Malaysians lawmakers passed an anti-terrorism bill on Tuesday (April 7) after more than 10 hours of heated debate over a law that reintroduces detention without trial, three years after it was revoked.
Opposition members of parliament proposed several amendments to the legislation, under which individuals can be detained for up to two years with two-year extensions thereafter, but it was voted through unchanged at 2 a.m. (1800 GMT Monday 6).
Malaysia last had detention without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA), which was repealed in 2012 by Prime Minister Najib Razak under his reform agenda.
“For me this new act (Prevention of Terrorism Act) is undemocratic, anyone who has been accused of a crime has the right to a fair trial. Being from the younger generation, I have witnessed the government misuse the ISA (Internal Security Act) , which is similar to the new act,” said Mohammad Aiman Hakim, 22, a social worker in Kuala Lumpur.
Some Malaysians on Tuesday were skeptical the law would even make a difference to the rise groups such as Islamic State (IS)
“There is no proof or strong evidence that this (sic: these) kind of acts work. As we can see in Europe, in the European Union – countries in the European Union also have acts like this. The United States have their Patriot Act but they can’t prevent the rise of ISIS,” said Abdul Hadi Khalid, a 32-year old radio producer.
The new law permits the police to arrest and detain individuals suspected of terrorist activities, with decisions for extension of detention made by a Prevention of Terrorism Board. It skips the judiciary, disallowing the courts from having jurisdiction over decisions made by the board.
Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch described the decision as “a giant step backwards for human rights in Malaysia” in a statement on Tuesday.
The law was passed just hours after news broke that Malaysia had arrested 17 suspected militants loyal to IS who had allegedly planned to raid Malaysian armycamps and police stations to seize weapons and to attack “strategic locations” in the capital, Malaysia’s police chief said on Tuesday.
The 17 were arrested on Sunday (April 5), according to police, who also said the suspects had wanted to establish an Islamist regime in the Muslim-majority Southeast Asian country.
Reuters