1987 年 10 月 27 日，马哈迪政府展开「茅草行动」，展开大规模逮捕和无审讯扣留。超过一百位无辜的马来西亚国民在内安法令下被捕，其中超过三十人被扣留在甘文丁扣留营超过一年，同时，英文报《星报》、中文报《星洲日报》及马来文报《祖国日报》遭停刊三个月。
1987 年打压异议份子，是 1988 年狙击我国司法体系、革除大法官及最高法院法官的前奏。此后，公民自由权利进一步遭到削弱。显而易见的是，茅草行动旨在镇压和恐吓国人，藉此扭转巫统党争的焦点。马来西亚司法机关的独立性遭到重创，至今尚未恢复，全因马哈迪当年所致。
马哈迪政府滥用民主的借口，缘于巫统 1987 年权力斗争的危机。第一任首相东姑阿都拉曼当年曾经对此评论：
「巫统正面临分裂。身为首相，马哈迪在党争中仅以微差险胜东姑拉沙里后，出现权力危机。巫统党员入禀法庭，要求宣判党选违法，诉讼官司仍进行中。如果判决对他不利，马哈迪只能选择下台。他必须设法脱困，因此制造一场全国危机，团结巫统对外抵抗共同敌人——这个假想敌就是华人社会......如果国家遭逢安全威胁，为何不及早采取行动呢?」——（《为什么》，马来西亚人民之声、K.Das 合着，1989 年）
根据一名法律学者和马来西亚法律观察家的看法：
「马哈迪的所作所为，是为了让他及其支持者取得阶段性且短暂、虚幻的政治优势，从而牺牲无价的司法独立......法官身负重任捍卫的宪法，是最高法律，是避免执政者独裁行事的最佳保障。」
这项看法，获得前大法官苏菲安和国内外领袖认同。
自 1987 年起，国阵不断滥用无审讯扣留对付异议人士，例如九十年代的沙巴团结党、奥尔根（Al-Arqam）组织、烈火莫熄运动和伊斯兰团体。虽然内安法令已于 2012 年废除，但无审讯扣留的条款，仍透过《2012 年安全罪行（特别措施）法令》（SOSMA）、《防范罪犯法令》（POCA）和《防范恐怖主义法令》 （POTA）借尸还魂。
许多扣留者已通过宣誓书，表明在茅草行动期间遭受酷刑和不人道的待遇。过去三十年来，违反人道的案件并未减少，其中以安华（Anwar Ibrahim）、慕纳华（MunawarAnees）和马力胡申（Malek Hussein）等案最受瞩目。可见，内安法令是惩罚性扣留，并非政府所指的防范性扣留。
多年来，马来西亚政府从未为国家暴力负起任何责任，与关塔那摩湾监狱相比并无分别。直至皇家委员会建议成立「警察投诉及违例行为独立委员会」（IPCMC）后，扣留者的命运仍由国家暴力掌控。
在此，配合茅草行动三十周年，
一、我们呼吁所有追求正义、人权和法治的国人，要求废止未审讯扣留（《2012 年安全罪行（特别措施）法令》、《防范罪犯法令》、《国家安全理事会法令》和《防范恐怖主义法令），恢复马来西亚的法治，迈向维护人权的良善治理。免于恶意逮捕、拘留，通过司法寻求正义，是全体国人在独立半世纪后应有的公民自由。必须提醒的是，内安法令允许六十天单独监禁，剥夺法官对内安法令案件客观评估的能力，比起上世纪七十年代的北爱尔兰、种族隔离政策下的南非，甚至今日之英美等受恐怖主义威胁的国家，更为严厉。
二、我们要求前首相马哈迪真诚忏悔，为茅草行动期间剥夺许多无辜国人的自由、用酷刑对付扣留者，乃至八十年代破坏司法制度，作出公开道歉。除了茅草行动扣留者，马哈迪还应该为遭罢黜的最高法院法官和大法官，向全体国人道歉！
三、我们也提醒民众，即使战争时期的扣留者也会根据《日内瓦公约》获得基本保障。这项公约禁止对扣留者施展酷刑和不人道对待。马来西亚人权委员会也曾经指出，「有足够证据证明某些扣留者确实遭受酷刑和不人道待遇」。为此，我们要求彻查在内安法令下所有遭受酷刑对待者之指控，并要求相关人士对此负责。
英文版声明：
JOINT STATEMENT BY CONCERNED MALAYSIAN NGOS ON THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF OPERATION LALANG
Thirty years have passed since the Mahathir government launched ‘Operation Lalang’, the arrest and detention without trial of more than 100 innocent Malaysians under the ISA and the continued detention of more than 30 of them for more than a year at Kamunting Detention Camp. Three newspapers were also closed down for at least 3 months.
