HOME Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has been urged to reconsider his stance on the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) which denies bail to those charged under the law. 

The latest call came from Damansara MP Gobind Singh Deo who described the minister’s position on the issue as being at odds with Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) stance, which has acknowledged it to be “problematic”. 

“Whilst we accept that there is a need for laws to deal with the security of the nation, we cannot deny the fact that Sosma is oppressive in nature,” Gobind said in a Facebook post. 

Gobind has now joined a chorus of calls for the law to be reviewed. 

Earlier today, Lawyers for Liberty director Zaid Malek said the PH-led government cannot defend the draconian law against which the coalition voted in parliament earlier this year when it was the opposition. 

Rights group Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) has demanded that Putrajaya repeal the provision that denies bail to detainees and restore the role of the magistrate in granting remand orders. 

They commented on a statement from Saifuddin yesterday that the government had no intention of reviewing Sosma. 

“There is certainly much to be done in order to remove these draconian aspects of Sosma. We in Harapan have been consistent in our call for change. 

“When faced with legislation oppressive in nature, discussions must be held and points of view taken moving ahead in line with our push for reforms,” said Gobind. 

Gobind pointed to Section 4 of Sosma that allows for an individual to be detained for a period of up to 28 days and held without access to the court. 

He said there was no check and balance on the powers of the investigating authorities during this period of time, adding that this allowed for abuse not only during wrongful arrests but also in the course of investigations, which must not be allowed. 

“There ought to be that process which allows a person detained access to the court during that time. This is why we in Harapan voted against the motion brought by the previous home minister to extend Section 4(5) of Sosma in parliament on March 23,” Gobind added. – December 14, 2022.