COMMENT | Of DNAAs and excessive punishments

COMMENT | The court has sentenced Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman to seven years in jail, two strokes of the rotan and slapped him with a RM10 million fine.

What was he guilty of? Criminal breach of trust (CBT) and misappropriation of funds to the tune of RM1 million.

Why was the sentence so severe? Because the MACC Act contains such provisions.

The intent of the Act was essentially to apprehend money launderers. Money laundering provisions came to be applied in our country and many other countries after the Sept 11 attack in the US.

America wanted terrorists, Islamic groups like Al-Qaeda, Taliban and freedom fighters like Hamas etc to be choked financially from receiving donations from the Muslim world. Hence, the provisions of the law were made so punitive.

Malaysia is one of those countries whose enthusiasm for money laundering laws is hard to understand. Not only are the jail sentences and fines more severe than those in other countries, but even the provisions regarding the...