De facto Law Minister Dr Rais Yatim said today that the Internal Security Act (ISA) will continue to be enforced in Malaysia despite the government losing several cases in court.

"This does not mean the ISA cannot be used. It is hoped the prime minister's budget speech on ISA will serve as a benchmark and not arouse controversies," he was quoted by national news agency Bernama as saying.

Tabling the 2003 Budget at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the government had spared Malaysia from economic turmoil by observing the rule of law while the ISA had indeed saved the nation.

He noted that the liberal West had conceded that preventive laws were necessary to safeguard internal security.

"If there are no pre-emptive measures, the Muslim fanatics in this country, who resort to terrorism, including exploding bombs and planning to overthrow governments, may cause instability and chaos in the country and subsequently lead to economic downturn," Rais told reporters after launching the Jelebu Barisan Nasional (BN) Jogathon.