A. JASTINA Jane has been lying to her son for a year, telling the 10-year-old that his father is working overseas.

The truth is, S. Somasundram, 35, has been detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) since July 18 last year. He is facing charges for alleged involvement in gang activities.

“They say he is a 04 Gang member. He is not. He doesn’t even know the other 45 detainees in jail with him over the same (alleged) offence,” said 35-year-old housewife Jastina.

“They don’t know my husband, and he doesn’t know them. He was running his own lorry business. Until today, he is not sure what got him in jail.”

Since Somasundram, who was the family’s sole breadwinner, was taken from their rented home last year, Jastina and her son have been force to depend on her elderly in-laws.

She cannot work due to a kidney ailment, and must have someone go on school runs for her child.

She is three months behind on her car loan, and her insurance coverage has defaulted after she ran out of money to pay the premium.

“Who would give me a job, when I have to run errands for my son and seek treatment for my kidney problem? What employer would give me every Wednesday off?”

Jastina visits her husband at Penang Prison every Wednesday. All Sosma detainees are allowed visitors once a week, for 45 minutes.

Mother-of-three N. Kala, 31, visits her detainee husband, S. Thannimalai, 36, on Wednesdays, too. Thannimalai and his brother, S. Thinagaraja, 29, were also arrested on July 18 last year.

Kala, who runs a sundry shop in Tanjung Bungah, said her husband was a hotel chef, while her brother-in-law took care of the family’s cows.

“They are not 04 Gang members. They don’t know the others detained with them. They don’t know why they are there.

“When I see them every week, it is through a piece of glass. They are not allowed to say much.”

Most Sosma detainees are working-class Indians accused of gang involvement. Under Section 13 of the act, detainees are not allowed bail even after they have been charged.

Bagan Dalam assemblyman M. Satees, who is secretary-general of civil society group Malaysian Tamil Kular, said if the alleged offence is bailable, then bail should not be denied.

“If these Sosma detainees are found not guilty at the end, who will compensate them for the time they’ve spent in jail?” he said during a press conference at Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy’s office today.

More than 30 family members of Sosma detainees were present.

Ramasamy said the Pakatan Harapan government must amend Sosma to allow detainees bail after they are charged.

The DAP leader urged the government to debate the matter and amend Section 13 of the act in the upcoming Dewan Rakyat sitting, which starts on July 16.

“Sosma allows a person to be detained for 28 days for investigations. But after they are charged, they remain in jail for as long as the court proceedings take, until the cases are disposed of.

“This has split families. The provision is cruel. How can Sosma be considered better than the repealed ISA (Internal Security Act)?”

He said the PH administration has to be different from Barisan Nasional, describing the latter as a “wicked regime”.

“Are those detainees a threat? The former BN government could give (controversial Muslim preacher) Zakir Naik permanent resident status, even though his own country, India, says he is a terrorist.

“PH has to be different from BN. We have to know what we stand for.

“We have to move with the times, in the laws we make and implement. Laws must be in line with the change of government and its policies.

“It has been over a month since we took Putrajaya. The honeymoon is over.”

Ramasamy cited how the last administration had repealed ISA, and how Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had ordered the release of ISA detainees when he first took over the government in the early 1980s.

Malaysian Tamil Kular leader David Marshel said Sosma was meant to be an anti-terrorism law, but many of its detainees are held over their alleged involvement in organised crime or gangs.

He said gangsterism is a social problem, and does not fall under terrorism.

“At the Dewan Rakyat, when the Sosma Bill was passed, PH had 77 MPs who voted against it. Most are still MPs today, and now government backbenchers.

“We hope they will take this up again, and push for Section 13, which denies detainees bail, to be amended in the upcoming sitting.”

He said roadshows highlighting the matter will be held in Perak, Negri Sembilan, Kuala Lumpur and Johor.

“We will also have a gathering at Parliament on July 16 if the Home Ministry doesn’t issue statements on the matter.” – June 21, 2018.