[Malaysia] Preventive Laws Necessary For Governments Of Today

Preventive Laws Necessary For Governments Of Today
June 14, 2005 BERNAMA

KUALA LUMPUR, June 14 (Bernama) -- Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohamed Bakri Omar said governments everywhere today have valid and substantial grounds to enact laws that are seen as prohibitive to human rights.

He said no democratic government, unless forced by the dictates and needs of the time, would happily enact laws that obstruct or deny its citizens of their fundamental liberties enshrined in the constitution.

"The security environments in which we live today have proven to be less predictable due to the brazen acts of terrorism, sabotage and political violence.

"Extremists and terrorists of various political persuasions can in a carefully planned attack obliterate or destroy the lives of hundreds of innocent people in a matter of seconds," he said when at the Istanbul Conference On Democracy And Global Security in Turkey recently.

The text of his speech was made available to Bernama here.

"This is not to say that extreme measures, as provided under tough legislation or preventive laws, must prevail at all times, but the laws and guarantees of public safety must be in place to prepare the state and society against lawlessness and insecurity," Mohamed Bakri said.

He said the law of the land recognised the need to check the excesses of individuals and their civil liberties if the state were to survive. "The irony of democracy is that the will of the majority must prevail over the rights of the few," he said.

The IGP said that after the Sept 11 2001 attacks in the United States, more and more states had enacted legislation similar to Malaysia's Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA). They included the United States which enacted the Patriot Act and the United Kingdom which had the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005.

Mohamed Bakri said that if the laws and guarantees of public safety were not in place, the alternative would be to accept and live with the dangers and therefore, the possible destruction of society itself.