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Malaysia's ruling establishment faced fresh criticism yesterday after claiming that a journalist was detained under a draconian law for her own safety.
Tan Hoon Cheng, a reporter of the Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew, was arrested on Friday under the Internal Security Act, which allows indefinite detention without trial. She was freed on Saturday.
An opposition legislator and the editor of a pro-Opposition news website were also detained, but have not been released.
Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar said the detentions were necessary to prevent racial conflict. He said Tan's life had been threatened.
