A Malaysia reporter was arrested on Sept 12, 2008. Tan Hoon Cheng is a reporter of Sin Chew Daily. She reported on an official's racial remarks, and was arrested under 'the Internal Security Act (ISA)'. A popular blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin was also arrested the same day citing the ISA for being a threat to security, peace and public order. Three newspapers received 'show cause letters' issued by the Home Ministry.
A Muslim senior government official, Bukit Bendera MP Ahmad Ismail proclaimed Chinese in Malaysia were squatters. The remarks were made frequently in his recent election campaigns. After the news coverage, the ruling party Ahmad belongs suspended his membership.
ISA is a form of martial law, where police does not disclose the cause of the arrest, and a court warrant is not needed. A comparable incident in the US would be the reporter who broke out the story of Rev. Wright saying 'God Damn America' in font of Sunday morning crowd to be detailed by the FBI on terrorism charges, and then sent to a undisclosed location in Poland by CIA.
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