Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said that the government is willing to make further amendments to the controversial Prevention of Crime Act (PCA) after engagement with critics.

According to The Star, Ahmad Zahid said the ministry will engage the Bar Council and NGOs unhappy with the recent amendments to the PCA passed by Parliament, following instructions from the prime minister.

“So what I will do after this is that if there is any aspect of the PCA which is not satisfactory to the Bar Council and other NGOs, we can discuss it; and if further amendments need to be done to the PCA in the coming meeting of the Dewan Rakyat, then we will do it,” he was quoted as saying.

“We will not shut the door of engagement in efforts to strengthen the security laws which are not cast in stone in the first place.”

He also denied not engaging stakeholders prior to tabling the PCA amendment Bill to Parliament, claiming that discussions were conducted by the Attorney-General's Chambers.

He said that other forums on security laws, attended by groups such as the Malaysian Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) and Association for Promotion of Human Rights (Proham), were also held.

The government was accused of rushing the Bill through without informing the opposition or engaging key stakeholders like the Bar Council.

Proposed amendments to 10 other laws, including the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) were also tabled for first reading, but pulled back at the last minute before the second reading in the last sitting.

Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid hopes that the Bar Council and NGOs that the ministry would engage with, will also provide input on the 10 laws.

The amendments, all related to the PCA, is due to be tabled for second reading in the next sitting, which will take place from Oct 21 to Dec 5.