SMU Associate Professor of Law S. Chandra Mohan said, "However harsh the enforcement powers and measures in the new Bill may seem at first glance, they are not new." This is because the Public Order (Preservation) Act (POPA), which gives the Government very wide powers, has already been invoked in the Little India area. However, SMU Associate Professor of Law and NMP Eugene Tan noted that even these restricted powers may not be necessary. "The measures we have used since Dec 8 have maintained law and order relatively well by most accounts, and the Government has also said that, by and large, the foreign workers here are law-abiding," he said. Both were commenting on the recent Little India Bill which gave police extra temporary powers in Little India to keep it safe after the December 8 riot.