Malaysia passes hard terrorism law

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

After 15 hours of hectic 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.

Opposition party members, however, argued that some provisions in the bill were against human rights and civil liberties.

Ruling party members said the law had enough provisions to safeguard the rights of everyone.

They also proposed that the High Court should have the power to decide if a suspect should be remanded.

Opposition lawmakers attempted to push in three proposed amendments to the bill but were rejected.