Lawyers dismayed by proposed PCA amendments
PETALING JAYA: The Bar Council, the Sabah Law Association and the Advocates Association of Sarawak are against the proposed amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act (PCA) 1959, especially the part on preventive detention without trial.
Bar Council president Christopher Leong said the three entities also objected to 10 other proposed pieces of legislation, including the proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code and Evidence Act 1950.
“The proposed amendments to the PCA are objectionable and repugnant to the rule of law.
“The amendment to the preamble of the PCA, which recites Article 149 of the Federal Constitution, is revealing in that it does not merely amend the PCA but effectively re-introduces the Internal Security Act 1960 and the Emergency Ordinance 1969,” he said in a statement yesterday.
He said the proposed amendments sought to revive preventive detention without trial and repeated renewals of such detention without trial and oust the jurisdiction of the judiciary.
“The amendments provide that a suspected person does not have a right to legal representation during an inquiry to determine whether the person is a member of a registrable category under the PCA and therefore liable to supervisory or preventive detention orders.
“The suspected person is not provided with the grounds for any adverse findings and does not have the right to appeal or apply for review to the court against the adverse findings or supervision order,” he said.
He added that the Prevention of Crime Board had limited utility as it would not have the power to inquire into or re-examine the accuracy, sufficiency and veracity of the findings of the inquiry officer.
“The board is effectively bound by the findings and the grounds of the inquiry officer in exercising its discretion as to whether to release the suspect, or issue a supervision order or direct a preventive detention.”
He said the proposed draconian amendments were not a reflection of the state of crime in Malaysia.