©The Malaysian Insider (Used by permission)
by LOOI SUE–CHERN
Putrajaya has dismissed advice from international law organisations against going ahead with the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015, or Pota, Malaysian Bar president Steven Thiru said at a forum last night.
He said the Bar had reached out to international law organisations about Pota, which allowed detention without trial, and they had then written to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
"We urged the PM not to do it, that it was not the way to go and that it would worsen things.
"We understand that international advisers giving counsel to Malaysia on counter–terrorism measures also told the government not to go this way, but in the end they felt that this is what they wanted," he said.
Steven said the Bar also lobbied locally, writing to MPs to tell them that passing Pota was not the way.
He said the Bar also warned the Speaker and Parliament's upper house, the Dewan Negara, about the new law, urging them not to rubber stamp it.
"In the end, it was passed," he said, answering questions during the forum on Pota and amendments to the Sedition Act 1948, organised by the Penang Bar Committee at the Caring Society Complex, Penang.
Steven said the fight against Pota, which has not been gazetted into law yet, was not over as the Bar was determined to lobby against the unpopular Act.
He said talks would continue to be organised so members of the Bar could tell the people the problems about the law and how it affected their basic rights.
"We have to lobby this unpopular law. If they stick to the unpopular law, they will be unpopular too and they may not make it to Parliament... it is up to the people," he said.
Speaking at the forum, Steven said apart from the Malaysian Bar, the Advocates' Association of Sarawak and the Sabah Law Association were also against Pota and all forms of detention without trial.
He said other countries found that Pota–like laws were ineffective in fighting terrorism.
"From the experience of other jurisdictions, they have found the law ineffective and moved from it. The approach is to go for the entire network. You won't get anything by arresting one person.
"The least we can do is to learn from the experiences of other jurisdictions from the US, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. We should not have a law that brings back the Internal Security Act (ISA)," he said.
Many in the legal fraternity had opposed the passing of Pota in the Dewan Rakyat earlier this year, claiming that some of its provisions were discriminatory in denying a person his or her time in court.
They also feared that Pota would see the return of the repealed ISA, which was by design meant to deal with communist insurgents but mostly used against opposition politicians and others critical of the ruling party.
They argued that the Special Measures Against Terrorism in Foreign Countries Act 2015, the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code, the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) and others, if taken as a whole, were sufficient in countering terrorism. – August 5, 2015.