Malaysia uses ‘real threat’ of terrorism to justify tough new detention law

[ControlFreak]

Malaysia uses ‘real threat’ of terrorism to justify tough new detention law

Legislation passes allowing detention without trial for two years as officials claim to have arrested militants with links to Islamic State

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 April, 2015, 10:42pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 08 April, 2015, 1:17am

Kyodo

Malaysian special forces carry out a training exercise in Kuala Lumpur, with officials warning of a growing threat from Islamic State-linked militants. Photo: AP

Malaysia's police chief yesterday claimed that an Islamic State-linked terror cell, which was broken up on Sunday with the arrest of 17 people, was plotting to rob banks, commit abductions, and attack army camps and police stations.

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said the 17 detainees, aged between 14 and 49, were picked up around the capital Kuala Lumpur and in northern Kedah state while meeting to secretly to plot their crimes. They included one Indonesian.

"The purpose of this new terrorist group is to establish an Islamic country a la IS in Malaysia," Khalid said.

Malaysia has not seen any significant militant attacks but has arrested 92 citizens since early 2013 on suspicion of links to Islamic State. Authorities have also identified 39 Malaysians in Syria and Iraq.

Khalid said the detainees' plans involved abductions of well-known individuals and attacks on strategic locations in Kuala Lumpur and nearby Putrajaya where most government ministries are located.

The alleged senior cell member, a 49-year-old Malaysian from Kedah, had been on police radars for over a decade, Khalid said, having been detained in 2001 while with another terror group known as the Malaysia Mujahiddin Group, better known by its Malay acronym KMM.

Malaysia's national police chief Khalid Abu Bakar speaks during the press conferencea in Kuala Lumpu. Photo: Xinhua

Khalid said the suspect, whose name he did not reveal, left for Syria in August last year for military training and returned home in December.

Another arrested suspect, a 38-year-old religious teacher also from Kedah, left for Syria in September last year to join Islamic State and came back to Malaysia in December, Khalid said.

Besides these two, Khalid said, the 17 arrested people included two soldiers, a security guard and an Indonesian militant formerly with Jemaah Islamiyah who is a firearms expert.

Malaysia started the crackdown amid concerns that the rise of Islamic State could destabilise the country.

Khalid's allegations were aired on the same day that Malaysia's lower house of Parliament passed a tough new anti-terrorism bill.

"It certainly is very coincidental that the arrests happened just as the bill was being debated," said opposition lawmaker N. Surendran.

The Prevention of Terrorism Bill provides for the detention of terror suspects without trial for up to two years. Detention can be renewed indefinitely and there is no judicial review allowed.

"The threats are real. Preventive steps must be taken," Home Minister Ahmad Zahid told parliament in justifying the introduction of the controversial new law.

Critics have slammed the proposed law as a return of the much-feared Internal Security Act which over the four decades of its existence had seen scores of anti-government critics being detained without trial.

Human Rights Watch's deputy Asia director Phil Robertson called the new legislation "a giant step backwards for human rights".

"Passage of this legislation raises serious concerns that Malaysia will return to practices of the past when government agents frequently used fear of indefinite detention to intimidate and silence outspoken critics," he said.

Additional reporting by Associated Press, Agence France-Presse

 

[PressToTeleport]

Malaysia passes terror law allowing suspects to be locked up indefinitely without trial

PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 07 April, 2015, 2:52pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 07 April, 2015, 5:18pm

Associated Press in Kuala Lumpur

An anti-government protester stands in front of a line of police in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's Prevention of Terrorism Act raised concerns that the government will once again use the law to intimidate and silence vocal critics, according to Human Rights Watch. Photo: AFP

Malaysia revived detention without trial when lawmakers approved an antiterror law today, which the government said was needed to fight Islamic militants.

But critics assailed the move as a giant step backwards for human rights in the country. The law allows authorities to detain suspects indefinitely without trial – with no court challenges permitted.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act bill was passed by parliament’s lower house in the wee hours of the morning after a long debate, with 79 votes in favour and 60 against.

The government said the measure was needed because dozens of Malaysians have been arrested since 2013 for suspected links to the Islamic State group. Authorities on Sunday arrested 17 people, including an Indonesian militant, accused of planning to rob banks and attack police stations and army camps to obtain weapons.

Critics said the new law was a revival of the Internal Security Act, which was repealed in 2012. New York-based Human Rights Watch called it a “giant step backwards for human rights” in Malaysia, and said it raised concerns that the government will once again use the law to intimidate and silence vocal critics.

“By restoring indefinite detention without trial, Malaysia has re-opened Pandora’s Box for politically motivated, abusive state actions that many had thought was closed when the abusive Internal Security Act was revoked in 2012,” the group’s deputy Asia director, Phil Robertson, said in a statement.

Home Minister Zahid Hamidi, however, said the new law was crucial to curb the rise of Islamic militants. “This is a real threat, and prevention measures are needed,” he said during the debate.

It will take weeks before the bill becomes law, as it needs approval from the upper house and royal assent by the king, but those are considered formalities.

National police chief Khalid Abu Bakar said the 17 people, aged from 14 to 49, were arrested during a secret meeting on Sunday to plot attacks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s biggest city, and in the administrative capital of Putrajaya.

The group was planning to kidnap several high-profile individuals, rob banks for money, raid police stations and army camps for weapons, and procure more firearms from another terror group in a neighbouring country, Khalid said in a statement today.

The senior member of the cell is a man who was arrested in 2001 under the former Internal Security Act and has undergone militant training in Afghanistan and Indonesia, Khalid said. Another key member is a 38-year-old religious teacher.

Khalid said both men were in Syria last year for militant training and returned to Malaysia in December.

“The aim for this new terror group is to form an Islamic state in Malaysia,” he said.

Also arrested Sunday were two army personnel, a security guard who has access to firearms and an Indonesian militant who is skilled in handling weapons, Khalid said.

The government has proposed another new law, to be debated by lawmakers this week, which would empower authorities to suspend or revoke the travel documents of any citizens or foreigners believed to be engaging in or supporting terrorist acts. Other proposals would increase penalties for terror-related acts.