Two bills deferred to next sitting

KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat yesterday deferred two bills – Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) (CPC) Bill 2015 and the Evidence (Amendment) Bill 2015 – to the next sitting, scheduled next month.
The CPC bill, tabled for a second reading, was being debated before the Dewan Rakyat adjourned for lunch yesterday.
However, Deputy Home Minister Datuk Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar tabled the motion to defer the CPC bill.
Meanwhile, the proposed Evidence Bill, scheduled for second reading later yesterday, was also deferred after Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri, in charge of legal affairs, tabled a similar motion.
The government decided to defer the bill after strong objections from MPs from both divides.
Ironically, Barisan Nasional MPs, who had objected to those questioning violations of human rights in the Prevention of Terrorism Bill 2015, did the same for this bill.
Calling for the withdrawal of the CPC bill, Datuk Bung Mokhtar Radin (BN-Kinabatangan) said he could not support certain provisions in the bill as it was a violation of rights.
“I am not a lawyer, but I have gone through the bill and I am not convinced that so much power should be given to the police, they cannot be made to take over the role of judges or prosecutors,” he said during the debate on the CPC bill.
Bung said the bill needs to be withdrawn and fine tuned before it is tabled.
Datuk Seri Azalina Othman (BN-Pengerang) on the other hand argued that the contents of the bill was being rushed through and did not go through proper scrutiny.
Describing the bill to be “unfair” in many aspects, she questioned the need to bulldoze it through.
Datuk Dr Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan) also disagreed that the police have power to seize any property they deem illegal.
M. Kulasegaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) said there was an urgent need for the government to conduct thorough discussions with all the stakeholders involved.
“Something is not right in this bill and I suggest that it goes through MPs from both sides of the divide so that more fair amendments may be introduced,” he said.
Dr Azman Ismail (PKR-Kuala Kedah) said that amendments made to existing laws must consider the basic aspects of democracy and human rights.