EO powers were anti-terror, not anticrime, say lawyers

BY LI YANA S HAZREE N JUL Y 23, 2013

Gani has said he would never agree to the reintroduction of preventive detention in the enactment of any new law to replace the EO. File picPETALING JAYA, July 23 Efforts to resurrect preventive detention from the Emergency Ordinance (EO) to address a purported spike in crime are misplaced, according to lawyers who point out that the repealed law was introduced to combat communist insurgents rather than common criminals. Repealed in 2011 as part of the Najib administrations raft of legal reforms, calls largely from the Home Ministry and police force have grown for its powers to detain suspects indefinitely without trial to be reintroduced in new legislation. On Sunday, former Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Rahim Noor made the latest pitch by saying police were now helpless to tackle a gangsterism menace allegedly grown out of control in the absence of the EO. Its like they have broken wings. Things are no longer like they were before. Intelligence gathered can only be documented, he said in an interview published by Mingguan Malaysia, the weekend edition of Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia. The former IGPs reasoning did not, however, hold sway with civil rights lawyer Syahredzan Johan.

EO or preventive detention is not to combat crimes, it is mainly to combat terrorism, Syahredzan told The Malay Mail Online yesterday, adding that detention without trial was rarely advocated outside of Malaysia. Beyond the misapplication of the EO, Syahredzan also noted that the crime issues now being blamed on the repeal of the colonial-era law existed even when it had still been available to authorities. Crime is a problem for a long time, even before the Emergency Ordinance was abolished, he said. The lawyers opinion appears to have the backing of the government efficiency unit Pemandu, whose previous data showed that crime cases peaked in the years 20042007, before the EO was removed, and later declined in 2012 or the year after the law was repealed. Rahim was also not the first to pin an alleged spike in crime on the loss of detention powers, with Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi telling Parliament earlier this month he had statistics derived empirically that 90 per cent of organised crimes in Selangor were carried out by ex-detainees released from the Simpang Renggam EO detention centre. He did not, however, provide the statistics. Lawyers for Liberty adviser Eric Paulsen described the attribution of the increase in crime to the repeal of the EO as shockingly irresponsible. There is no cogent evidence to link the rise of crime to the EOs repeal and such an excuse looks like an easy way out for those responsible, namely the home minister and PDRM, he said, referring to the police force by its Malay initials. He remarked law enforcers only want to take short cuts in spite of existing laws already being in place for them to deal with the crime menace. Our laws are already strong, one of the strongest in the world... they (police force) just need to get back to basics, and prevent crimes from happening, he told The Malay Mail Online. The EO was introduced in 1969 to deal with the May 13 riots and gave the police broad powers to detain individuals indefinitely without trial.

Authorities say the law was later reserved for hardened criminals and organised crime, but had used its powers against everyday snatch thieves and, most controversially, six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members including MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj as they were headed for the 2011 Bersih rally. Despite the clamour for its return, Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said last week that he would never agree to the reintroduction of preventive detention in the enactment of any new law to replace the EO.

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Rahim Noors EO plea a smear on police force, says Pua

JUL Y 22, 2013

PETALING JAYA, July 22 Former police chief Tan Sri Rahim Noors claim that police are now helpless to stomp out the alleged rise of gangs serves only as damning testimony of the forces slide into deplorable standards, a DAP lawmaker said today. Yesterday, the former Inspector-General of Police said the new law proposed to replace the Emergency Ordinance (EO) must permit preventive detention, claiming it was needed to allow the police to tackle gangsterism that they admit is on the rise and out of control. Its like they have broken wings. Things are no longer like they were before. Intelligence gathered can only be documented, he said in an interview published by Mingguan Malaysia, the weekend edition of Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia.

