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Monday, April 6, 2015

Pota will fail, won’t deal with root cause of terror, says Saifuddin

A widely respected moderate Umno leader has criticised Putrajaya’s new Prevention of Terrorism Act or Pota, saying it will not deal with the root cause of Malaysians' involvement in militant groups.
Global Movement of Moderates Foundation (GMM) head, Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said similar laws in the past such as the Internal Security Act 1948 (ISA), were also unable to curb the rise of militant groups.
“The rational for Pota is weak”, Saifuddin said, and added that ISA failed to prevent the rise of Al-Maunah, a militant group that seized weapons from an army camp in Perak in 2000.
“Preventive paradigm is a very attractive preposition. But, unfortunately, it has shown that it cannot always prevent violent extremism”.
Saifuddin said that present laws such as the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, or Sosma, were enough.
The Najib administration has tabled the Pota bill in Parliament, arguing that more stringent measures are needed to deal with Malaysians joining terror groups. Lawmakers are set to debate and pass Pota in the next few days.
Saifuddin is the latest to join those against Pota, including the Bar Council which yesterday urged the bill to be withdrawn.
The bill comes as the Home Ministry announced on March 31 that 75 people were arrested for links to Isis.
Some 75 Malaysians have so far been arrested for links to terror group Isis. Dozens have also joined the group in Syria, many after being recruited through social media. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, April 6, 2015.Some 75 Malaysians have so far been arrested for links to terror group Isis. Dozens have also joined the group in Syria, many after being recruited through social media. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, April 6, 2015.Critics said it is similar to the ISA which was repealed in 2011, in that it provides for detention without trial.
Suspects can be first detained a maximum of 59 days (including the initial remand period), before being brought to the Prevention of Terrorism Board, which can then order further detention of up to two years.
Following this, the detention period can be renewed if the board decides that there are reasonable grounds. It can also free detainees.
The bill does not allow any judicial review in any court, noting that no court shall have jurisdiction over any act or decision by the board in discharging its powers.
However, it expressly states that no one can be arrested and detained "solely" for their political beliefs or political activities.
The Pota bill is expected to be passed as the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) has a simple majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
Trust deficit
Saifuddin, who was the deputy higher education minister, said that the Sedition Act and the ISA were frequently misused.
“In an atmosphere where the police are excessively using the Sedition Act and there are unjustified arrests, implementation of Pota starts with a trust deficit.”
He was referring to the dragnet over the past few months against activists and opposition politicians charged under the Sedition Act.
“When the authorities introduced Pota with the heightened number of people (charged) under the Sedition Act, how do you expect people to simply accept your intention to propose Pota?”
Saifuddin said that research in the United Kingdom showed that although government approval ratings go up when such laws are passed, it also creates pockets of radicalisation.
“Pockets of people get more agitated because of the unfair laws and become radicalised. The radicalised need not join violent extreme groups.
“But nevertheless, we must take cognisant of this phenomenon as it may occur here too.”
Instead, Saifuddin argues for a more holistic counter-terrorism plan that takes into account socio-political dimensions.
“This is not just a security issue. We need better cooperation and we need to activate the Asean Institute for Peace and Reconcilliation (AIPR).”
He said Putrajaya should strengthen its Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) team and set up a national command centre involving all agencies and non-governmental groups.
The command centre should be led by someone that reports directly to the prime minister and not the home or defence minister, he said.
He added that the centre should also work on messaging, and cooperate on a regional basis as well as anticipate post-Isis terrorits.
“We must deal with the roo cause and fighting terrorism must be balanced with the need to strengthen democracy, liberty and human rights.”
- TMI

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