Lim Biow Chuan on Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) (Amendment) Bill

It is incumbent on the Government to explain to Parliament the rationale for keeping the Criminal Law (Temporary Provisions) Act so that MPs can make a considered decision on whether to extend it for a 15th time, for another five years. MP Lim Biow Chuan said this in the House on Wednesday (Apr 3). The law allows the Home Affairs Minister to detain or place under police supervision, without trial, people linked to certain crimes. Mr Lim said he was satisfied that there are sufficient safeguards against abuse of power; however, the right balance must be struck between the right to due process and the need to maintain law and order in Singapore. Citing information given by the Home Affairs Minister in recent years, he asked if the secret society situation in Singapore is under control, cases involving unlicensed moneylending have dropped by 40 per cent and the number of drug abusers has fallen drastically since the 1990s, is there still justification for the Act to be extended? He also asked if the countries ranked as the safest in the world - namely Iceland, Denmark, Austria and New Zealand - have similar legislation and if not, how they deal with the criminal activities that Singapore is so concerned with.