interfering in the police's work;

27.2 SUHAKAM consisted of American agents paid by Al Gore;

27.3 SUHAKAM was a stooge of Keadilan;

27.4 Without SUHAKAM and lawyers, their work would be easier;

28. They tried to persuade me by saying: "We are looking at all aspects of the meeting. If you give good impression, then I will give a good report - positive views about you to the higher authority for your early release". They tried to give a good impression by giving me a new pair of trousers, shirts, socks. Besides having my shoes shined, my hair and moustache were also trimmed.

No Question About Allegations

29. Throughout the whole of my detention, I was never asked, questioned or interrogated about bombs, molotiv c##ktails, firearms or grenade launchers. They never asked me anything about allegations of racial or religious incitement. I was also never asked about allegations of obtaining assistance from martial arts experts. I only knew about this upon reaching Kamunting and reading the press statement which was made by the inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Norian Mai on 11.04.2001 which was shown to me by my lawyer. Among the accusations in the press statement were about activities which were allegedly carried out by myself and the other detainees which jeopardized national security were:

29.1 Carried out steps to obtain explosives, including bombs and grenade launchers;

29.2 Using molotov c##ktails, ball-bearings and other dangerous weapons to attack security forces during street demonstrations in October 1998;

29.3 Obtained assistance and support of martial arts experts and influening a number of ex-security officers; and

29.4 Creating racial tension through religious and racial issues by spreading false news during the by-election at Lunas, Kedah

30. I vehemently deny all the accusations above. These allegations which are totally untrue are nothing more than a vicious slander against me, my fellow detainees and my family.

31. As stated in paragraph 29 above, I was never asked about these accusations that were thrown by the Inspector-General of Police through his press statement dated 11.04.2001. They (the police) have also never asked any detailed questions to show the relationship between myself and these unfounded allegations or lies.

No Reasons

32. Throughout my detention, I was never informed about the reasons or causes of my detention. I have never seen any statement regarding the same matter during or right after my arrest. When I was arrested by the police at my office, I was only told that I was being arrested under Section 73 (1) of the Internal Security Act. No further matter was made known to me regarding my arrest until I was informed by my lawyer at Kem Tahanan Perlindungan di Kamunting, that is after I was ordered for further detention under section 8 of the Internal Security Act by the Minister on reasons of jeopardising national security.

33. Throughout my detention I assumed that my detention was because of my political beliefs or my activities which led to my political beliefs or because of the political threat to Barisan Nasional or because of my moral and political support against the mistreatment of Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and not because of the reasons given by the Inspector-General of Police.

34. The facts that have been deposited herein have only been told in full detail to my lawyer only after I was brought to Kamunting. Nevertheless when I met with my lawyer, we were constantly being observed by an officer of the Kamunting detention centre. The said officer could hear everything that was discussed between myself and the lawyer. My request to discuss my case with the lawyer in private was denied. Because of this, I was not able to discuss openly and in detail with my lawyer. Therefore I would like to state this affidavit has been deposited without prejudice to my rights to raise other matters when necessary if I get the opportunity to do so.

35. I have also been advised by my lawyers, and I also believe that this represents a clear violation of my rights under the Federal Constitution.

36. Furthermore, I deny the stated facts which are contained in the Minister's orders dated 2.6.2001 which were produced under Section 8, ISA regarding myself. A more deailed denial will be done in my appeal regarding my detention under the said Minister's orders.

37. Therefore I hereby state that my arrest and subsequent detention on the orders of the Inspector-Geneal of Police under Section 73(1) of the Internal Security Act 1960 is male fide politically motivated.