Dewan Rakyat approves motion on White Paper to combat IS threat

The Dewan Rakyat today approved a White Paper on combating the threat posed by the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq, with the assurance that a new law will be formulated which will stress more on prevention, in addition to eradication (of the threat).

This was stated by Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi when winding up the debate on the motion.

"I want to give an assurance that the government will not follow the laws of other nations to create an anti-terrorism act, although in reality six nations have drawn up such an act," he said. Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia then approved the motion which was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, after receiving more ayes than nays.

Six Members of Parliament, three each from the Barisan Nasional (BN) and three from the opposition, debated the motion on the White Paper which explained the danger IS posed and the level of threat to national security.

When tabling the motion this morning, Najib said the government proposed to enact a new law to eradicate the involvement of Malaysians in militancy and terrorism, which would be tabled at the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.

When debating the motion, Members of Parliament including opposition chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh) gave their thumbs up in support. Anwar said the new law must be firm in the effort to tackle the problems of terrorism, and not used for political gain.

He also urged the government to explain militant activities more closely, especially on IS. Datuk Seri Noh Omar (BN-Tanjong Karang) said the government must bring back detention without trial because existing laws such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, and Prevention of Crime Act 1959 were inadequate to tackle such issues.

In the meantime, Ahmad Zahid rejected conjecture on abuse of power in connection with the law to be drawn up to tackle militancy and violence. He stressed, the allegation was baseless because the focus of the government was to tackle and prevent violent activities involving Malaysians. "Let not there be fear of abuse of power by any ministers entrusted to handle it," he said.