Malaysia may restore its ability to detain people without trial following a wave of violent gun crime, two years after the practice was abolished to prevent political abuses, Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi says.
The government may designate a panel of police officers, judges and lawyers to determine who gets detained rather than leave the decision to the home minister as in the past, Mr Hamidi told the Mingguan Malaysia newspaper Sunday. The interview was posted on Mr Hamidi's web site and the remarks were confirmed by a spokesman who was not authorised to be named.
The decision would be aimed at fulfilling Prime Minister Najib Razak's vow to introduce new legislation to tackle the surge in crime, which included the July 29 slaying of AMMB Holdings Bhd. founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi. Mr Hamidi said the decision in 2011 to abolish Malaysia's 1969 Emergency Ordinance, which led to the release of 2600 people from detention, was partly to blame for the crime wave.
"The surge in violence is related to gangs and the drugs trade," P. Sundramoorthy, a professor of criminology at Universiti Sains Malaysia, said. "The Emergency Ordinance was necessary, though we acknowledge there were problems with it with regards to human rights and democracy. It was an effective tool."
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The law allowed suspects to be detained for as many as two years with the minister's consent. Mr Najib also scrapped the 1960 Internal Security Act, which gave police wide-ranging powers to detain suspects indefinitely. Opposition leaders including Anwar Ibrahim had been held under the ISA. Full story...
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The government may designate a panel of police officers, judges and lawyers to determine who gets detained rather than leave the decision to the home minister as in the past, Mr Hamidi told the Mingguan Malaysia newspaper Sunday. The interview was posted on Mr Hamidi's web site and the remarks were confirmed by a spokesman who was not authorised to be named.
The decision would be aimed at fulfilling Prime Minister Najib Razak's vow to introduce new legislation to tackle the surge in crime, which included the July 29 slaying of AMMB Holdings Bhd. founder Hussain Ahmad Najadi. Mr Hamidi said the decision in 2011 to abolish Malaysia's 1969 Emergency Ordinance, which led to the release of 2600 people from detention, was partly to blame for the crime wave.
"The surge in violence is related to gangs and the drugs trade," P. Sundramoorthy, a professor of criminology at Universiti Sains Malaysia, said. "The Emergency Ordinance was necessary, though we acknowledge there were problems with it with regards to human rights and democracy. It was an effective tool."
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The law allowed suspects to be detained for as many as two years with the minister's consent. Mr Najib also scrapped the 1960 Internal Security Act, which gave police wide-ranging powers to detain suspects indefinitely. Opposition leaders including Anwar Ibrahim had been held under the ISA. Full story...
Related posts:
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