POCA AMENDMENTS EXPECTED TO BE TABLED IN NEXT PARLIAMENT SITTING

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 20 (Bernama) -- Amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (POCA) are expected to be tabled in the next Parliamentary sitting, said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah.

He said the amendments follow the Federal Court's decision in April 2022 which ruled that Sections 4 and 15B of the Act were inconsistent with the Federal Constitution.

According to Shamsul Anuar, the Home Ministry (KDN) has conducted several engagement sessions with relevant stakeholders, and the proposed amendments were presented and approved at a Cabinet meeting on Dec 13 last year.

"KDN will hold another engagement session in the near future before the planned tabling of the amendments during the First Meeting of the Fourth Session of the 15th Parliament," he said.

He was responding to a question from Chow Yu Hui (PH-Raub) regarding the timeline for amending POCA during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Shamsul Anuar said that following the suspension of all arrests under POCA effective April 28, 2022, there has been a rise in cases involving violent crimes, property crimes and narcotics.

For violent crimes, 20,361 cases have been reported so far compared to 17,198 cases last year. Property crimes have risen from 48,222 cases in 2023 to 51,941 cases, while narcotics cases have increased from 193,342 to 204,461.

"We hope that through the engagement sessions, we can achieve the best solution to address these challenging crimes," he said.

-- BERNAMA