KUALA LUMPUR – The proposed amendments to the Internal Security Act (ISA) will be scrutinised by the Cabinet on Friday before it can be tabled and debated in the current parliament sitting, Home Minister  Hishammuddin Hussein said Monday.

He said although the draft of the amendments was ready, it had to be submitted to the Cabinet for approval.

Hishammuddin hoped the bill could be tabled during the current parliament session but said that it was important that the public would also get a chance to give their views on the issue.

Public perception on ISA

"If we just push it for tabling in this session, the people will not be happy," he told reporters at the Parliament building here.

If the bill was to be tabled at the current sitting, Hishammuddin said he would like the matter to be thoroughly debated.

The proposed amendments cover five issues namely the powers of the Home Minister, period of detention, rights and treatment of detainees, public perception that the ISA is misused for political purposes, and detention without trial — Bernama