Minister of Homeland Security and Technology Ali Ihusaan has stated that the government will propose amendments to laws related to public safety and security during the new Parliament session.
Speaking to PSM News, Minister Ihusaan highlighted the challenges in ensuring public safety due to the existing laws and regulations, such as the inability to take appropriate action in some cases and crimes.
Additionally, Minister Ihusaan highlighted that, according to the Juvenile Justice Act, offenses committed by minors at the age of 17 years and 11 months, regardless of the sentence duration, are treated as juvenile cases until the completion of the sentence. As such, he said a juvenile sentenced to a 20-year sentence would be treated as a juvenile even if he is 30-40 years old. He expressed concern that this provision poses a challenge to imposing strong criminal punishments.
Furthermore, Minister Ihusaan highlighted the inadequacies of the laws criminalizing illicit enrichment, which only allows state employees to be prosecuted for the crime. He said that proposing amendments to allow non-state employees to be prosecuted will allow law enforcement agencies to bring more criminals to justice.
Moreover, Minister Ihusaan said the ministry and the police service are working on evaluating the existing laws to propose amendments for the next parliamentary session. The laws include the Possession of Dangerous Weapons and Sharp Objects Act and the Prevention of Terrorism Act. He expressed hope that the Parliament will give its support to the government's initiative to implement the amendments, emphasizing that addressing the deficiencies in existing laws will strengthen public safety.