Malaysia Adopts Tough Anti-Terrorism Law

07 April,

Malaysia’s parliament today passed a tough anti-terrorism bill to deal with extraordinary threats posed by terror entities such as the Islamic State, a move denounced by opponents as a harsh blow for civil rights.

After 15 hours of heated debate, the parliament passed the ‘Prevention of Terrorism Bill’ without any amendments.

The bill will allow those involved or commissioned to carry out terrorist acts to be detained for years and have their movements restricted.

Members of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition vociferously defended the necessity of preventive measures to deal with extraordinary threats posed by terror entities such as the Islamic State.

Opposition lawmakers, however, argued that some provisions in the bill were against human rights and civil liberties. The decision came hours after authorities arrested 17 people who were planning terror strikes in the Muslim majority country.

Earlier, Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Jaafar told reporters that the arrests of the 17 Malaysians, including two who had just returned from Syria, showed that the law is needed and will prevent things from happening rather than wait for things to happen.