SUARAM says one amendment will restrict bail for all offences under Section 124 of the Penal Code.
KUALA LUMPUR: The proposed amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) threaten to undermine human rights and will lead to more detentions of dissenters, says local civil rights NGO Suaram.
Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said today the proposed amendments to the CPC, expected to be tabled in the May sitting of Parliament includes a shocking amendment that would restrict bail for all offences under Section 124 of the Penal Code.
He said: “Section 124 has been invoked countless times in 2015 against civil activists and politicians during the #KitaLawan rallies and subsequently invoked against media such as the Malaysian Insider earlier this year.”
“It is self-evident that the Government of Malaysia has chosen to crack down on dissenters through Section 124.”
Sevan pointed to the use of the law to arrest and investigate civil activists, politicians and journalists, and said the amendments would make arrests such as that of Khairuddin Abu Bakar and Matthias Chang a more common occurrence.