But DAP MP Tony Pua (picture) noted the discrepancy between Rahims claims that police were amassing evidence of such activity but could not act on the information gathered. That, however, can only mean that either the intelligence isnt very intelligent, or there isnt anyone intelligent to exercise the intelligence to fight crime, the PJ Utara MP said in a statement. The DAP lawmaker has previously criticised the attempts to resurrect the law introduced in 1969 to deal with the May 13 riots and which gave the police broad powers to detain individuals indefinitely without trial, saying an over-reliance on the preventive detention had eroded the forces investigative prowess. The EO was repealed in 2011, together with the lifting of three Emergency declarations that provided the basis for its existence, but since then, the Home Ministry and police have clamoured for the return of the preventive detention powers it once afforded them. But the call led opposition Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers to accuse the Najib administration of backtracking on its pledges of reform, while Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has flatly refused to re-introduce laws that would provide for preventive detention powers. We ask that the government adopt the A-Gs position in this matter, that the existing laws are sufficient to tackle criminals, and that it is better to let more guilty people go free than to send the innocent to jail, Pua said.

The authorities said the law had been reserved for hardened criminals and organised crime, but critics claim it had since been abused and used against everyday snatch thieves and, most controversially, on opposition leaders like the six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members who were arrested en route to Bersihs 2011 rally for allegedly waging a war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong. When explaining the rationale for abolishing the EO last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the banishment powers it had offered was rendered obsolete by technology and that police must adapt to the new reality. Pua also pointed to Rahims role in the assault of then Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the latters arrest by the police in 1998, saying the assault and subsequent denial cast doubt on the police forces ability to be fair arbiters when given preventive detention powers. Instead of taking his advice on the EO, Tan Sri Rahim Noors action instead exemplifies the need to repeal the EO as the police, and even the IGP, lack the competence and cannot be trusted to decide who is or is not guilty before a person is charged in court, Pua added.

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Fight crime, stop demanding new laws, Pua tells cops, govt
JUL Y 17, 2013

PETALING JAYA, July 17 The Home Ministry and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) should stop lobbying for more preventive detention laws and focus its energies on

revamping the police force to improve crime-fighting efforts, DAP MP Tony Pua said today. Commending Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail for saying yesterday that he would never agree to preventive detention, Pua (picture) said the authorities should finally accept the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance (EO) and stop whining like cry babies. The police must start to lose their dependence on the EO like a crutch, the Petaling Jaya Utara MP said in a statement this morning. We would like to call upon the home minister and the IGP to accept the prime ministers advice that now police must train themselves how to look for evidence. Instead of just catching suspects and chucking them into EO detention, Datuk Seri Najib Razak asked the police to now provide evidence to charge them in court, he added. Pua suggested that recommendations by the Tun Dzaiddin 2005 Royal Commission of Inquiry be implemented, such as shifting 22,000 police officers from non-crime-fighting divisions to take on crime-fighting duties. He noted that the commission had found that a meagre nine per cent of the police force are placed in the criminal investigation department. The others, he said, fill the spaces in the internal security force like the Federal Reserve Unit (FRU), Light Strike Force (LSF), General Operations Force (GOF) and other areas like the administrative, management and logistic units, which form a significant 40 per cent of the police force. The police force must also reallocate its officers to urban centres, Pua said. Currently despite the fact that urban centres are more crime prone than rural areas, the former receives proportionately less allocations than the latter. He cited Petaling Jaya as an example, saying the police to population ratio in the highlypopulated city stands at 1:470, even though the national ratio is 1:270. Pua also repeated the call to establish the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC), another recommendation by the commission that has been repeatedly shot down.

Civil society groups, politicians and the public revived demands on the government to set up the IPCMC to check police abuses after a spate of custodial deaths hit media headlines recently. With the rejection of the EO by the Attorney-General, we hope that the lobbying for its return by the BN hardliners will end, Pua said. Countries such as Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the Western countries are able to keep crime at very low levels without unjust laws on preventive detention. Malaysia can be equal to the achievements of these nations, Pua added, stressing the need for the police to focus their duties on tackling crime and improving on their effectiveness and professionalism. The Najib administration had announced it would repeal several colonial-era laws last year as part of its legislative reform initiative. It got the ball rolling with the much-dreaded Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Emergency Ordinance (EO), which drew widespread condemnation as a political tool to curb dissent. The ISA was replaced by the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma), which the A-G pointed out prescribed detention but only for the purpose of investigation, effectively limiting the home ministers discretionary powers. But Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the police have sought to attribute complaints of rising crime to the repeal of the EO, but it isunclear which crimes have been directly linked to the released detainees. The minister reportedly said that statistics from a recent study showed that 90 per cent of organised crimes were carried out by the ex-detainees who were released from Simpang Renggam where they were held under the EO. He said the figures justified the need to revive the EO or enact fresh Acts modelled after the same preventive detention law. Pua disputed Zahids claims, however, pointing out that statistics from the police had also shown that despite the EO, the crime index had risen the fastest to its peak in 2008. At the same time, despite the EOs repeal at the end of 2011, the government has insisted that crime rates were down in 2012, he said.

