Preventive detention is a deprivation of a person’s right to personal liberty. Therefore, adequate safeguards should always be in place to ensure that persons subjected to preventive detention laws in Malaysia remain free from arbitrary arrest and detention, as guaranteed under Article 9 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 5 Federal Constitution.

After the repeal of the Internal Security Act 1960 in 2011, the Commission continued to advocate for legislative reforms to preventive detention laws in Malaysia still in force, including the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, the Prevention of Crime Act 1959, and the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015.

The Commission recognizes that preventive detention is useful in protecting national security and public order. However, because the right to life and personal liberty is non-derogable and civil right, preventive detention laws must be made and enforced only to the extent necessary and proportionate to meet such exigencies and with judicial oversight.

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