Malaysia should do away with outdated laws
Malaysia still has the Internal Security Act 1960 — which allows for the detention without trial of people deemed to be threats to national se-curity — for more than half a century.
M Veera Pandiyan, The Star
The phrase “the law is an ass” is attributed to Charles Dickens.
It originates from Oliver Twist after the character Mr Bumble is told: “The law supposes that your wife acts under your direction”.
What one of the foremost classical writers of English literature actually wrote was: “If the law supposes that, the law is an ass, an idiot.”
No, he wasn’t using grammar akin to the Manglish being taught in our schools today. It was just that the rules of the language were not quite defined during his era.
But as then as in now, many laws can be described as asinine. They have become meaningless through the passage of time but are still in force and have become subjects of ridicule.
In the United States for example, incestuous marriages are not deemed illegitimate in the southern state of Alabama.
Another law in Mississippi states that if one is a parent to two illegitimate children, he or she can be jailed for at least a month.
In New York, adultery is still a crime and one can be fined US$25 for flirting.
It is illegal for a woman to be on the street wearing body-hugging clothes but she can go topless in public, provided she is not doing it for any business.
In Denver, Colorado, the law states that dog catchers must notify dogs of impounding by posting for three consecutive days, a notice on a tree in the city park.
Apparently it is also unlawful to lend one’s vacuum cleaner to a next-door neighbour.
More than eight women are not allowed to live in the same house in the state of Tennessee because that would constitute a brothel, while Encyclopaedia Britannica is banned in Texas because it contains a formula for making beer at home.
In President Barack Obama’s home state of Illinois, it is now illegal to wear sagging pants. A new law requires pants to be “secured at the waist to prevent the pants from falling below the hips, causing exposure to the person or the person’s undergarments.”
And there are many comical laws still in force in the United Kingdom.
For example, it is illegal to die in Britain’s Houses of Parliament and sticking a postage stamp bearing the Queen upside down is deemed an act of treason.
In Liverpool, where footballers and fans tend to strip off their shirts in celebration of goals, it is illegal for a woman to be topless — unless she is a clerk in a shop selling tropical fish.
As for the outdated legislation in Malaysia, they are anything but funny.
We still have too many laws that allow for detention without trial, contravening the fundamental principles of human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and other international conventions.
Malaysia still has the Internal Security Act 1960 — which allows for the detention without trial of people deemed to be threats to national se-curity — for more than half a century.
For the record, the ISA has not been used against political opponents since Najib Tun Razak took over as Prime Minister on April 3, 2009.
But it remains in force, despite calls for its repeal by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), the Association for the Pro-motion of Human Rights (Proham), the Bar Council, politicians and civil society organisations.
So do other equally outmoded and detestable edicts such as the Emer-gency (Public Order and Prevention of Crime) Ordinance 1969, the Re-stricted Residence Act 1933, Pre-vention of Crime Act 1959 and the Banishment Act 1959.
Under the EO, detainees can be held for 60 days with a possible extension of two years or more without trial.
In 2005, the Royal Commission to Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police affirmed that the EO violates international human rights and called for its repeal, saying that it had “outlived its purpose and facilitated the abuse of fundamental liberties”.
The detention of six Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) leaders, including Sungai Siput MP Dr Michael Jeyakumar under the EO since July 2 for “allegedly being involved with foreign and subversive elements”, has again fuelled suspicions of such misuse.
The six were among 30 arrested on June 25 for allegedly supporting Bersih 2.0 and possessing T-shirts with faces of communist leaders on them.
At a time when public confidence in the police and credibility in the rule of law are being questioned, the continued detention of Dr Jeyaku-mar under the EO can only result in more rancour against the Government.
Dr Jeyakumar, the giant killer who thrashed Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) supremo S. Samy Vellu in 2008, may be an unwavering socialist committed to his cause, but he certainly does not fit the image of a dangerous or subversive element.
Enough Malaysians, including his colleagues in the medical fraternity have vouched for his humility and integrity, his selfless passion to help the poor and his peaceful approach to politics.
It’s really a bit of a stretch to associate Dr Jeyakumar with intending to “wage war against the King” and instigating the overthrow of the Government.
But if the authorities indeed have any such proof, they should charge him and the others using existing criminal laws.
In the bigger picture, Malaysia as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, is not only expected to meet the principles of human rights but also be seen to be respecting and upholding the rights of its people.
Malaysians deserve to be free from laws that breach basic standards.