Last week, former IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan was quoted as saying in The Star Online that previous preventive laws had offered victims the kind of protection they need, including allowing them to give evidence without going to court. Yesterday, IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said the police are not seeking for more preventive detention laws but fresh preventive laws that could offer witnesses sufficient protection when dishing the dirt on criminals. The EO was introduced in 1969 to deal with the May 13 riots and gave the police broad powers to detain individuals indefinitely without trial. Authorities say the law had been reserved for hardened criminals and organised crime, but had used its powers against everyday snatch thieves and, most controversially, six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members including MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj as they were headed for the 2011 Bersih rally. When explaining the rationale for repealing the law last year, Najib said the banishment powers it had offered was rendered obsolete by technology and that police must adapt to the new reality. Civil society groups and the Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers have also been lobbying the federal government to repeal the Sedition Act, criticising the 65-year-old law as archaic and another political tool to rein in disagreement. Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz had announced last October the National Harmony Act would replace the Sedition Act. A recent spat among the Najib Cabinet members over its repeal had cast a cloud on the reform measure. But Abdul Gani said yesterday that his team is in the middle of drafting the new law. He did not indicate when it would be ready to be presented to Parliament.

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Gangsterism now out of control, preventive detention a must, says exIGP

JUL Y 21, 2013

File photo of Abdul Rahim Noor leaving the court in Kuala Lumpur after giving evidence at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the assault of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim. AFP picPETALING JAYA, July 21 The new law to replace the Emergency Ordinance (EO) must permit preventive detention, Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor has said, claiming the police have admitted that gangsterism is on the rise and even gone out of control. After the EO repeal came into effect last year, the former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) said the police turned into mere observers, having lost their power to make arrests for the sake of crime prevention. They see the situation as having gone out of control. Preventive arrests cannot be made because the laws no longer permit it. Gangsterism is getting worse but they cannot keep it contained. Its like they have broken wings. Things are no longer like they were before. Intelligence gathered can only be documented, he told an interview published today on Mingguan Malaysia, the weekend edition of Malay-language daily Utusan Malaysia.

Only once a police report is lodge can an arrest be made under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC), he pointed out. As a result, Abdul Rahim claimed that index crime, particularly in the case of gangsterism, has been on the rise. Index crime, on the whole, dropped in the 15 months before the EO was repealed, in comparison with what happened after. There has been a clear rise, specifically in murder cases involving gangsterism among Indians, he told the Malay daily. Abdul Rahim said that the spread of gangsterism was particularly prominent in the Indian community, noting the hike in murder, theft, riot, criminal intimidation and gang robbery cases. He pointed out that Indian gangsters have become bolder of late, even daring to don clothing that clearly denotes the identity of the gangs they belong to. But the Attorney-Generals Chambers (AGC) does not understand these things, he lamented. Theyre more interested in championing the cause of human rights. A-G Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail said earlier this week that he would never agree to the reintroduction of preventive detention in the enactment of any new law to replace the EO. The 1969-enacted EO was introduced at the time to deal with the May 13 riots and gave the police broad powers to detain individuals indefinitely without trial. Authorities say the law had been reserved for hardened criminals and organised crime, but critics claim it had since been abused and used against everyday snatch thieves, and most controversially, on opposition leaders like the six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) members who were arrested en route to Bersihs 2011 rally for allegedly waging a war against the King. The Najib government moved later that year to introduce a raft of reforms that promised to widen civil liberties and the EO, apart from other preventive laws like the Internal Security Act (ISA), was among them. When explaining the rationale for abolishing the EO last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the banishment powers it had offered was rendered obsolete by technology and that police must adapt to the new reality.

