The country needs that kind of harsh law as the people are not that developed or educated to appreciate it, says former prime minister.
UPDATED
PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the country needs harsh laws like those proposed under the amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA) 2013, saying it will be good for the people.
“This country for the time being will need that kind of harsh law. You see what happened when you remove the law,” said Mahathir, referring to the rise in crime rate recently.
The amendments to PCA, which was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday and to be debated on Monday, was roundly condemned by human rights lawyers and activists who called it the return of the infamous Internal Security Act (ISA).
PKR supreme council member Latheefa Koya even described the PCA amendments, which allows for detention without trial for up to two years, as “ISA 2.0”.
Mahathir said the PCA amendments were needed because “people are not that developed or educated to appreciate the law”.
“The law is for the good of the people. If you abuse the law then you have to pay the price,” he said.
On Wednesday, DAP chairman Karpal Singh said at the parliament lobby that he found the Bill – if passed would allow detention without trial and denying a detainee to right to a judicial review – absurd as it would grant a three-men board the discretion to detain a suspect, provided with evidence.
Karpal was commenting on proposed sections 7B and 7C of the Bill which provided that the board can detain a person who has committed two or more serious offences without trial, if an inquiry report informed that there was sufficient evidence.
Another section of the Bill also provided that a suspect would not able to file for a judicial review as the board’s decision cannot be challenged in court.
Following the tabling of the amendments on Wednesday, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has come under fire for reneging his promised reforms while abolishing preventive laws such as the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Emergency Ordinance before the general election.
Najib had said that removing the detention without trial laws were part of his reformation programme.
Government ministers had defended the proposed PCA amendments as necessary to curb the high level of gangsterism and criminal activities.
Too many universities
On a different note, Mahathir then commented on international consultancy firm McKinsey & Co which was paid RM20 million in consultancy fees to draft the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025.
“Even I can become a local expert, too, but they did not appoint me,” he said sarcastically.
Commenting on the nation’s poor university rankings, he said: “This is due to the hastiness in establishing universities. In turn, we lack professors and lecturers.
“Although they are qualified, they lack something, somewhere,” he said, alluding to the standard of educators.
UPDATED
PETALING JAYA: Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the country needs harsh laws like those proposed under the amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA) 2013, saying it will be good for the people.“This country for the time being will need that kind of harsh law. You see what happened when you remove the law,” said Mahathir, referring to the rise in crime rate recently.
The amendments to PCA, which was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday and to be debated on Monday, was roundly condemned by human rights lawyers and activists who called it the return of the infamous Internal Security Act (ISA).
PKR supreme council member Latheefa Koya even described the PCA amendments, which allows for detention without trial for up to two years, as “ISA 2.0”.
Mahathir said the PCA amendments were needed because “people are not that developed or educated to appreciate the law”.
“The law is for the good of the people. If you abuse the law then you have to pay the price,” he said.
On Wednesday, DAP chairman Karpal Singh said at the parliament lobby that he found the Bill – if passed would allow detention without trial and denying a detainee to right to a judicial review – absurd as it would grant a three-men board the discretion to detain a suspect, provided with evidence.
Karpal was commenting on proposed sections 7B and 7C of the Bill which provided that the board can detain a person who has committed two or more serious offences without trial, if an inquiry report informed that there was sufficient evidence.
Another section of the Bill also provided that a suspect would not able to file for a judicial review as the board’s decision cannot be challenged in court.
Following the tabling of the amendments on Wednesday, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak has come under fire for reneging his promised reforms while abolishing preventive laws such as the Internal Security Act (ISA) and the Emergency Ordinance before the general election.
Najib had said that removing the detention without trial laws were part of his reformation programme.
Government ministers had defended the proposed PCA amendments as necessary to curb the high level of gangsterism and criminal activities.
Too many universities
On a different note, Mahathir then commented on international consultancy firm McKinsey & Co which was paid RM20 million in consultancy fees to draft the National Education Blueprint 2013-2025.
“Even I can become a local expert, too, but they did not appoint me,” he said sarcastically.
Commenting on the nation’s poor university rankings, he said: “This is due to the hastiness in establishing universities. In turn, we lack professors and lecturers.
“Although they are qualified, they lack something, somewhere,” he said, alluding to the standard of educators.
No comments:
Post a Comment