Security laws: Lanka seeks Singaporean expertise

Statement silent on Arjuna Mahendran

Sri Lanka has sought Singaporean expertise in preparing laws relating to national security amidst both local and international calls to do away with existing anti-terrorism law, the Prevention of Terrorism Act passed in the 80s to fight the LTTE terrorists.

Following a recent five-day visit undertaken by Justice Minister Ali Sabry, PC, to Singapore, on the invitation of the Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law K. Shanmugam, the Justice Ministry stated in a media release issued yesterday: “With a view to benefitting from Singapore’s learnings through its evolution of legislation related to national security and social cohesion, the two Ministers agreed to explore the possibility of sending a team of officials from Singapore to Sri Lanka to gain a wider understanding of the Sri Lankan legal context and to conduct a series of webinars for the officials of the Ministry of Justice of Sri Lanka.”

Interestingly the statement didn’t make any reference to Singapore so far declining to hand over Singaporean national Arjuna Mahendran wanted here in connection with Treasury bond scams perpetrated here in 2015 and 2016.

The following is the text of the statement: “During the visit, the Minister met with his counterpart K. Shanmugam, Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Law of Singapore and held a wide-ranging discussion on collaboration between Sri Lanka and Singapore in the legal sphere.

Minister Ali Sabry thanked Minister K. Shanmugam for the invitation extended to undertake the visit and for the hospitality extended to the Sri Lanka delegation.

Briefings were provided on recent amendments made to several important pieces of legislation including the Criminal Code, Religious Harmony Act, and Internal Security Act of Singapore. The two sides discussed the lessons learnt in the operational aspects of the legislation and amendments.

During the visit the Minister visited the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) Resource and Counselling Centre (RCC) on the 14th of February. Associate Professor Dr. Muhammad Faishal Ibrahim, Minister of State, Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of National Development and the senior management of the Religious Rehabilitation Group (RRG) joined Minister Ali Sabry explaining their approach on dealing with religious extremism with a specific emphasis on rehabilitation.

The Sri Lanka delegation participated in a virtual briefing on the court automation process of Singapore conducted by the Supreme Court of Singapore. Citing Sri Lanka’s own efforts at modernising and automation of the courts here, Minister Ali Sabry stated that the system implemented in Singapore could be a valuable case study for Sri Lanka. It was agreed to conduct a series of webinars on the court automation system of Singapore for Sri Lankan officials.”