Malaysia ponders reform of security act

Malaysia ponders reform of security act
13 June, 2008

By John Burton, Financial Times

Malaysia is considering reforming its controversial internal security act, which allows preventive detention without trial and has been criticised for being used by the government against political opponents.

“The government wants to see whether we can soften the edges. This is a collective decision we have made,” Zaid Ibrahim, the law minister, told the Financial Times.

The move would help burnish a reformist image that Abdullah Badawi, the prime minister, is trying to cultivate as he fights for political survival after the government’s dismal performance in general elections in March.

Mr Zaid, who founded Malaysia’s biggest law firm, ruled out abolishing the ISA, saying it was needed to curb terrorism and extremism. But reforms were needed “to make it less open to abuse”.

The opposition, led by Anwar Ibrahim, has called for its repeal. Mr Anwar was jailed under the ISA for nearly two years as a student leader in the 1970s. Mr Zaid said he would work with the attorney-general and the government’s hu­man rights commission to propose reforms but, he said, “I don’t want to predict the outcome” of the review.

The most recent controversy over the ISA occurred last year when five Hindu activists were held after they led protests alleging that the government, dominated by ethnic Malays, was discriminating against the ethnic Indian minority. The arrests triggered a backlash among the normally pro-government Indians and contributed to the government’s biggest electoral setback in 50 years at the March polls.

Mr Zaid had been known as a prominent critic of the government’s record on judicial independence and human rights before being named as law minister in March in a cabinet reshuffle. He admitted surprise at his appointment, but said it revealed that “the government was willing to learn from its mistakes” and was committed to reform.

Mr Zaid has since emerged as a leading figure in the government’s reform programme, which has focused on promoting judicial independence and tackling corruption.

This week he proposed that the constitution should be changed to give more authority to the courts, whose powers were curbed by Mahathir Mohamad when he was prime minister in the late 1980s. Several senior judges were sacked after issuing rulings that appeared to displease the Mahathir administration.

One of Mr Zaid’s first acts as law minister was to push for compensation for those judges in an acknowledgment that their dismissal was unlawful.

The issue received more attention this week when a high court judge alleged Dr Mahathir issued “thinly veiled threats”, including that of sending judges to a “boot camp” for indoctrination if they refused to give rulings favourable to the government. Dr Mahathir has refused to comment on the allegation.

Mr Zaid was criticised by the opposition for rejecting calls for a probe into the incident, after he said al­though it was “a bad reflection on our country and our judicial system . . . we have to move on”.

Law inherited from colonial rulers

The internal security act, which allows preventive detention without trial, was introduced in 1960, but was based on a similar law used by Malaysia’s former British colonial rulers from 1948 to combat a communist insurgency.

It has since been applied by the government against a range of groups, from alleged Islamic terrorists to government critics, including some leaders from the three political parties that now form the opposition alliance.

Under the act, police can detain a person for up to 60 days without trial or access to legal counsel, on suspicion that “he has acted . . . or is likely to act in any manner prejudicial to the security of Malaysia”. The detention can then be extended to two years.