A United States diplomat today defended the need for anti-terrorist legislation at a forum in Kuala Lumpur, saying that 'extraordinary tools' were required to prevent a recurrence of the Sept 11 terror attacks in New York and Washington.

Following the attacks, the US government implemented a controversial law - the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA Patriot Act 2001) - which many have questioned from an ethical point of view.

Explaining the Patriot Act, political officer at the Malaysian US embassy, Alexis Ludwig, said American enforcement officers could now obtain search warrants that are valid all over their country, wire tap on an individual who may use multiple telephone lines and track Internet communications of suspects.

The law will also help increase information sharing between various agencies in the US, he added.

Ludwig was speaking at the 'Festival of Rights' forum co-organised by the Malaysian Bar Council, the Malaysian National Human Rights Society and NGO Sisters in Islam.

Last week, Minister in the Prime Minister Department Dr Rais Yatim had claimed that the Patriot Act was more "controversial and extreme" when compared to the Internal Security Act.

Rais, who is de facto law minister, said the new US security law allows detention of suspicious foreigners for months without trial and permits harsh conditions to be imposed on them such as cutting off their telephone lines or monitoring their calls.

Preventive detention

Similar to the ISA, the new US anti-terror legislation also provides for a form of 'preventive detention'.

Explaining further, Ludwig said: "Under Section 236(a) of the USA Patriot Act, the attorney-general has the right to detain foreign terrorist suspects up to a period of seven days."

At the end of the seven days, the AG must initiate the deportation of the suspect or charge the individual under the country's existing laws. The suspect must be released if the AG fails to do either, he added.

However, the suspect can be detained up to six months if the American AG is satisfied that the suspect is a threat to public security. Nevertheless, there are provisions in the Act for a judicial review on the detention of the suspect.

Comparatively, under Malaysia's ISA, the home minister can detain an individual for up to a period of two years but the minister's decision, however, is not subjected to a judicial review.

On the American public reaction to the law, Ludwig said, "Sixty to seventy percent of the population in the US support these laws as they felt the law protected their rights.

Nevertheless, Ludwig conceded that at the 'elite level' a debate on such security laws was raging in the US with leading newspapers such as the New York Times being critical of such anti-terrorist measures taken by US President George W Bush.

Bandwagon caution

Speaking at the same forum, Prof Gurdial Singh Nijar of Universiti Malaya's Law Faculty said Malaysia should be cautious in implementing new security laws as the public would question the motive behind the laws.

Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recently said the government may amend existing security laws to deal with "modern-day" terrorism.

"We must not just jump on the American bandwagon and say that now is the time to expand our laws," warned Gurdial.