Already we all know the balance of power in our nation has been skewed in favour of the executive.
Many perceive that the judiciary and the law enforcement authorities are all beholden to the Executive and now they propose that they been given greater powers to bring criminals to justice.
In a normal well-balanced system, the use of DNA may help to solve cases faster but when so many questions are being asked about the integrity of various and several government departments, I suggest the proposed DNA database law can be easily abused by a corrupt system.
There is an interesting letter on DNA published in malaysiakini:
"Right to DNA test must rest with individual"
http://www.malaysiakini.com/letters/86477
I read that according to the Penal Code, it is unlawful for anyone to forcibly take DNA samples. I guess in the old days, the police used to incriminate suspects by planting DNA evidence and therefore such a law was enacted. Any legal experts please advise.
Just to indicate 2 incidents that show our systems have many serious defects:
- The 2 suspects in the Altantuuya case are from the special forces and their motive for the murder is unclear.
- The C4 used could have been taken out from the ammunitions store without record as they do not check surplus material that has been returned to the store.
We all know that the present charge against Anwar may be tried based on DNA evidence. Therefore it appears that the haste to pass the DNA Act without consulting civil liberties groups is politically motivated.
But since when did the government bother about civil rights anyway?
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