Following the passage of the amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act, 1959 by the Dewan Rakyat on 2nd October, 2013 the Dewan Negara, likewise, passed the amendments last week.
Article 66(4) of the Federal Constitution states,
“The Yang di-Pertuan Agong shall within thirty days after a Bill is presented to him assent to the Bill by causing the Public Seal to be affixed thereto.”
Article 66(4A) states,
“If a Bill is not assented to by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong within the time specified in Clause (4), it shall become law at the expiration of the time specified in that Clause in the like manner as if he had assented thereto”.
Before Article 66 was amended in 1994 to include Clauses 4 and 4A, conventionally the Yang di-Pertuan Agong assented to all Bills passed by the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara. With the amendments, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong can refuse to assent to a Bill passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and the Dewan Negara.
This has never happened before.
The time has come for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to show his displeasure by refusing to assent to the amendments as they are draconian in that they bring about the resurrection of detention without trial, a concept unknown to the Rule of law. There are no adequate checks and balances in the amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act, 1959.
The Emergency (Prevention of Crime & Public Order) Ordinance, 1969 was revoked in 2011 followed by the Internal Security Act in 2012. No one expected the return of these draconian laws in the form of the amendments. The amendments are against the national interest.
It would be in the public interest for the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, under the circumstances, to refuse to assent to the amendments. No doubt, within a month of the amendments being presented to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, the amendments become law even without his assent, a clear message should be sent to the Government by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong that he will not automatically assent to Bills which do not constitute the essence of the Rule of law. The Yang di-Pertuan Agong is the apex of Parliament and therefore a significant constituent of Parliament. Any displeasure emanating from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong will not reflect positively on the Government of the day.