PUTRAJAYA, Oct 30 – The Bar Council should study five contentious issues before calling for the abolition of the Internal Security Act (ISA), Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said.
If these issues could be addressed via an amendment, he argued, a new act need not be formulated.
The issues were the detention period, treatment of detainees and their families’ future, the home minister’s power, and the perception that ISA was misused for politics and detention without trial.
“Our meetings with certain groups is a good approach and helpful, compared to making them their stand known via street demonstrations,” he told reporters after the ministry’s post-Cabinet meeting here today.
The ministry had held five meetings with individuals, academicians, politicians, parliamentarians, law practitioners, enforcement agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGO).
Hishammuddin who yesterday had a meeting with the Bar Council said the ISA amendment draft was at the final stage and that suggestions were still welcomed.
He said about 80 per cent of citizenship, late birth registration and permanent resident (PR) applications had been processed while the rest would be completed by year end.
About 70 per cent of the 143,099 applications delayed since January was processed last month. – Bernama
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