KOTA KINABALU, Malaysia: The Government will appeal against the habeas corpus decision of the Shah Alam High Court which released Malaysia Today news portal editor Raja Petra Kamarudin from Internal Security Act detention on Friday.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar will ask the Attorney-General to study the decision and advise him further on its implication.

Syed Hamid said the Government respected the decision of Justice Syed Ahmad Helmi Syed Ahmad who ruled that Raja Petra's detention did not come under the scope of Section 8 of the Act.

He added that discretionary powers were used as preventive action when there was a threat to public order, security of essential services and sabotage to the economy.

Asked if Raja Petra would be re-arrested if the Government considered him a threat, Syed Hamid said they "highly respected" the court's decision and were seeking the court's interpretation of their powers.

To a question if the latest court decision meant he would not be able to use powers under the ISA, Syed Hamid said:

"If we find a threat, we will use it. (But) we must be just and fair. We don't want to victimise anyone."