KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 10 — The repeal of preventive detention laws has opened the floodgates of attacks against the special position of Malay-Muslims and the roots of the country as Tanah Melayu, a former senior police officer told a forum on the law enforcers today.
In calling for the return of colonial era laws that had allowed authorities to hold suspects without charge or trial, such as the now-repealed Emergency Ordinance (EO) and the Internal Security Act (ISA), the panelists accused Putrajaya of pandering to liberals pushing for human rights, whom they allege to be influenced by the West.
“Before ISA was abolished, did we have people making cartoons of breaking fast with pork?” former Criminal Investigation Department chief Tan Sri Zaman Khan told the crowd here.
Zaman was referring to the controversial Ramadan greeting by sex bloggers Alvin Tan and Vivian Lee, which he held up as an example of many such incident he alleged has occurred since the laws’ abolition.
“Islam is being insulted … Did Islam ever intrude into their beliefs?” he asked.
Zaman also claimed that before the abolition of the two laws introduced to deal with communist insurgents, other Malaysians had not dared to touch on the “special rights” of the Malays; now, he said, most have forgotten the roots of Malaysia as the land of Malays (Tanah Melayu).
“We would never be here without ISA … Because of ISA, which prevents people from doing what they like, we are safe,” Zaman added.
“We are made of different races. It’s not easy to rein in 60 per cent Malays, 30 per cent Chinese, Indians and the rest.”
Also present, former New Straits Times (NST) group editor-in-chief Datuk A. Kadir Jasin alleged that the police force is now being heavily criticised only because it is mostly made up of Malays.
“Whatever that has anything to do with Malays is bad now. You cannot defend it,” said A. Kadir.
According to A. Kadir, the West is jealous of Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country with good governance, by demanding for the laws such as the EO and ISA to be abolished allegedly under the guise of “human rights”.
“We should not bow down to the ‘coded language’ of the West,” he added.
“I don’t think the West like Malaysia … They don’t like it if Islam succeeds.”
Former Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Musa Hassan also joined Zaman in insisting that human rights should have its boundaries, and the rights of criminals should not impinge on the rights of the citizens.
“There are limits to human rights. If we have absolute human rights, then our society will crumble,” said Musa.
“It is okay for the West since they have a different culture. Here we have the Asian culture and Islam, in them there is no absolute human rights.”
Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar had previously stirred controversy when they indicated that the return of preventive detention laws would help the police carry out their crime-fighting duties more effectively.
Recently, Zahid had repeated his assertion that the police force had lost its bite in the repeal of laws that once allowed them to detain suspected criminals without trial.
With violent crimes on the rise and suspicions linking the sudden spate of shootings to gangland turf wars and firearms smuggling, the home minister appeared insistent on the need for preventive detention as a vital aid to assist crime busters.
Putrajaya had abolished the EO laws and the ISA, both of which allowed for preventive detention without trial, a power that had been criticised by its detractors as allegedly infringing on human rights.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak also has given his assurance that Putrajaya will not introduce laws that restrict rights and liberties in its bid to rein in crime.
However, Najib had last month pledged Putrajaya’s commitment to consider “anything” the police needs to fight serious crime, noting the sudden rise in gun-related incidents lately.
