When Datuk Seri Najib
Razak was appointed prime minister on April 3, 2009, he took over from Tun
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who had fallen from grace after Barisan Nasional
suffered its worst-ever loss in the 2008 general election. As the sixth prime
minister, Najib’s ascent to the post also came at a time of increasing demands
by Malaysian voters for political and electoral reforms.
Following the 2011 Bersih
2.0 street rally in Kuala Lumpur, public and international backlash against the
high number of civilian arrests and incidences of violence forced Najib to
pledge to review some of the country’s laws seen as obstructions to civil
liberties. Detractors, however, say the
some of these reforms have not enhanced, but further eroded civil liberties. Here
are some key laws that were abolished, amended or introduced in the past six
years under Najib’s leadership:
Peaceful
Assembly Act 2012
The Peaceful Assembly Act
(PAA) was passed in December 2011 and was the first proposed law to be tabled
after the Bersih 2.0 rally. Meant to facilitate more organised forms of public
demonstrations, the act replaces provisions in the Police Act which required a
police permit for such gatherings. Instead, organisers must notify authorities
10 days before a rally and adhere to restrictions and conditions imposed by
police.
The PAA’s provision on
punishment for rally organisers who fail to comply with the 10-day notice has
been a contentious one in the courts, with the Court of Appeals at first ruling
that it was unconstitutional, but then reversing its earlier ruling by a
different bench in October.
Internal
Security Act (ISA)
Passed in 1960 to counter
a communist insurgency in Malaya, critics have long claimed that the ISA –
which allowed for indefinite detention without trial – was used instead to
detain thousands of Malaysians purely for posing political threats to BN.
In 2011, Najib promised
to abolish the ISA and replace it with two other preventive security laws. The
act was repealed in June 2012. Najib’s administration also lifted three
emergency proclamations in 2012, rendering the Emergency Public Order and
Prevention of Crime Ordinance 1969 (EO) void. Critics said the EO was as
draconian and inhumane as the ISA as it also allowed for detainees to be held
for two years without trial.
The Bersih 4 rally in
August 2015 called on Datuk Seri Najib Razak to resign as prime minister.
Shortly after, the organisers, opposition politicians and civil society leaders
were arrested. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, January 2, 2016. The Bersih 4 rally in August 2015 called on
Datuk Seri Najib Razak to resign as prime minister. Shortly after, the
organisers, opposition politicians and civil society leaders were arrested. –
The Malaysian Insider file pic, January 2, 2016. Security Offences (Special
Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).
The Security Offences Act
(Sosma), like its predecessor the ISA, provides for special measures by the
authorities in tackling security offences. However, Sosma differs from the ISA
in that those charged are accorded a trial in the High Court. Approved by Parliament on April 17, 2012, the
legislation has been criticised for its lack of clear definition for punishable
offences, such as “sabotage”, and posing a threat to national security, thus
giving room for abuse by those in authority.
Printing
Presses and Publications Act 2012
The Printing Presses and
Publications (Amendments) Bill 2012 was approved in April 2012, doing away with
the need for annual printing permits. Publishers can also challenge in court
any decision by the Home Ministry to revoke or suspend permits.
Universities
and University Colleges Act 2012
Amendments to the 1971
Universities and University Colleges Act were made in 2012, which lifted a ban
on student participation in politics and public gatherings. While students are
still barred from acting on behalf of political parties, the amendments meant
students could now express their opinions and make statements on political or
academic issues.
Section
124B of the Penal Code 2012
In 2012, amendments to
the Penal Code were tabled in Parliament to include Section 124B to deal with
violent offences leading to activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.
However, 17 people were
detained in August 2015 under Section 124B for allegedly organising a sit-in
outside Parliament, prompting critics and rights groups to claim that the new
law was being used to silence political dissent. This section was also used in
investigations into opposition members who have criticised 1Malaysia
Development Bhd (1MDB) and against some Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission
(MACC) officers questioned over alleged information leaks on probes into 1MDB.
Section
114A of the Evidence Act 2012
Amendments to the
Evidence Act were also passed in 2012, introducing Section 114A which enables
authorities to hold publishers and owners of websites accountable for
seditious, defamatory or libellous postings. Critics of the amendment say the
new section is an affront to Internet freedom, as it shifts the burden of proof
of wrongdoing to the Internet user and publisher, rather than the prosecution.
Sedition
Act 2015
In 2012, during a speech
in Kuala Lumpur, Najib promised to abolish the Sedition Act 1948, to be
replaced by unity legislation. However, when he addressed the Umno general
assembly two years later, the party president vowed instead to strengthen the
act to protect the sanctity of Islam and other religions. In April 2015, amendments to the Sedition Act
were passed by Parliament to make it seditious to insult any religion, while
decriminalising criticism of the government and judiciary.
However, rights groups
say the amended law represents a greater threat to human rights and free
speech, citing the increased jail term for sedition cases to seven years from
three, and the right of the government to demand a retraction of supposedly
seditious material from online and print media as just some of the provisions
that make the act an easy tool for abuse by authorities.
Human rights group Suara
Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) recently released data showing a five-fold increase in
2015 from 2014 of individuals investigated, detained or charged under the
controversial law. There were 220 individuals or cases under the Sedition Act
in 2015 compared with 44 in 2014. In 2013, there were 11 cases and eight in
2012. The amendments are not yet in force.
Prevention
of Terrorism Act 2015
The Prevention of
Terrorism Act (POTA) was passed in April 2015 and came into effect in September
last year. The act empowers authorities to detain terror suspects without
trial, and disallows judicial reviews in any court. An initial detention period
of up to 59 days can also be extended up to two years by the Prevention of
Terrorism Board, which has power above the courts.
National
Security Council Bill 2015
On December 22, 2015, the
National Security Council Bill was passed to tackle violent extremism, allowing
the council chaired by the prime minister to declare any area in the country as
a “security zone”, and accords authorities powers similar to emergency powers. The
bill allows for the arrest, search and seizure of citizens and property in
security zones. Critics say the security bill gives unfettered powers to a
sitting prime minister without the need to get a royal consent during national
crises. – January 2, 2016.
- See more at:
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/laws-of-najib-in-6-years-of-power#sthash.omYCz4oB.dpuf
No comments:
Post a Comment