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Sunday, May 17, 2015

Instead of combating terrorism, Pota will radicalise more people

President of the Malaysian Bar Steven Thiru says terrorism is hard to fight but detention without trial is not the answer to the problem. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, May 17, 2015.President of the Malaysian Bar Steven Thiru says terrorism is hard to fight but detention without trial is not the answer to the problem. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, May 17, 2015.
Detention without trial has had the opposite effect in combating terrorism in some countries said the Bar Council, as Malaysian authorities get ready to implement a new controversial anti-terror law next month.
President of the Malaysian Bar Steven Thiru said the experience in other countries which used such laws found that more people became radicalised each time they imprisoned someone without proving his guilt in court.
The Bar was told this by the drafters of anti-terror laws in other countries who have since abandoned the use of detention without trial to fight terrorism.
Although Thiru did not name these countries, it is learnt that they included mature democracies in Western Europe who have an extensive history of fighting terrorism and militancy.
“Terrorism is hard to fight and they know that there is no sure-fire way to defeat it. But what they also say is that detention without trial is not the answer,” Thiru told a Bar Council forum in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
The forum was on Pota, which was passed in Parliament last month and allows for detention without trial for two years.
Critics of the law said it was similar to the defunct Internal Security Act (ISA), and that Pota did not allow detainees to question or review the reasons they were imprisoned.
The government in 1960 claimed that the ISA was to fight a communist insurgency. But later administrations used it to detain scores of non-communist politicians and activists between 1980 and 2013 when it was finally repealed.
Thiru said the experience in other countries found that when individuals were detained without trial and when there was no information or proof on why they were imprisoned, it bred more sympathisers and supporters.
“These supporters may not necessarily be fighters but they can fund the movement,” Thiru said.
“Countries that are on the front-line fighting terrorism such as Australia, France and the United Kingdom, which have suffered horrible acts, are not rushing to enact a law like Pota. So why is Malaysia doing so?”
Although the United States has its notorious Patriot Act, Thiru said the law could not be used against the country’s citizens but enemy combatants captured on foreign soil.
However, Thiru’s points were disputed by the forum’s second speaker lawyer Muhammad Faisal Moideen, who supported preventive laws such as Pota due to the unique nature of terror crimes.
“In other crimes, such as theft, you can still punish offenders who are caught. But what about suicide bombers? TMuhammad Faisal Moideen says preventive laws such as Pota are needed because of the unique nature of terror crimes. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, May 17, 2015.Muhammad Faisal Moideen says preventive laws such as Pota are needed because of the unique nature of terror crimes. – The Malaysian Insider pic by Kamal Ariffin, May 17, 2015.here won’t be someone left to punish after a bomb but people will already be dead.”
Faisal also said a provision in Pota did allow for the High Court to review the two-year detention order proposed by the Pota board, the body which decides whether individuals go to prison.
“Pota also specifies that no one shall be detained for their political activities. So we should not assume that our experiences with the ISA will recur under Pota.
“It is premature to say that the law will be abused because in reality, all laws can be abused, even local council by-laws,” Faisal told the forum.
“At the end of the day, we must decide whether the liberty of one individual is worth more than the security of a whole society.”
Thiru then said the authorities had a host of other laws designed to combat all aspects of terrorism, from funding to recruitment to propagation without needing a law like Pota.
There were also new laws targeted at foreign fighters and Malaysians who go abroad to commit acts of terror.
These included additional offences under the Penal Code (foreign fighters and attempts to commit) and Security Offences (Special Measures Act (Sosma) 2012. Sosma allows authorities to detain suspects for up to 28 days for investigative purposes.
“Even without Pota, we have police arresting many people recently for suspicion of terrorism,” said Thiru, referring to the arrests of individuals on their way to join the Islamic State terror group in Syria.
On April 26, 12 individuals were picked up in Hulu Langat on suspicion of testing homemade bombs.
“So if the police are already effective in capturing terror suspects without Pota, why do we need Pota at all?”
The Bar Council will go on a nationwide tour to campaign against Pota and have so far planned forums in Kota Baru, Malacca and Johor Baru next month.
- TMI

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