The Federal Constitution of Malaysia, which came into force in 1963, is the supreme law of Malaysia. The Federation was formed when the Federation of Malaya and the States of Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore united to form Malaysia. The Constitution establishes the Federation as a constitutional monarchy having the Yang di-Pertuan Agong as the Head of State whose roles are largely ceremonial. It provides for the establishment and the organisation of three main branches of the government: the bicameral legislative branch called the Parliament, which consists of the House of Representatives and the Senate ; the executive branch led by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet Ministers; and the judicial branch headed by the Federal Court.
The Anarchical and Revolutionary Crimes Act of 1919, popularly known as the Rowlatt Act or Black Act, was a legislative act passed by the Imperial Legislative Council in Delhi on 10 March 1919, indefinitely extending the emergency measures of preventive indefinite detention, incarceration without trial and judicial review enacted in the Defence of India Act 1915 during the First World War. It was enacted in light of a perceived threat from revolutionary nationalist organisations of re-engaging in similar conspiracies as during the war which the Government felt the lapse of the DIRA regulations would enable.
The Internal Security Act 1960 was a preventive detention law in force in Malaysia. The legislation was enacted after Malaysia gained independence from Britain in 1957. The ISA allows for detention without trial or criminal charges under limited, legally defined circumstances. On 15 September 2011, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak said that this legislation will be repealed and replaced by two new laws. The ISA was replaced and repealed by the Security Offences Act 2012 which has been passed by Parliament and given the royal assent on 18 June 2012. The Act came into force on 31 July 2012.
Preventive detention is an imprisonment that is putatively justified for non-punitive purposes.
The situation of human rights in Malaysia is controversial as there have been numerous allegations of human rights abuses in the country. Human rights groups and foreign governments are generally critical of the Malaysian government and the Royal Malaysian Police. Preventive detention laws such as the Internal Security Act and the Emergency Ordinance 1969 allow for detention without trial or charge and as such are a source of concern for human rights organisations like SUARAM.
Administrative detention is arrest and detention of individuals by the state without trial, usually for security reasons. A large number of countries, both democratic and undemocratic, resort to administrative detention as a means to combat terrorism, to control illegal immigration, or to protect the ruling regime.
The Criminal Law Act is a Singapore statute that, among other things, allows the executive branch of the Government of Singapore to order that suspected criminals be detained without trial. It was introduced in 1955 during the colonial era and intended to be a temporary measure, but has been renewed continuously. The validity of the Act was most recently extended in February 2018, and it will remain in force till October 2024. According to the Government, the Act is only used as a last resort when a serious crime has been committed and a court prosecution is not possible because witnesses are unwilling or afraid to testify in court. The Act is used largely in cases relating to secret societies, drug trafficking and loansharking.
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Malaysia that is currently suspended from being carried out. It is a mandatory punishment for murder, drug trafficking, treason, and waging war against Yang di-Pertuan Agong. Recently, the law was extended to include acts of terrorism. Any terrorists, and anyone who aids terrorists, financially or otherwise, is liable to face the death penalty. Since January 2003, the death penalty in Malaysia has been a mandatory punishment for rapists that cause death and child rapists. A 1961 law states that kidnapping carried a life sentence or a death sentence, preceded by a whipping.
The Internal Security Act (ISA) of Singapore is a statute that grants the executive power to enforce preventive detention, prevent subversion, suppress organized violence against persons and property, and do other things incidental to the internal security of Singapore. The present Act was originally enacted by the Parliament of Malaysia as the Internal Security Act 1960, and extended to Singapore on 16 September 1963 when Singapore was a state of the Federation of Malaysia.
"Goonda" is a term used in the Indian subcontinent for a hired thug. It is both a colloquial term and defined and used in laws, generally referred to as Goonda Acts.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, abbreviated KDN, MOHA, is a ministry of the Government of Malaysia that is responsible for home affairs: law enforcement, public security, public order, population registry, immigration, foreign workers, management of societies, anti-drug, publication / printing / distribution of printed materials, film control, management of volunteer, rehabilitation and implementation of punishment.
The National Security Act of 1980 is an act of the Indian Parliament promulgated on 23 September, 1980 whose purpose is "to provide for preventive detention in certain cases and for matters connected therewith". The act extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir. It Contains 18 sections. This act empowers the Central Government and State Governments to detain a person to prevent him/her from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of India, the relations of India with foreign countries, the maintenance of public order, or the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community it is necessary so to do. The act also gives power to the governments to detain a foreigner in a view to regulate his presence or expel from the country. The act was passed in 1980 during the Indira Gandhi Government.
Article 9 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, specifically Article 9(1), guarantees the right to life and the right to personal liberty. The Court of Appeal has called the right to life the most basic of human rights, but has yet to fully define the term in the Constitution. Contrary to the broad position taken in jurisdictions such as Malaysia and the United States, the High Court of Singapore has said that personal liberty only refers to freedom from unlawful incarceration or detention.
Chng Suan Tze v. Minister for Home Affairs is a seminal case in administrative law decided by the Court of Appeal of Singapore in 1988. The Court decided the appeal in the appellants' favour on a technical ground, but considered obiter dicta the reviewability of government power in preventive detention cases under the Internal Security Act ("ISA"). The case approved the application by the court of an objective test in the review of government discretion under the ISA, stating that all power has legal limits and the rule of law demands that the courts should be able to examine the exercise of discretionary power. This was a landmark shift from the position in the 1971 High Court decision Lee Mau Seng v. Minister of Home Affairs, which had been an authority for the application of a subjective test until it was overruled by Chng Suan Tze.
Gunasegaran Rajasundram was a Royal Malaysian Police detainee who died in the police lock-up while under arrest for suspicion of drug possession. Coincidentally, his death was on the same day as Teoh Beng Hock's body was found. The case of R. Gunasegaran is crucial to the discussion on police practices because it highlights several issues with the policing of Malaysia: the safety of whistleblowers, human rights during police custody, the procedures of inquests, and the practices of the police force. Understanding this case could bring us to find out what more could be done to better the policing system of Malaysia.
The Security Offences Act 2012 is a controversial law supposedly "to provide for special measures relating to security offences for the purpose of maintaining public order and security and for connected matters". The Act is to replace the 1960 Internal Security Act (Malaysia). The Act was introduced by Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, approved in Parliament on 17 April 2012, given the Royal Assent on 18 June 2012 and Gazetted on 22 June 2012. This act may carry the death penalty to the perpetrators.
The Dangerous Drugs Act 1988, is a Malaysian laws which enacted to make provisions for offences in relation to property, and for the seizure and forfeiture of property, connected with activity related to offences under this Act, the Dangerous Drugs Act 1952, or any foreign law corresponding to these Acts or to the provisions for offences under these Acts; for assistance to foreign countries in relation to matters connected with dangerous drugs; and for matters connected with the aforesaid provisions.
The Puducherry Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 2008 (PPASA) is an act of the Puducherry assembly which provides for preventive detention of boot-leggers, dangerous persons, forest offenders, gamblers, goondas and property grabbers for prevention of their anti-social and dangerous activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
Article 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, guarantees a prohibition against banishment and the right to freedom of movement.
Aruna Sen v. Government of Bangladesh (1975) 27 DLR (HCD) 122 is a case of the High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. The case concerns unlawful detention under the Special Powers Act, 1974 (SPA). The judgement set a precedent for invalidating most detentions under the SPA.
