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143 OF SINGAPORE
SUMMARY: Powers of preventive detention may be given to the Executive but only to pre-empt and disrupt terrorist activities and subject to safeguards preventing misuse of such powers. The Internal Security Act, Cap. 143(ISA) does not contain the necessary safeguards. It should be abolished and replaced by terrorism-specific legislation. 1. The ISA gives the Minister for Home Affairs power to arrest and preventively detain an individual without warrant or trial for up to two years at a time with a view to preventing that person from acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of Singapore or any part thereof or to the maintenance of public order or essential services therein, it is necessary to do so.1 NSP accepts that it is necessary for the Minister to have preventive detention powers so as to be able to pre-empt and disrupt terrorist activities in a situation where there is not yet enough evidence to charge and convict such an individual under existing criminal laws. That said, Singapore being a functioning democracy, the internal security legislation which confers the Minister with preventive detention powers mustcontain safeguards ensuring that: (a) preventive detention powers cannot be used by theexecutive to serve its own political or other aims; (b) internal security legislation is only used as a last resort, when there are no other avenues under existing criminal laws; and (c) there is an appropriate balance between the needs of the state and the civil rights of the individual. 4. However, the ISA fails to contain such necessary safeguards. Two particular failings of the ISA are: (1) No maximum period of detention (a) ISA fails to provide for any maximum period of detention. With no ceiling on the maximum period of detention, there is no limit to the number of times the 2-year detention orders under ISA can be renewed. In fact, continual renewal of the 2-year detention orders under ISA has happened with embarrassing frequency in the past, which is how we have had such long-serving detainees as Chia ThyePoh (detained for 23 years), Dr Lim Hock Siew (detained for 19 years) and Dr PohSoo Kai (detained for 11 years and 6 years on another occasion) none of whom were tried nor convicted of any crime. Indefinite detention without trial is unacceptable. Provisions for strict limitations on the maximum duration of detention must be enacted.
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Arrests under Operation Spectrum 5. The 1987 arrests of alleged Marxist conspirators under Operation Spectrum marked a low point in the historical application of the ISA. The public has never been given more than scant evidence of the existence of the alleged Marxist conspiracy or of how those arrested were involved therein. To date, questions remain, such as : Did the Minister jumped the gun in his zeal to protect Singapore from potential danger? Did he use the ISA as a first resort, rather than as a last resort, given the ease by which the ISA can be availed? Was the ISA misused to silence political dissent against the ruling party on the pretext of safeguarding national security?
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The Singapore Government has consistently refused to be accountable to either the Courts or the public on whether the Minister had properly exercised his discretion to detain those arrested under Operation Spectrum. Meanwhile, several of those who
Historical Controversies 8. Controversies have dogged the Governments use of ISA. Despite the Governments assurance that it has used the ISA sparingly and that No person has ever been detained only for their political beliefs,4 questions persist as to whether the ISA has only been used for legitimate threats to national security, and never as a tool to suppress political opponents.Such doubts have eroded public confidence in the ISA. The controversial history of the ISA is yet another compelling reason to opt for its abolition in favour of a new set of laws, to start on a new slate.
Enact Terrorism-Specific Legislation 9. The legislative history of ISA is traced to the Emergency Regulations Ordinance 1948, a post-war measure introduced by British colonial Malaya in response to armed insurgency during the Malayan Emergency, declared on 16 June 1948 and which officially ended on 12 July 1960. It contains draconian, drastic measures which arguably had been necessary at that time of crisis. The ISA in its present form is no longer appropriate to present-day Singapore. It is an anachronism long overdue to be replaced. NSP is of the view that terrorism-specific legislation should be enacted. Once such legislation is enacted and in place, the ISA should be abolished.
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