A landmark court decision to release a prominent critic, jailed without trial, is being hailed as a sign that Malaysia's battered judiciary is no longer willing to serve as a tool of the government.

The Nov 5 decision by a High Court has also dealt a blow to the Internal Security Act (ISA) under which journalists, opposition lawmakers and critics are regularly arrested and jailed for up to two years at a time.

The Home Minister can renew the two-year detention order for any number of years, a power that has had a chilling effect on political opponents who have seen victims emerge from such detention mentally and physically impaired.