Written by Boo Su-Lyn for The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 – A lawyer lambasted the authorities today for detaining three youths under the Emergency Ordinance 1969 instead of charging them in court for alleged theft.
“The Emergency Ordinance is used as a shortcut to purportedly try to reduce crime,” said the youths’ lawyer Edmund Bon at a press conference today.
“(There are) more than sufficient laws under the Penal Code to charge these boys,” added Bon, who is also a campaigner in the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism & Human Rights.
Muhammad Arif Abu Samah, 19, Mohamed Ramadan Mohamed Ali, 22, and Mohamed Rafe Mohamed Ali, 20, were arrested on March 8 for allegedly stealing motorbikes, and subsequently banished to Johor, Pahang and Kedah on May 17 for two years under a restriction order under the EO.
Bon said the youths’ lawyers will likely mount a legal challenge against the government’s decision to maintain the 1969 Emergency Proclamation.
This article was originally posted by The Malaysian Insider on 31 May 2011. Click to view original post here.