SINTOK, July 17 — The government should consider abolishing the Internal Security Act (ISA) which carries a negative perception, and replacing it with a new law which allows for preventive detention while protecting the fundamental rights of the people.
Former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the ISA had given too much power and perhaps too wide a scope to the authorities to determine the threats to security.
"As the home minister then, I had signed many orders for detention without trial under the ISA, but with the present government wanting to review the effectiveness and impact of the ISA, I feel obliged to give my sincere views on the Act.
"But it should be stressed that Malaysia still needs a preventive detention mechanism in the interest of national security and the challenges we face today, such as terrorism across borders, which require a law which enables the government to undertake preventive measures."
Abdullah said this in his speech at a special convocation ceremony where he was conferred an hononary Ph.D in Democracy at Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) here today. The Sultan of Kedah Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah presented the scroll to Abdullah.
"Whether we like it or not, the ISA has been stigmatised as a negative element to the agenda of strengthening democracy and renewal in the country. So, this calls for the government to be brave to discard the old and open a new chapter," he said.
Abdullah believed that the government must be courageous to bring about such change (abolishing the ISA) as its commitment to the agenda of democratic renewal in the country.
"I believe this is the transformation that the people are expecting, as a preventive measure should not sacrifice fundamental human rights or to be misused for a political objective.
"Perhaps one solution is to limit the scope of preventive detention to certain threats only or to draw up a new Act specifically to prevent terrorist activities, hence reducing the chances of abuse of power for a political interest," he said.
On the honorary Ph.D, Abdullah said he viewed it as recognition from the academia for the vision, approaches and methods as well as the democratic philosophy of his administration. — Bernama
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