KUALA LUMPUR: Violent crime, property offences and narcotics cases have gone up since all detentions under the Prevention of Crime Act 1959 (POCA) were suspended following a Federal Court ruling in 2022, says Datuk Seri Dr Shamsul Anuar Nasarah.
The Deputy Home Minister said since the suspension came into effect on Apr 28, 2022, violent crime cases increased from 17,198 last year to 20,391 this year.
“For property crimes, 48,222 cases were recorded in 2023, which rose to 51,941 this year.
“As for narcotics offences, there were 139,342 cases in 2023, and this has surged to 204,461 cases.
“This is why we hope that through engagement sessions, we can arrive at the best decision,” he said in response to a supplementary question from Chow Yu Hui (PH-Raub) in the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Nov 20).
Chow had queried the government’s timeline for amending POCA after the Federal Court ruled that Sections 4 and 15B of the Act were unconstitutional.
Dr Shamsul said that the police require robust preventive legislation to curb the prevalence of violent crime, property offences, and narcotics-related cases across the country.
In response to Chow’s primary question, Shamsul confirmed that the proposed amendments to POCA are expected to be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat during the first session of the fourth term of the 15th Parliament next year.