The crackdown against dissidents at the end of 1987 was the precursor to the assault against the Malaysian Judiciary in 1988 when the Lord President and several other Supreme Court judges were sacked. Civil liberties were further eroded by new changes to the law. It is quite clear, therefore, that this so-called “Operation Lalang” was a signal for calculated repression and intimidation of the Malaysian people and to divert attention from the irresolvable problems confronting the ruling party. As a consequence of those actions by the Mahathir government, the Malaysian Judiciary has not recovered its independence up to the present day.
For all the lame excuse given by the Mahathir government for this abuse of democracy in the country, the crisis in 1987 was in fact the creation of the power struggle within UMNO. As the Tunku, our first prime minister put it:
“UMNO was facing a break-up. The Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s hold on the party appeared critical when election rigging was alleged to have given him a very narrow victory against Tengku Razaleigh. The case alleging irregularities brought by UMNO members was pending in court. If the judgement went against him he would have no choice but to step down. So he had to find a way out of his predicament. A national crisis had to be created to bring UMNO together as a united force to fight a common enemy – and the imaginary enemy in this case was the Chinese community…If there was indeed a security threat facing the country, why was action not taken much sooner?" (The Why? Papers by Suaram & K. Das, 1989)
According to a law professor and keen observer of Malaysian legal affairs:
“What Dr Mahathir has done in my view is to sacrifice, for the sake of a transitory, temporary and possibly illusory political advantage to himself and his supporters, the priceless asset of judicial independence... it is the Constitution, as the supreme law, entrusted to the judges, which is the best guarantee that the executive, once elected, will not act dictatorially.”
This view was echoed by the former Lord President Tun Mohammad Suffian Hashim and many more notable national and international figures.
Since 1987, the ruling coalition has continued to use detention without trial as a convenient tool against dissidents – PBS in the early nineties, Al Arqam, the Reformasi movement and more recently, Islamic groups. While the ISA has been rescinded since 2012, other laws allowing detention without trial have taken its place, ie. SOSMA, POCA and POTA.
Before and during Operation Lalang, affidavits have been produced to show that detainees were tortured and dehumanized. In the last thirty years, the cases of torture have not diminished and they include the highly publicized cases of Anwar Ibrahim, Munawar Anees and Malek Hussein. Contrary to claims by the ruling coalition, ISA detentions have been for punitive rather than preventive purposes.
Through the years, state endorsed torturers have been getting away with their actions, not unlike what has been happening at Guantanamo Bay. Until the Independent Police Complaints Commission is established as recommended by the Royal Commission, detainees will continue to be at the mercy of these torturers.
Thus, on this 30th anniversary of Operation Lalang,
1. We call on all Malaysians who cherish justice, human rights and the rule of law to demand the end to detention without trial (SOSMA, POCA, NSC & POTA) and to restore the rule of law in Malaysia, towards a good governance which protect human right. Freedom from arbitrary arrests and detention, coupled with the right to challenge it in a court of law are sacred civil liberties which Malaysians are entitled to 50 years after Independence. It is worth reminding Malaysians that the sixty days of solitary confinement allowed under the ISA and the removal of judges’ ability to make an objective appraisal of the ISA cases are more draconian than countries facing terrorist threats, for example Northern Ireland in the 70s’ South Africa under Apartheid, or even the US and Britain today.
2. We demand a public apology and a sincere expression of remorse from the former Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad for depriving so many innocent Malaysians of their freedom and the torture they went through under Operation Lalang as well as the assault on the Malaysian Judiciary which has still not fully recovered since the Eighties. Mahathir owes an apology not only to all the victims of Operation Lalang but also to the former Lord President and the Supreme Court judges that he sacked in 1988 and to the Malaysian rakyat for all the financial scandals since the eighties that have cost the rakyat billions of ringgit! The leader of the Opposition called Mahathir’s privatisation of our national assets, “piratisation” to show the billions squandered by UMNO crony capitalists.
3. We would like to remind the public that even wartime detainees are afforded basic protections under the Geneva Convention, which condemns torture and inhuman treatment of detainees. The National Human Rights Commission, Suhakam has also concluded that “there appears to be sufficient evidence to justify a finding of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of some of the detainees.” We demand a thorough investigation into all allegations of torture under the ISA and for the torturers to be accountable for their actions.
