KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 9 – Two bills that address the crime of stalking will have to be tabled again during the upcoming Parliament session, which will commence next week, reported Bernama.
Deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Ramkarpal Singh said improvements have been made to the bills following an engagement session with the Attorney General’s chambers, the Malaysian Bar, the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s, and the Women’s Aid Organisation.
The two bills, Penal Code (Amendment) (No. 2) 2022 and Criminal Procedure Code (Amendment) (No. 2) 2022, were passed by voice vote in the Dewan Rakyat after its second and third readings on October 3 last year.
However, the dissolution of Parliament 10 days later to make way for the general elections meant that the bills were not tabled in the Dewan Negara. The two bills were tabled for first reading in the Dewan Rakyat on August 4, 2022.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said will table a memorandum on the bills to cabinet ministers, said Ramkarpal. If approved by the cabinet, the bills will be tabled again in the Dewan Rakyat.
The bills that were passed last October stipulated the punishment for stalking as imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine, or both. It also empowered the court to issue protection orders against alleged perpetrators.