SHAH ALAM, 4 Oct: The Prevention of Crime Act (Amendment and Extension) 2013 (PAC) passed in the House of Representatives can be easily abused by the executive power, said former ISA detainee, Saari Sungib.
He said that the power possessed by the Crime Prevention Board as provided for in the PCA, allows for the board to have absolute power which cannot be challenged in court.
Thus, he said, the PCA is the same draconian act as the Internal Security Act (ISA) which was repealed in 2011.
“In the act, a case cannot be taken to court but is put before the Crime Prevention Board. The board which consists of three people; a former judge and two others appointed by ministers, In a case of this act not charged in court but exposed to the Crime Prevention Board, what happened there the board is made up of three people, a former judge and two others appointed by the minister and the board’s decision is final.
“Those who face the board are not represented by (any) counsel, the case cannot be referred to court People who are confronted not represented, cannot refer the case to court, no judicial review, to be like the ISA too,” said Saari, who is also Hulu Klang assemblyman.
According to Saari, the PCA is also exposed to the risk of being misused by the executives for political gain when two out of the three panellists in the Crime Prevention Board are appointed by the minister.
“When the ISA was passed on 1 August 1960, it had a long preamble and it was fuzzy. Also, Tun Razak said that it was to detain communists. But when it was passed, it was used for politicians as well.
“The act has now been amended and it has the same preamble, Act now amended this even the same preamble, ambiguous, overly broad covering not only criminals but all planned activities including peaceful demonstrations, politics can be interpreted as an organized crime activity.
“For instance, the PAS (party) in a certain area plans properly to win the election. Even that can be considered as a threat to national security because PAS’s victory allegedly would cause racial tension,” added Saari.
Saari is also of the opinion that the PCA was formulated to be a shortcut on the government’s inefficiency in properly managing the issue of organised crime since a special commission has been established to upgrade and improve police services.
