Pakatan MPs say govt wants to revive EO and ISA through backdoor

Two Pakatan Rakyat Member of Parliaments had claimed that the government is trying to revive the Emergency Ordinance (EO) and the Internal Security Act (ISA) through its suggestion to amend the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (PCA).

In a joint statement by Steven Sim Chee Keong PKR-Bukit Mertajam and Zairil Khir Johari DAP-Bukit Bendera, the two claimed that the PCA violates civil liberties.

They said that the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has neglected his promise for transformation and had tarnished his own credibility.

"Many have pointed out the double standards of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who began his term promising “transformation” and respect for human rights and civil liberties, but have now succumbed to business as usual by undoing his very own reforms, and his own credibility in the process," said Sim and Zairil.

They also said that the amendments to the PCA are problematic due to a few other reasons, including as an attempt to broaden the ambit for detention without trial.

Sim and Zairil argued that even without the amendments, the PCA already allows for remand of up to 28 days and then a further 28 days upon the approval of a magistrate.

They suggested that the police should focus on solving crime via the criminal justice system instead of taking the easy way out by using detention without trial.

"In other words, a person who has been accused of an offence can be detained without having been proven to have committed it.

"Does this not contradict the basis of criminal justice, whereby a person is innocent until proven guilty?" they asked.

Besides that, the two MPs also claimed that the arbitrary powers of the Home Minister that existed in the ISA has now been replaced with the arbitrary powers of a “Prevention of Crime Board.”

They said the Board will comprise three members, with a chairman who “shall be or have been, or be qualified to be, a judge of the Federal Court, the Court of Appeal or a High Court.”

"In addition to the chairman, there will be two other members. However, the bill provides no specification of any criteria whatsoever for the appointment of these two other members. This raises many questions – who will recommend them and on what basis would they be recommended?" questioned the two.

Sim and Zairil also claimed that the new amendment lacks independence and check and balance in decision-making as they say it prohibits legal redress by not allowing judicial review of the Board’s decisions.

"Thus, it is obvious that the proposed amendments to the PCA are a clear violation of civil liberties, and a return to a haunted past Malaysians believed to have been buried.

Although the two denied objecting the move to strengthen existing criminal laws to tackle crime, however that said that the current amendments are akin to the government reviving the oppressive EO and ISA through the backdoor via the PCA.