KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced tonight the repeal of the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA) and the three Emergency Declarations when both the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat have their next sitting.The prime minister said that new laws will be enacted to protect the peace, harmony and security of the country.
- He also announced that the government will do away with annual printing and publishing permits with permits that can be cancelled if regulations are flouted.
- Najib acknowledged in his address to the nation on the eve of Malaysia Day that the move to increase civil liberties was “risky, but we are doing this for our survival.”
“No individual will ever be detained simply due to political ideology,” he said in his speech that was broadcast live on all local television stations.- The move to scrap the law has been hailed by ex-ISA detainee and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng as “an epochal move.”
- The Barisan Nasional (BN) chief said that two new security laws would be introduced for preventive
detention which would be limited only to cases of terrorism and “ensure that basic human rights are protected.” - Najib said that under the new laws, detentions could only be extended by the court and therefore “the power of detention will be shifted from the executive to the judiciary, unless it concerns terrorism.”
Before a studio audience of 800 including his entire Cabinet, he also announced that the Banishment Act would be repealed while he will do away with the need for annual publishing permits under the Printing Presses and Publications Act (PPPA).Najib also said that the Police Act would be amended to allow for freedom of assembly according to international norms, although street protests would still be outlawed.
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