Malaysia was accused yesterday of waging an assault on civil rights as parliament passed a tough anti-terrorism law aimed at countering Islamic militancy.
The passage of the Prevention of Terrorism Act came as the government announced that 17 militants — whom police say were arrested for plotting terror attacks in the country — had drawn their inspiration from the extremist Islamic State (IS) group, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
The new law allows authorities to detain terrorism suspects without charge for extended periods. The political opposition and legal and rights groups had urged its withdrawal, saying it could be used by the long-ruling government to stifle political dissent.
“My biggest fear is that the law may be abused,” opposition lawmaker N. Surendran said.
“I don’t think there is any basis for the government’s claim that this law is needed to contain [the Islamic State],” he added, calling it “a grievous blow to democracy.”
The government has promised the law would not be abused for political ends.
Authorities have repeatedly warned of an imminent threat of terror attacks in the wake of IS’ rise in Syria, saying dozens of people from traditionally moderate Muslim-majority Malaysia had volunteered for IS.
Amid a heated debate over the legislation, police said that on Sunday they arrested 17 IS-inspired militants who were plotting to kidnap unspecified high-profile figures.
Malaysian Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar also said the conspirators planned to rob banks to raise money and to raid armed forces and police facilities for weapons.
“Seventeen people between the ages of 14 to 49 were arrested while they were holding a secret meeting to plan terror attacks in the [Kuala Lumpur area],” Khalid said in a statement. “The aim of this new terror group was to form an IS-like Islamic state in Malaysia.”
Khalid said the arrests brought to 92 the number of people detained over the past year in Malaysia for suspected involvement in the IS jihad in Syria.
The opposition has complained that the government has shared no details on its dozens of claimed arrests or the extent of the purported terror threat, and some question the timing of the arrests.
“It certainly is very coincidental that the arrests happened just as the bill was being debated,” Surendran said.
Opponents of the coalition that has ruled since independence in 1957 — but which is reeling from setbacks in recent elections — say the terror fears are being played up to restore repressive powers that were removed with the abolition of a previous tough security law.
That law was repeatedly used to lock up opposition politicians and other critics for long periods, but was scrapped in 2012 amid public pressure for reform.
Human Rights Watch deputy Asia director Phil Robertson called the new legislation “a giant step backwards for human rights.”
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