Malaysia’s Parliament today passed a tough anti-terror Bill to deal with “extraordinary” threats posed by extremist groups like Islamic State (ISIS), a move denounced by opponents as a harsh blow for civil rights in the Muslim majority country.
After 15 hours of heated debate, the Parliament passed the ‘Prevention of Terrorism Bill’ with 79 votes in favour and 60 against it. The Bill that revived detention without trial will allow those involved or commissioned to carry out terrorist acts to be detained for years and have their movements restricted.
Members of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition vociferously defended the necessity of preventive measures to deal with “extraordinary” threats posed by terror entities such as the ISIS.
Opposition lawmakers, however, argued that some provisions in the Bill were against human rights and civil liberties. They compared it to the harsh Internal Security Act which was repealed in 2012.
The decision came hours after authorities arrested 17 people who were planning terror strikes in the country.
Police said they had planned to kidnap high-profile figures in a bid to create an Islamic State-like regime in the country. “We received information that they were also planning to raid several Army camps and police stations to boost their weapons cache,” Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said.