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But after it was removed from the countrys statute books, the authorities saw a spike in organised crime and heaped blame on the release of some 2,000 detainees who were set free. Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also reportedly said that statistics from a recent study showed that 90 per cent of organised crimes were carried out by the exdetainees who were released from Simpang Renggam where they had been held under the EO. He said the figures justified the need to revive the EO or enact fresh Acts modelled after the same preventive detention law. Gang fights have become more rampant, particularly in the Klang Valley. Theyre killing one another. Apart from recruiting new members, they want to spread their influence and widen their turf, Abdul Rahim told Utusan Malaysia, agreeing with Ahmad Zahids sentiment. It is difficult to control the activities of these groups since the police no longer have the power of preventive detention. Asked if he felt preventive detention should be reinstated in the countrys law books, Abdul Rahim strongly agreed, saying it was a must. We have seen for ourselves that violent crimes involving gangsterism have flourished since the EO was abolished. Unfortunately, the police can only watch because their hands are tied, he explained. Non-governmental organisations that champion human rights and officers from the AGC do not understand this reality because their duty is not to prevent crime. What is important, this new Act, whatever name it is given, must have the element of preventive detention, he added.

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Cops toothless without EO, Zahid tells A-G

JUL Y 17, 2013

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KAJANG, July 17 Legislative transformation carried out by the Attorney-General's Chambers to replace the Emergency Ordinance (EO) with new legislation need not burden the police in their effort to reduce the crime rate in the country, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He said the new legislation need to be similar to the EO which enabled police have the power to fight crimes especially serious crimes. "We (Home Ministry) do not want to contradict what is being done by the AttorneyGeneral to carry out legislative transformation. But we must understand the police are toothless when there is no EO. "Do not see only from the legal perspective but from all aspects to fight crime," he told reporters after attending a breaking of fast event of the National Anti-Drug Agency here today. According to him, since the EO was repealed, incidents of organised or serious crimes increased by 90 per cent which were carried out by former criminals. Recently, Ahmad Zahid was reported as saying following the repeal of the EO, 2,600 detainees at the Simpang Renggam Detention Centre in Johor were released and that many of them returned to lead a life of crime. He also requested Malaysians to understand the position of police which were losing their powers such as the power to record statements of witnesses and wtinesses need not appear in the court. Therefore, he said, the community should not blame police when the crime rate increased. "We are not seeking the people's sympathy but understanding on the police's duty in arresting criminals but having to release them for lack of evidence. "Prior to this, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar had also requested for a new law similar to the EO to curb serious crimes like shooting," he said. According to Khalid, without EO and no witnesses coming forward to assist in investigations, criminals were getting bolder to carry out radical and aggressive crimes such as shootings. Bernama

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Various views will be sought for new EOlike law, says PM

JUL Y 17, 2013

PUTRAJAYA, July 17 Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the government would discuss various views on the need to formulate a new law similar to the Emergency Ordinance (EO) 1969 which was abolished in 2011. He said the discussions would refer to the view of the police that the proposed new law could curb crime. Najib (picture) said there were concerned groups that wanted preventive detention be allowed while others disagreed, but what is important in any law is balance between protecting the rights of individuals and protecting the rights of society. It must also be ensured that there is no abuse of power by any quarters. We will discuss all these, he told a news conference at his office, here, today. The prime minister said besides getting views from the police and Attorney-General, the government would also consider the views of concerned parties like the Malaysian Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and the Bar Council. Earlier this month, Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi reportedly said that he was currently discussing with Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail on the draft of a new law and that following the repeal of the Emergency Ordinance 1969, more

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than 2,600 detainees were released from the Simpang Renggam detention centre but many returned to crime after that. To a question, the prime minister said: This is not backtracking, but we want to ensure that the fight against crime is effective and at the same time, we must ensure the freedom of individuals and there is no abuse of power. On the legal suits against the Election Commission (EC) to declare the 13th General Election (GE13) results as null and void, Najib said the country had laws, so anyone could take action based on the legal process. On Monday, three opposition parties and five individuals filed their suits against the EC to seek a declaration that the GE13 results for all the 222 parliamentary seats are null and void. Asked on the possibility of civil servants getting a bonus before the Aidilfitri celebration, Najib said: Later, we will look into it. There is still time. Bernama

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Police are powerless claim is nonsense

P Ramani | July 19, 2013

Civil society activists say the Home Minister is wrong in saying that the police have become powerless following the abolition of the EO.

