COMMENT The government’s attempt to bring back detention without trial in the guise of the proposed Prevention of Terrorism Act (Pota) - purportedly to contain terrorists - is as disingenuous as it is misleading.
Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is misleading the country on fundamental issues. My first point is that Pota is gross, compared with anti-terrorism laws in other countries.
Zahid announced, as quoted by The Malay Mail Online on Jan 27 this year, that Malaysia needs to enact new legislation to fight terrorism because the existing laws do not have sufficient preventive measures to stop such terrorist acts.
Zahid is also quoted as declaring that although the preventive element will be the main component of this new law, Pota, “it will not be abused for the arbitrary detention of individuals”...