Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015

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Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015
MalaysianParliament.jpg
Parliament of Malaysia
  • An Act to provide for the prevention of the commission or support of terrorist acts involving listed terrorist organizations in a foreign country or any part of foreign country and for the control of the persons engaged in such acts and for related matters.
Citation Act 769
Territorial extent Malaysia
Passed by Dewan Rakyat
Passed6 April 2015
Passed by Dewan Negara
Passed23 April 2015
Royal assent 28 May 2015
Commenced4 June 2015
Effective 1 September 2015, P.U. (B) 345/2015 [1]
Legislative history
First chamber: Dewan Rakyat
Bill titlePrevention of Terrorism Bill 2015
Bill citation D.R. 10/2015
Introduced by Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
First reading 30 March 2015
Second reading 6 April 2015
Third reading 6 April 2015
Second chamber: Dewan Negara
Bill titlePrevention of Terrorism Bill 2015
Bill citation D.R. 10/2015
Member(s) in charge Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs
First reading 13 April 2015
Second reading 22 April 2015
Third reading 23 April 2015
Related legislation
Prevention of Crime Act 1959 [Act 297]
Keywords
Anti-terrorism
Status: In force

The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015 (Malay : Akta Pencegahan Keganasan 2015, abbreviated POTA), is an anti-terrorism law that was passed by the Malaysian government on 7 April 2015. It enables the Malaysian authorities to detain terror suspects without trial for a period of two years. POTA also does not allow any judicial reviews of detentions. Instead, detentions will be reviewed by a special Prevention of Terrorism Board. The POTA bill has been criticised by opposition elements as a reincarnation of the former Internal Security Act, which was revoked in 2012. [2] [3] The passage of POTA coincided with the arrest of seventeen suspected militants who were involved in an alleged terror plot in the capital Kuala Lumpur. [4]

Contents

The Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) has faced strong criticism not only from the domestic opposition but also from prominent international human rights organizations. On April 6, 2015, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) sent a formal letter to the Speaker of the Malaysian House of Representatives demanding that the law be rejected or fundamentally amended. The Commission noted that the law failed to comply with international human rights law, questioning the necessity of resorting to administrative security detention without trial and the government's failure to justify why the ordinary criminal justice system was incapable of handling terrorism cases. The Commission's primary concern was the unchecked power granted to the Terrorism Prevention Board, which limits judicial oversight of detention decisions, raising serious concerns about violations of the rule of law. [5]

Structure

The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015, in its current form (as of 4 June 2015), consists of 5 Parts containing 35 sections and 1 schedule (including no amendment).


Despite the controversy surrounding the nature of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) as an administrative detention tool, official data for the period from 2015 to 2022 shows that its use was limited. Out of a total of 14,085 arrests under security laws (including SOSMA and POCA), only 36 arrests were recorded under POTA. These figures indicate that the Prevention of Crime Act (POCA) was the most frequently used tool for administrative detention in Malaysia during that period.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015: Appointment of Date Coming into Operation" (PDF). Attorney General's Chamber of Malaysia. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  2. ↑ "Parliament passes controversial anti-terrorism law by 70 to 69 votes". Malaysian Insider. 7 April 2015. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  3. ↑ Sivanandam, Hemanathani; Carvalho, Martin; Cheah, Christine (7 April 2015). "Malaysia parliament passes anti-terrorism legislation after long debate". Jakarta Post . Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "Malaysia arrests 17 for alleged terrorist attack plot in Kuala Lumpur". The Guardian. Associated Press. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Malaysia: draft Prevention of Terrorism Act prone to abuse and violates human rights | ICJ". International Commission of Jurists. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
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