KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Putrajaya should adopt stricter preventive measures in its new anti-terror law, taking a leaf from the US government’s controversial Patriot Act that allows its authorities to spy on citizens through wiretaps and profiling them, an Umno lawmaker said today.

Pengerang MP Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said also insisted the government could do away with the basic human rights for those suspected to be involved with terrorists, claiming the militants and their sympathisers had none for their targets.

“For me, the preventive measures should be wider, like the ones in the US Patriot Act,” Azalina said in Parliament while debating the second reading of the Special Measures Against Terrorism in Foreign Countries Bill.

“I see in the US a lot things were listed down, not just the types of terrorists but also the methods to intercept their movements before, during and after.”

Azalina said Putrajaya should not compromise when it comes to terrorism, and claimed that there is no country that jeopardises itself in the war of terror by harping on human rights issues.

“If we are not terrorists or their sympathisers, why are we so afraid? The terrorists that we have now, the killings, the cruelty they are committing, there is no issue of human rights on their part,” Azalina claimed.

“Are we going to gamble our children and family’s future because we are too afraid of human rights issues? They do not care about our human rights,” she added, referring to the terrorists.

Shah Alam MP Khalid Abd Samad intervened later to espouse the need for due process and justice for those charged of terrorism, leading to a shouting match between the two that lasted nearly a minute.

“If this is the mentality of the opposition, then what is the difference between them and the terrorists?” she asked later, accusing Pakatan Rakyat (PR) MPs of trying to stifle Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs from debating the matter using human rights argument.

The Prevention of Terrorism Bill (Pota) 2015 was passed without amendment at the Dewan Rakyat at about 2.25am after a debate of more than 12 hours.

The Bill was passed after the ninth block voting, with the final voting favouring the government when 79 MPs agreeing on the bill while 60 disagreed.

The Special Measures Against Terrorism in Foreign Countries Bill debated today aims to restrict the movement of alleged terrorists by curbing the entry of those accused and confiscating their passports.