Malaysian Prime Minister Says He Will Abolish 2 Security Laws

By Liz Gooch, New York Times

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — The decision by Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia to abolish two controversial security laws that allow for detention without trial and to relax laws governing the news media is an attempt to revive public support ahead of elections that many believe could be called by early next year, analysts said Friday.

Mr. Najib announced on Thursday that he would repeal the Internal Securities Act and the Emergency Ordinance, which rights groups say have been used to silence government critics. He also said that publications would no longer have to renew their printing licenses annually and that the government would review laws relating to freedom of assembly.

The two security laws will be replaced with new legislation. It was unclear, however, how long people still may be detained without charge under the new laws.

“The abolition of the I.S.A., and the other historic changes I am announcing this evening, underline my commitment to making Malaysia a modern, progressive democracy that can be proud to take its place at the top table of international leadership,” Mr. Najib said in a televised address Thursday.

“Many will question whether I am moving too far, too fast. Some will say that the reforms should only be carried out in small steps, or not at all,” the prime minister said. “To them I say, if a reform is the right the thing to do, now is the right time to do it. There may be short-term pain for me politically, but in the long-term the changes I am announcing tonight will ensure a brighter, more prosperous future for all Malaysians.”

When he came to power in 2009, Mr. Najib pledged to embark on a series of reforms, but he has been criticized for being slow to act.

His announcement comes amid signs of falling public support and widespread condemnation of the government’s handling of a protest in July calling for free and fair elections, in which the police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.

A survey of 1,027 people conducted by the Merdeka Center,  an independent polling firm in Kuala Lumpur, found that public support for Mr. Najib dropped from 65 percent in May to 59 percent in August, a decline attributed to the government’s handling of the protest and concerns about rising living costs. Last month, he announced that he would form a parliamentary committee to review election procedures, but some analysts have expressed skepticism over whether changes would be made before the next election.

Elections must be called by mid-2013, but many analysts expect voting will be held by the first quarter of next year, and say that the new reforms are an attempt to bolster Mr. Najib’s support.

“The initial responses seem to be overwhelmingly positive, even from people and organizations who may be seen as being antigovernment,” said Ong Kian Ming, a political science lecturer at UCSI University in Kuala Lumpur.

Ibrahim Suffian , director of the Merdeka Center, said, “There’s a sense of hope and a very positive feeling, especially among people who are not ideologically aligned with the government or the opposition, that the government is finally allowing more room for freedom of speech.”

Mr. Ibrahim said that some people remained cautious about the laws that would replace the Internal Security Act and the Emergency Ordinance.

“They want to see proof that it’s really gone,” he said. “Najib has set very high expectations among the public. This announcement will likely bring some immediate boost, but the proof would be to see how long he will take to repeal the I.S.A., the nature of the two new laws as well as developments on election law reform.”

Mr. Ong said that the longer it took for Mr. Najib to deliver on these reforms, “the more likely it is that skepticism among the public would set in.”

Opposition members remain concerned that people will still be subject to detention without trial under the new laws.

“These reforms were long overdue and they do not go far enough to bring about a real climate of freedom from oppression in our country,” said N. Surendran, vice president of the opposition People’s Justice Party. Calling the reforms “election gimmicks,” Mr. Surendran described the proposed changes to the media laws as a “hollow reform,” because he said the government would still be able to cancel a publication’s license.

Almost 4,500 people were detained under the Internal Security Act from 2000 to 2010, and 37 people are currently being held under the law, which was introduced in 1960. A government statement, which described the changes as the “biggest shake-up of the Malaysian system since independence from Britain in 1957,” said that there would be a six-month transition period while the new laws were introduced, after which the cases of those currently detained would be considered under the new legislation.

Mr. Najib said that the law that would replace the Internal Security Act would protect the rights of people detained.

“The new law will provide for a substantially reduced period of detention by the police compared to what we have now, and any further detention may only be made with the order of the court, except the law in relation to violence, which is still under the power of the minister,” he said, adding that no individuals would be detained solely for their political affiliations.

Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, chairman of the Abolish I.S.A. Movement, called for those being held under the Internal Security Act and the Emergency Ordinance to be released immediately and questioned whether the new laws would allow detention without trial, according The Associated Press.

Mr. Ong said Mr. Najib would have angered many conservatives within his own party and the police force if he had abolished the Internal Security Act and the Emergency Ordinance without replacing them with other laws.

“This is clearly a way to appease these conservative forces which have and will continue to put up resistance against his moves to introduce greater protection for basic human rights,” he said.