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Home Ministry to fast track DNA Identification Bill |
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Sunday, 20 July 2008 04:43pm |
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 ©The
Sun (Used by permission)
PETALING JAYA (July 20, 2008) : The Cabinet has directed the Home Ministry to
table the proposed DNA Identification Bill in the next parliament meeting
beginning on Aug 18, so that the law can be passed soonest.
Nanyang Siang Pau which reported this today, said however the government
made it clear its move to fast-track the bill was not aimed at Parti Keadilan
Rakyat (PKR) adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
It said the police have last year wanted the bill tabled soonest so that a DNA
data bank can be set up to enhance their ability to solve cases.
This was before Anwar, who was accused of sodomy by his former aid, refused to
have his DNA samples taken as part of police investigations into the case.
Earlier reports said the bill would only be presented to the parliament in
December.
However, the Nanyang report said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Chor Chee
Heung has confirmed that the ministry will try to table the bill next month.
"If (we) cannot make it in August, (we) will table it in September or the latest
by the end of the year."
Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar had also said on July 10 that the
final draft of the bill was being prepared by officials of the police, Chemistry
Department, the Attorney-General Chambers and Home Ministry, and expected to be
tabled at the next parliamentary meeting.
According to information available, Parliament will meet for 41 days between Aug
18 and Dec 11 with a break from Sept 1 to Oct 12 for Ramadan and Hari Raya.
As such it is believed that the cabinet intends to have the bill tabled and
passed next month, otherwise it will have to wait until the Parliament resumes
meeting in mid-October.
But with only eight days (Monday to Thursday for two weeks) to meet in August
and several other bills scheduled to be tabled for debate for the duration, the
big question is whether the Parliament will give priority to the tabling and
debate of the DNA bill which is hot on the heels of the sodomy accusation
against Anwar,
"If it does, will the public not believe that it is indeed aimed at the PKR de
facto leader?" Nanyang asked.
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Almost all Bills before Parliament, when passed into Acts, normally take prospective and not retrospective effect.
In the case of crimes especially, the effect is prospective and normally its coming into force is never back-dated.
The fear expressed by Nanyang that it is indeed aimed at Anwar Ibrahim or PKR will only crystallise if the coming into force of the Act is back-dated.
I doubt back-dating of the entry into force of the Act will happen, although admittedly politics is the art of the possible.
Stephen Tan Ban Cheng