However, he said his chambers has not received any draft or proposal from the Home Ministry or any government body on a law to replace the Emergency Ordinance (EO) which allowed preventive detention.
"I will never agree to preventive detention.
what is eo emergency ordinance 050307"There is no draft (of a new law) or anything sent to my office. I am making a clear statement on this (for) whoever who said (there is)...," he told reporters in Bangi.
In any case, Abdul Gani said the Attorney-General's Chambers has never prosecuted individuals who were previously held under preventive detention.
"I have not seen a single case for prosecution which involves former detainees under the EO," he added after speaking at a seminar on cybercrime.
The government has claimed that the repeal of the EO contributed to a spike in crime and mulling introducing a new law to replace the ordinance.
'Existing laws are sufficient'
Abdul Gani stressed that existing laws are sufficient for law enforcement officers to book criminals.
He added that we should also adhere to the maxim that it is better to let more guilty people go free than to send an innocent man to jail.
“I am a strong advocate of the present laws without preventive detention...
“I have full confidence that enforcement officers can do their jobs without having to rely on such draconian laws,” he said.
He added that laws which are sufficient to address crime include the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma), Prevention of Crime Act, the Penal Code, the Criminal Procedure Code and Evidence Act.
He also explained that the Sosma, which replaced the now-repealed Internal Security Act (ISA), also does not allow preventive detention.
Rather, he said, it provides for detention “for the purpose of investigation” and not as a way of prevention of crime as determined by a minister as per the ISA.
By Aidila Razak
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