The EO has failed, so why the call to revive it? asks opposition MP

Why revisit the Emergency Ordinance (EO) if it has failed?

This was the question posed by a DAP Member of Parliament who is questioning the rationale of reviving the preventive law.

Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo said Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is not making any sense in calling for the revival of the EO if his statement that "those who were detained under the EO had returned to their criminal ways after release", is to be believed.

"Does he have evidence to prove this? If he has, why was no action taken against these criminals?" he asked.

The home minister, in calling for the revival of  EO-like laws, had said that 90 per cent of the rise in crime was committed by former EO detainees.

"And how does his statement support the revival of the EO? If he is right, then clearly the EO has failed in its objective which is to rehabilitate detainees."

Gobind pointed out that that EO was initially in place to reform and rehabilitate those suspected of criminal activities.

"It was also to ensure that these suspects did not pose a threat to society once they were rehabilitated and released.

"Zahid has completely missed the point in supporting the revival of the EO. He should instead be focusing on ways to boost current laws for better enforcement and improving facilities which already exist. This will bring about better policing and gradually deal with the problem of increasing crimes."

Ahmad Zahid had also promised to show the statistics from a recent study on crime at the next parliament meeting to justify his claim to revive the EO.

DAP national publicity secretary Tony Pua said in a statement today that Ahmad Zahid should not wait until September to prove his case.

"Why wait till September to show statistics that prove the repealed EO accounts for 90 per cent of the rise in crime?" he asked.-- July 12, 2013.