KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry will hold another consultation session soon with relevant ministers and stakeholders on the proposed amendments to the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (Poca), before tabling it in Dewan Rakyat next year.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah said the amendment will be tabled if the consultation session yields positive results.
He said following the Federal Court's ruling in April 2022 that Sections 4 and 15B of Poca are inconsistent with the Federal Constitution, the ministry held several consultation sessions with relevant stakeholders and subsequently presented the proposed amendments to Poca during the cabinet meeting on Dec 13 last year.
"Following the cabinet's approval of the proposed amendments to Poca, a special consultation session was held in February this year to discuss the proposal in more detail.
"This session involved the minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Law and Institutional Reform), the digital minister, government officials, and relevant members of parliament, along with relevant stakeholders, including the non-governmental representatives.
"Taking into account the feedback from the special consultation session, the ministry held a follow-up workshop in March to review the views and address the concerns raised by stakeholders.
"The results of the workshop were presented to the minister (Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail) in April, who then instructed that another consultation be held with the relevant ministers," he said in response to Chow Yu Hui (PH-Raub).
Chow inquired about the detailed timeline for amending the Poca, following the ruling made by the Federal Court that Section 4 and Section 15B of the act are inconsistent with the Federal Constitution.