Any move to re-instate preventive detention that was in the repealed Internal Security Act (ISA) into a new anti-terrorism bill due to be tabled in Parliament in March has drawn wide criticism from various quarters.

Padang Serai MP N Surendran condemned the move announced by Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, which was reported by The Malaysian Insider (TMI) today.

TMI quoted Wan Junaidi as saying that Putrajaya was considering incorporating some of the provisions in the ISA into a new law in the wake of threats of terrorism such as that posed by the Islamic State of Syria and Iraq (Isis).

Surendran, a lawyer by profession, said in a statement today: “It is now clear that the BN is determined to use the global terrorist threat as an excuse to re-introduce detention without trial in Malaysia.

“This would be an utter betrayal of the rakyat, who were led to believe by the BN prior to the 13th general election that Malaysia would be rid of preventive detention laws with the repeal of the ISA.”

He added that the manipulation done by Putrajaya, using tragic incidents as excuses, was “sickening and unforgivable” as there is no real purpose to it.

“It is utterly disgraceful for Wan Junaidi and other BN leaders to constantly use the Paris attacks as an excuse to pass draconian new laws threatening the civil liberties of all Malaysians.

“Why the BN's rush to bring in harsher laws when it is in fact not required to tackle the problem of terrorism?  What is the BN's real agenda?” he further queried.

Echoing Surendran’s concerns was Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) executive director Eric Paulsen, who was recently investigated under the Sedition Act for a controversial tweet.

'A grave violation of international law'

“While not doubting the serious dangers of extremism and militancy, the solution will not be found in reviving an oppressive and antiquated law akin to the ISA that provided for wide and arbitrary powers to detain suspects indefinitely without recourse to due process and a fair trial,” Paulsen said in a statement.

He emphasised that the detention without trial was “unacceptable as it is a grave violation of international law, including the right to fair trial and due process”.

This, Paulsen said, was the “second about-face” by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak after he reneged on his promise to repeal the Sedition Act.

Both lawyers also called on the government to scrap plans for the new law as the current laws in force in the country were adequate. The authorities should instead be restructured to be more competent in handling threats.

“The government should restructure the Special Branch and other internal security apparatus to target genuine security threats instead of being misused for political ends against legitimate dissent and the opposition.

“Instead of providing short cuts, the government should strengthen the police force and provide them with adequate resources, support and training to be a modern first world police force that relies on effective, innovative and modern investigation methods, rather than preventive laws which can only lead to abuse of power and injustice,” Paulsen reiterated.