发起团体 Initiated by:
隆雪华堂民权委员会（Civil Rights Committee of KLSCAH）
隆雪华堂青年团（Youth Section of KLSCAH）
赵明福民主基金会（Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy）
马来西亚人民之声（Suara Rakyat Malaysia，SUARAM）
联署团体 Endorsed by:（Total 77）
1) Academy of Tamil Studies淡米尔研究学院
2) Aliran Kesedaran Negara (Aliran)国民醒觉运动
3) Amateurs业余者
4) Angkatan Warga Aman Malaysia (WargaAMAN)马来西亚和平份子阵线
5) Association of Women Laywers女性律师协会
6) Ban Cyanide in Gold Mining武吉公满反山埃冶金委员会
7) Baramkini当今峇南
8) Centre For Malaysian Chinese Studies华社研究中心
9) Community Development Centre (CDC) 小区发展中心
10) Damn the Dams Action Group反对水坝组织
11) Dewan Perhimpunan China Melaka马六甲中华大会堂
12) Diversity异样
13) Federation of Malaysian Indian Organisations (PRIMA)马来西亚印裔组织联合总会
14) Group of Concerned Citizens关心公民组织
15) Himpunan Hijau绿色盛会
16) In between cultura之间文化实验室
17) Institute for Development of Alternative Living (IDEAL)另类生活发展研究所
18) Institute for Leadership and Development Studies (LEAD) -
19) Jaringan Rakyat Tertindas (JERIT)被压迫人民大联盟
20) Johor Yellow Flame柔南黄色行动小组
21) Kelas Pencerahan启蒙课室
22) Kill The Bill创意集会小组
23) Kita Forum
24) KL Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Civil Rights Committee隆雪华堂民权委员会
25) KL Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall Youth隆雪华堂青年团
26) Kuliah Buku
27) Let's Art At Sawit Center沙威文创社
28) LLG Cultural Development Centre林连玉基金
29) Malaysia Youth & Student Democratic Movement (DEMA)马来西亚青年与学生民主运动
30) Malaysian Indian Network Development Society (MINDS)
31) Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (MIPAS)马来西亚印裔进步协会
32) Malaysian Indians Transformation Action Team (MITRA)马来西亚印裔转型行动团队
33) Malaysian Youth Care Association (PRIHATIN)马来西亚青年关怀协会
34) Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (MADPET)马来西亚反死刑与酷刑组织
35) Mama Bersih净选盟母亲团
36) Melaka Chinese Assembly Hall Youth Section马六甲中华大会堂青年团
37) Monitoring Sustainability of Globalisation
38) Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS)改变砂拉越运动
39) North South Initiative
40) Oriental Hearts and Mind Study Institute东方思想研究机构
41) Partners of Community Organisation in Sabah (PACOS)沙巴小区伙伴信托组织
42) People Ideas Culture人思文
43) Perak Civic Forum霹雳公民论坛
44) Perak Young Graduate霹雳大专青年社
45) Persahabatan Semparuthi Johor 柔佛大红花之友
46) Persatuan Alumni Bahasa Tionghua USM Bahagian Utara北马理华同学会
47) Persatuan Alumni PBTUSM Selangor & KL雪隆理华同学会
48) Persatuan Hainan Selangor dan Wilayah Persekutuan Youth Section雪隆海南会馆青年团
49) Persatuan Komuniti Prihatin Selangor, KL dan Perak
50) Persatuan Kwangsi Selangor dan KL雪隆广西会馆
51) Persatuan Pendidikan Du Zhong Pulau Pinang槟洲独中教育基金会
52) Persatuan Persahabatan Berpanjangan Kuala Lumpur雪隆老友联谊会
53) Persatuan Rapat Malaysia (RAPAT)马来西亚紧密协会
54) Persatuan Wui Leng Selangor dan Kuala Lumpur 雪隆会宁公会青年团
55) Research for Social Advancement (REFSA)义腾研究中心
56) Sahabat Rakyat人民之友
57) Saya Anak Bangsa Malaysia马来西亚之子
58) Selangor and Federal Territory Kwong Siew Association雪隆广肇会馆
59) Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Hokkien Association Youth Section雪隆福建会馆青年团
60) Solidariti Anak Muda Malaysia (SAMM) 大马青年团结阵线
61) Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM)人民之声
62) Sunflower Electoral Education Movement (SEED)向日葵选举教育运动
63) Tenaganita妇女力量
64) Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy赵明福民主基金会
65) The Association of Graduates From Universities & Colleges of China, Malaysia马来西亚留华同学会
66) The Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC)原住民关怀中心
67) The Federation of Alumni Association of Taiwan Universities, Malaysia马来西亚留台校友会联合总会
68) The Selangor and Kuala Lumpur Teo Chew Association雪隆潮州会馆
69) The United Chinese School Committees' Association of Selangor and Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur雪隆华校董事会联合会
70) The United Chinese School Teachers' Association of Malaysia马来西亚华校教师会总会（教总）
71) Thinking Society思辨会社
72) University of Malaya Association of New Youth (UMANY)马大新青年
73) Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) 妇女权益维护协会
74) Writer Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI)维护媒体独立撰稿人联盟
75) Young Progressives of Malaysia
76) Youth Era势代青年
77) Youth for Change动力青年
