FOUR men detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) will seek bail following a high court decision that judges can consider bail applications in terrorism-related cases.

Pressure group Desak Sampai Musnah (DSM) chairman Mahathir Abdul Rahman told The Malaysian Insight that the four are among 86 terror suspects being held under Sosma.

Three of the four were convicted of various terror-related offences and sentenced to lengthy jail terms. They have filed appeals against their convictions.

Mahathir said the court ruling on Friday, that Gadek assemblyman G. Saminathan’s bail application can be considered by a judge, is a positive development for those detained under the security law.

“We have been planning to go to court over Sosma. In light of this development, we will now apply for bail.

“And, we will start with the four who have been charged with Islamic State-related activities, but have not been granted bail.”

Handing down the ruling, judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali said as an independent arm of the government, the judiciary is responsible for checking any excesses by the legislature and executive.

“The principle of separation of powers is the hallmark of a modern state,” he said after allowing the constitutional challenge brought by Saminathan, who is also a Malacca exco.

Saminathan was charged under Sosma with supporting the defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terror group.

Nazlan added that Section 13 of Sosma is ultra vires Articles 8 and 121 of the federal constitution. Sosma limits the power of judges to offer bail only to certain categories of detainees.

On October 31, Saminathan and 11 others claimed trial to possessing LTTE materials and supporting the group via their social media accounts.

The 11 are V. Balamurugan, 37; postman S. Teeran, 38; scrap metal trader A. Kalaimughilan, 36; security officer M. Pumugan, 29; Malacca Green Technology Incorporated chief executive S. Chandru, 38; teacher R. Sundra, 52; technician S. Arivainthan, 27; storekeeper S. Thanagaraj, 26; Seremban Jaya assemblyman P. Gunasekaran, 60; and, DAP members V. Sureshkumar, 43 and B. Subramaniam, 57.

They were charged at separate courts on October 29 and 31 over their alleged links to LTTE.

Mahathir said many Sosma detainees come from poor families and do not have the means to hire lawyers to challenge the act’s controversial provisions.

“Most of them are poor, earning less than RM5,000, and have difficulty engaging lawyers to act for them.”

The authorities would offer them the choice of pleading guilty, and a reduced sentence for doing so, he said.

“If not, they would have to face court and deal with a heavier sentence,” he said, adding that his brother is being held under Sosma.

The four seeking bail have different backgrounds. They are:

* Police lance corporal Mustaza Abdul Rahman, who was jailed for 12 years by the high court in 2017 on three charges;

* Former soldier Nor Azmi Jailani, who was jailed eight years effective April 5, 2015 for his involvement in IS;

* Teacher Razis Awang, who was sentenced to seven years’ jail for supporting IS and keeping pictures of the terror group two years ago; and,

* Bomb-maker Muhammad Izham Razani, who was arrested on November 22 last year on suspicion of learning to make explosives in Jogjakarta, Indonesia. – December 1, 2019.