Special committee set up to study security laws

KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry has set up a special committee to review existing laws, especially those in relation to national security which contradicts human rights, its Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said.
Muhyiddin said the committee, which was set up last week, is chaired by the ministry's Secretary-General Datuk Seri Alwi Ibrahim.
"We will look at and review the laws that come under the Home Ministry. Among those raised are the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015 (Pota) and the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (Poca).
"Our goal is to determine in implementing domestic laws the people do not feel that they are being used for political purposes, to punish certain parties due to differences in ideology and so on," he said.
He was speaking to reporters during a breaking-of-fast function with locals at the Saidina Hamzah Mosque, Kampung Batu Muda here yesterday.
The event, organised by the Ramly Group of Companies and the mosque, also witnessed 250 orphans and poor people receiving cash contributions.
Muhyiddin said the move to review the laws was one of the matters pertaining to security issues contained in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) manifesto for the 14th General Election (GE14).
"It was included in PH's promises, namely, any law that is considered to have elements of cruelty, oppression, injustice and which may be considered contrary to human rights, and laws which are not very clear in their implementation will be examined in depth.
"This may take some time ... when we are ready we will have meeting sessions with those whom we think have vested interests to clarify whether the amendments are considered adequate or suitable before being brought to the Cabinet and subsequently to Parliament," he said.
On May 22, Muhyiddin was reported as saying that the ministry would review seven laws related to national security that was found to be no longer suitable today.
The laws are the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984, the Sedition Act 1948, mandatory death sentence, the Peaceful Assembly Act 2012, Poca, Sosma and Pota. — Bernama