KUALA LUMPUR: The repeal of the Internal Security Act (ISA) is the victory for civil society and the rakyat, and not any one organisation.
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (Bersih) steering committee chairperson Datuk Ambiga Sreenevasan yesterday said the legislative reforms have been the work of civil society for many years.
“The rakyat should also take credit, because the rakyat never gave up,” said Ambiga.
She was commenting on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcement last
week that the ISA would be repealed, to be replaced by two new laws that would provide for shorter detention periods.
“The repeal of ISA doesn’t come as a surprise to me because the prime minister has mentioned it since 2009. What I was pleasantly surprised about was the revocation of the emergency declarations, which I think is a very significant step,” said the former Bar Council president.
She said that the two new legislation to replace ISA must be carefully studied, and that the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) must be consultants to the new laws.
“Suhakam have actually come up with a draft legislation to replace ISA. So the work is done. I believe these changes can come as quickly as the next parliamentary meeting,” she said.
Najib also announced the review of the Printing Presses and Publications Act and Section 27 of the Police Act with regard to public demonstrations.
“The review to the PPPA is not satisfactory, because as long as the power still remains with the home minister to revoke the printing licence, it makes no difference whether it is a yearly licence or a licence which can be revoked. For greater freedom of press, they should do away with licensing entirely,” she said.
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International Malaysia Law Conference (26 to 28 Sept 2012) Hurry up! The countdown continues and the current promotion rate ends 30 June 2012. Don't miss what is going to be the best conference in the region! On top of that, if you sign up with 5 or more people from the same organisation, we will give you a 10% group discount. Click on the link above to register.
Talk on Summary Judgement (25 May 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, this talk will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). The talk will be conducted by Ramesh Supramanian. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on Tax Issues in Financial Transactions (25 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar, featuring S Saravana Kumar, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Dialogue with Criminal Law Practitioners (26 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council, this dialogue will take place at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
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