PETALING JAYA: Legal and anti-crime NGOs have dismissed a claim made by former IGPs and the Home Minister in regards to police being powerless without the Emergency Ordinance (EO).

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When contacted by FMT, Lawyers for Liberty legal adviser Latheefa Koya said that it doesnt make sense to say police is powerless with the preventive law which was abolished last year. The police in nature have other laws to empower them to conduct investigations, said Latheefa. The lawyer also added that EO only gives avenue to the police to arrest and detain a person without trial. EO is no different than ISA. Both laws contain elements of detention without trial, she said. The Malaysian police should emulate international standards in enforcing the law in order to handle serious crimes without compromising the fundamental rights of an accused, she said. Former top cops Abdul Rahim Noor and Hanif Omar have supported Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidis proposal to introduce a similar preventive law to replace the EO. Zahid Hamidi had said that police have now been rendered powerless to act against criminals after the EO was repealed. Malaysian Crime Watch Task Force (MyWatch) chairman R Sri Sanjeevan echoes the same view as Latheefa. He too reiterates that it is baseless to say police is powerless without the EO. The police should conduct thorough investigations for serious crimes and not take advantage of detaining a person without trial, he continued. Losing battle Malaysians Against Rape, Assault and Snatch (MARAH) founder Dave Avran however has supported the views of former IGPs and the Home Minister. They lost a weapon in the war against crime when it was repealed, stated Dave in an email response to FMT. The anti-crime leader also stated that preventive laws had been effective in isolating these criminal and their antics from society. The police arrest and charge criminals but upon their release on bail, they start committing crime again, Dave stated The police are fighting a losing battle, he said.

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There is also an urgent need to ensure that the discretionary powers accorded to the police in the arrest and detention under preventive laws should not be subject to abuse by the law enforcers, he added.

Police are now powerless, says Zahid

July 18, 2013

Since the Emergency Ordinance was repealed incidents of organised or serious crimes increased by 90 per cent, said Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

KAJANG: Legislative transformationS carried out by the Attorney-Generals Chambers to replace the Emergency Ordinance (EO) with new laws need not burden the police in their effort to reduce the crime rate in the country, said Home Minister Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi. He said the new legislation needed to be similar to the EO which enabled police to have the power to fight crimes especially serious crimes. We (Home Ministry) do not want to contradict what is being done by the AttorneyGeneral to carry out legislative transformation. But we must understand the police are toothless when there is no EO. Do not see only from the legal perspective but from all aspects to fight crime, he told reporters after attending a breaking of fast event of the National Anti-Drug Agency here last night. According to him, since the EO was repealed, incidents of organised or serious crimes increased by 90 per cent which were carried out by former criminals. Ahmad Zahid had recently reportedly said that following the repeal of the EO, 2,600 detainees at the Simpang Renggam Detention Centre in Johor were released and that many of them returned to lead a life of crime.

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He also requested Malaysians to understand the position of police who were now powerless. He said the police were losing their powers to record statements of witnesses and could not compel witnesses to appear in the court. Therefore, he said, the community should not blame police when the crime rate increased. We are not seeking the peoples sympathy but understanding on the polices duty in arresting criminals but having to release them for lack of evidence. Prior to this, Inspector-General of Police (Tan Sri) Khalid Abu Bakar had also requested for a new law similar to the EO to curb serious crimes like shooting, he said. According to Khalid, without EO and no witnesses coming forward to assist in investigations, criminals were getting bolder to carry out radical and aggressive crimes such as shootings. Bernama

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