Temporary law to maintain public order in Little India passed

The Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Bill to maintain peace in Little India was passed after over four hours of debate in Parliament on Tuesday.

The new temporary law, which will be effective for a year, provides law enforcement authorities with additional powers to maintain public order in the district, where a rare riot took place last December.

The additional powers include conducting interviews and searches on people in the neighbourhood for alcohol and prohibited items.

Officers will also be given the power to ban individuals from the area during specified times, if they are deemed as a threat to public order.

“The powers provided in the Public Order (Additional Temporary Measures) Bill are scoped tightly to enable the Police and other agencies to maintain public peace, safety and security for the benefit of all persons in Little India, without continuing to invoke the Public Order (Preservation) Act, and the extensive powers it provides for,” said Second Minister of Home Affairs S Iswaran in his speech in the House.

He also said that the bill provides a “focused set of powers, far more limited than the extensive powers available today under the Public Order (Preservation Act)”.

The bill passed after a heated debate occurred with opposition and Nominated MPs, who strongly criticised the bill.

MP Sylvia Lim of the Workers’ Party and Nominated MP Faizah Jamal both said that the bill lacked safeguards and should be delayed until after the Committee of Inquiry has released findings from its investigation into the Little India riot.

Faizah and NMP Eugene Tan Kheng Boon raised concerns over the possibility of officers abusing the widening powers given to them via the new temporary laws.

Tan said that the police powers had struck him as “excessive”, adding that there is “too much discretion” given to them.

Meanwhile, several MPs from the ruling People’s Action Party – Hri Kumar (Bishan-Toa Payoh GRC), Vikram Nair (Sembawang GRC) and Denise Phua (Moulmein-Kallang GRC) – gave strong support for the bill.

“The bill addresses the fears and concerns of majority of residents,” said Phua.

Phua also said that she is “confident the officers will not abuse their powers”, adding that officers’ actions during the Little India riot can “attest” to that.

Vikram echoed Phua’s sentiments, saying that the powers will be used with “legislative intent”, which is to “limit the consumption and sale of alcohol”.

Iswaran rebutted several points raised by those who had opposed the bill, emphasising that the bill “curtails” the powers available to the police, as compared to the extensive powers under PO(P)A.

He also addressed concerns over the discretion of powers, assuring that the officers to be allowed to conduct searches will only be those ranked sergeant or higher. Auxiliary police officers will have no power to do it.

In his conclusion, Iswaran said the government would also have been “remiss” if it waited several months for the COI to produce findings of the riot before taking action.