Press Statement
Govt’s Move to Allow Military to Arrest or Take Action Against MCO Offenders is Dangerous & Unacceptable
15 January 2021
We are gravely concerned with the statement by Senior Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob yesterday that the Malaysian Armed Forces personnel now have the power to detain and take action against citizens alleged to have breached the MCO.
We note that even though the minister in his statement stated that such powers were given by way of an ‘Emergency Ordinance’ he failed to clarify whether any Ordinance has already been promulgated nor has he disclosed details of any such Ordinance.
Be that as it may, the government must be reminded that Article 150 (2B) of the Federal Constitution has limited the enactment of any Ordinance to only when there exists a circumstance that necessitates its immediate creation.
The Senior Minister has failed to justify as to why there is a need to grant the military powers to arrest MCO offenders. The Armed Forces are trained for combat in armed conflict against foreign invaders and are ill-equipped to deal with civilian arrest. The powers to detain civilians should only be exercised by police officers, who have been trained to deal with such arrests. Army personnel must only be utilised to assist police officers in ensuring MCO compliance, as they have done throughout the MCO period last year.
There is legitimate concern that allowing military personnel to arrest civilians may lead to excessive use of force or other abuses that infringe the civil liberties of the public. Snippets of this possibility could be gleaned from the viral video in December of last year that depicted army personnel abusing migrant workers, supposedly for breaching a quarantine order. Whilst we do not suggest that all military personnel have conducted themselves in such a manner, the concerns raised by such incidents are very real.
We therefore urge the government to reconsider giving powers of arrest to the armed forces. Members of the public should not be treated as enemies and be dealt with by military personnel. MCO offenders should be treated in accordance with law by police personnel who are trained to do so, and their rights protected at all times.
Issued by:
Zaid Malek
Coordinator
Lawyers for Liberty