KUALA LUMPUR - As expected, former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad defended the revival of draconian detention laws in Malaysia aimed to give Prime Minister Najib Razak's government an upper hand when dealing with opposition rivals and political dissidents.
But in giving the thumbs-ups for the beefed-up Prevention of Crime Act, Mahathir was also sending Najib an unmistakable 'I told you so' message.
The older man's insinuation is clear - Najib erred in his judgement when previously repealing unfair laws and the current bad publicity for the PCA amendments was therefore of his own making.
Accused by many in the country of vanity and for blowing with the wind, the 60-year-old Najib had repealed a slew of archaic and unfair laws in 2011 in a bid to boost his image as a reformist and to fill out his rather lean legacy.
"Yes he promised to abolish preventive detention laws, but he never expected all these crimes. You didn’t expect it either, I didn’t expect it as well," the outspoken Mahathir was reported as saying on Thursday.
"Just look at the crimes that are happening now, even walking around is no longer safe."
'BR1M not necessary': Disharmony behind the scenes
Just days ago, the 88-year-old veteran had fired an even more direct shot at Najib.
Mahathir mocked as unnecessary further cash aids to lower-income groups .
"We rarely appreciate the things we get for free, including the BR1M. That is why it should be given only to hardcore poor and those with disabilities," he told reporters, when asked to comment on the government's proposal to include the program in the upcoming Budget 2014.
The BR1M had been announced by Najib ahead of the country's hardest-fought and most-divisive general election, which ended with the Opposition gaining 89 out of Parliament's 222 seats and the Umno-BN obtaining 133.
Two rounds of BR1M were paid out ahead of the May 5 general election, costing the already debt-laden government billions of ringgit.
Political watchers believe the latest BR1M promises are meant to be Najib's carrot to Umno members to vote for his loyalists during their party poll due to be conducted on October 19.
"I don't really wish to comment on Umno as during election time, it is everything and anything goes. But of course, it shows what people are saying all this while - there is disharmony between the 2 men and their supporters."
Forever 'U-turning' Najib loses more credibility
The amendments to the PCA follows a spate of violent crimes involving firearms, which police blamed on ex-detainees of the ISA and EO. Outnumbered, the Opposition failed to block the amendments, which were passed early this morning after a voice vote.
The PCA in its previous form allowed police to detain suspects for up to 71 days with having to produce them in court to face charges. After the latest amendments, the police will be able to detain suspects for up to 2 years without having to bring them to trial.
Hence, the criticism that the PCA was now the new ISA, which until its repeal had been Malaysia's most notorious and feared law as it allowed the police to detain suspects for indefinite periods of time.
“Malaysia is taking a huge step backwards on rights by returning to administrative detention practices much like the draconian Internal Security Act,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
“By doing so, Prime Minister Najib is backing methods that do little to curtail crime but threaten everyone’s liberty.”
Malaysia Chronicle
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