White paper to combat IS threat
Published on: Thursday, November 27, 2014
KUALA LUMPUR: The Dewan Rakyat Wednesday approved a White Paper on combating the threat posed by the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, with the assurance that a new law will be formulated which will stress more on prevention, in addition to eradication (of the threat).This was stated by Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi when winding up the debate on the motion. "I want to give an assurance that the government will not follow the laws of other nations to create an anti-terrorism act, although in reality six nations have drawn up such an Act," he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia then approved the motion which was tabled by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, after receiving more ayes than nays.Six Members of Parliament, three each from the Barisan Nasional (BN) and three from the opposition, debated the motion on the White Paper which explained the danger IS posed and the level of threat to national security. When tabling the motion in the morning, Najib said the government proposed to enact a new law to eradicate the involvement of Malaysians in militancy and terrorism, which would be tabled at the next Dewan Rakyat sitting.When debating the motion, Members of Parliament including opposition chief Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh) gave their thumbs up in support.
ADVERTISEMENT
Anwar said the new law must be firm in the effort to tackle the problems of terrorism, and not used for political gain.He also urged the government to explain militant activities more closely, especially on IS.
ADVERTISEMENT
Datuk Seri Noh Omar (BN-Tanjong Karang) said the government must bring back detention without trial because existing laws such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, and Prevention of Crime Act 1959 were inadequate to tackle such issues. "To safeguard security in the country, we must bring back detention without trial. Although, today we have SOSMA and POCA, they are inadequate to overcome terrorism," he stressed.Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid told a media conference later that most locals involved in militant activities regretted their action."Some of them have returned home and arrests have been made. From the information we gathered, they were clearly cheated by the propaganda of the individuals who recruited them. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
