PETALING JAYA, 17 April 2009: Even though the focus has been on the Internal Security Act (ISA), civil society groups and a think tank say there are two other laws that also allow the state to detain someone without trial.
Suaram coordinator Nalini Elumalai said the two other laws were the Emergency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance 1969, and the Dangerous Drugs (Special Preventive Measures) Act 1985.
"We call on the government to repeal these laws," Nalini said in a phone interview with The Nut Graph.
"We don't see why the Emergency Ordinances, for example, is still in place as Malaysia is no longer in a state of emergency," Nalini said, adding that these laws should not have been passed in the first place.
Sedar Institute deputy director-general Ng Yeen Seen agreed that all three laws that allow for detention without trial should be looked into. "But reviewing all three would take a long time," Ng said in a phone interview.
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