SHAH ALAM: The Pakatan Harapan government will repeal laws which repress the people, Tun Dr Mahathir said tonight.
Taking the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) for example, the prime minister said such laws were used by the previous administration under Datuk Seri Najib Razak to “do whatever he liked”.
He added that, unlike Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan would always stand by the rule of law.
“The former prime minister had previously called on the ruling government to not take action over something merely because it was initiated by BN. When BN was in power, PH could not even collect money because tax amounting to millions would be imposed on anyone who donated to PH.
“Now, we are taking action to clean the government, but he accused us of taking certain actions because of links to BN. The PH government will always stand by the rule of law,” he said at the Tabung Harapan charity campaign held at the Ideal Convention Centre in Seksyen 15.
Dr Mahathir said this was an essential move because laws were formatted to protect both the business community and ordinary citizens.
However, he said, the government did not want laws that repress the people as imposed by the previous government.
“During Najib’s time, he ignored the law and did anything he liked. Under Sosma, there would be no court hearing if the government arrests anybody and if that person dies after arrest, there will be no enquiry so even if the person is murdered, there will be no action against the murderer. That is the law.
“We will repeal that law. The people will now be protected under laws that are fair and any offences will be brought before and decided by the court.”
The prime minister also extended his thanks to the people for lending their support to PH in bringing down “a cruel and kleptocratic government”.