POPO- The Emergency (Public Order and Preventive of Crime) Ordinance 1969 (also popularly known as the EO) is an antiquated preventive detention law that allows for arbitrary detention without trial. The POPO was originally drafted to quell the spread of violence and destruction after the May 1969 racial riots and is now used to detain and restrict the suspected gangsters and violent criminals.

The POPO provides the police with the power to detain a person for up to 60 days in a police lock-up without the need to ever bring him before a magistrate or the courts. At the end of 60 days the Home Minister can make an order of detention for 2 years (which is renewable indefinitely) and the person is sent to the detention centre directly. Hence the POPO's provisions allow the authorities to detain individuals without any proper investigation, gathering of evidence or trial. It is a grave concern to us that all those detained under suspicion have not been charged in a court of law for any specific offences.

There appears to be a trend by the police to use the POPO:

a)      to arrest those whom the police do not have enough evidence to charge in court

b)      to arrest those released by the court for lack of evidence

c)      to arrest young offenders to probably teach them a lesson

d)      to arrest those who are likely to become whistle blowers, if charged in court

e)      to arrest those whom the government wants to put away from the public domain for various reasons including public pressure.

Regrettably there have been numerous cases when persons acquitted by the courts were rearrested and detained. This common practice is an affront to the system of justice and does not respect the findings of the court. It also has been a great challenge for the lawyers as the arbitrary nature of "POPO" was confirmed when many of the detainees were rearrested despite successful habeas corpus applications. In May 2005, 48 out of 56 emergency ordinance detainees released on habeas corpus petitions were arrested within days of their release on the same charges and without any additional evidence against them.

In November 2004 over four hundred detainees went on hunger strike at the Simpang Renggam detention centre for 15 days to protest the conditions and length of their detention. The hunger strike sparked an uproar in civil society and raised many questions forcing government officials, political parties and others to react on the issue.

Detention without trial is a gross human rights violation. It violates Article 9, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 and Article 8 of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Federal Constitution, which guarantees due process and security of persons. There are sufficient criminal laws in the country to deal with all kinds of crime and offences to apprehend and prosecute offenders without resorting to "POPO".

In the light of the increasing number of POPO cases and the related serious concerns, the Bar Council, the Legal Aid Centre and SUARAM have decided to hold a public forum. The main emphasis on this forum is to educate and create awareness amongst the public on the seriousness of "POPO" and to lobby for the repeal of "POPO".

Therefore I am calling upon all my friends to join the public forum.

Title of Forum : "POPO-THE OTHER ISA"

Date                 :  26 August 2006 (Saturday)

Venue              : Bar Council Auditorium

Time                 :  8.30am -1.00pm