Tourism and Culture Minister Nazri Abdul Aziz today denied breaking the government's promise that the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) will not be used against government critics.

"I want you to know that I was the minister responsible for the winding-up of Sosma when the prime minister tabled it, in 2009 or 2010, I can't remember.

"And I think Mahathir also always in his blog said that Nazri promised that the law will not be used against politicians or political activities," said the Padang Rengas MP, who was the de facto law minister at the time.

"(But) what I want to say here is that, yes, I kept my promise. That it should not be used for political reasons," Nazri said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur after launching the KL Bike Week 2016.

At a press conference on Tuesday, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad accused Nazri of breaking the government's promise that the preventive law would not be used against any person solely for their political beliefs or activities.

Critics of the law have raised their concerns following the latest arrest and detention of Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah for involvement in alleged activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.

Commenting further, Nazri said Mahathir, as prime minister during the 1987 Ops Lalang dragnet, should know better that such decisions to arrest any individual on grounds of national security lies in the hands of the inspector-general of police.

"The IGP will meet with the prime minister and will say that 'this is a list of people whom I want to arrest for reasons they are a threat to the security of the country'.

"The IGP just shows the list (and) the decision to arrest is only the decision of the IGP alone," he said, claiming it was the "excuse" given by Mahathir to him at the time.

"In 1987, I was a member of the Umno Youth and we went to see him (Mahathir) and asked him why he was arresting all these people," said Nazri.

He added that Mahathir had then said it was the decision of the IGP to do so and even he as prime minister was not informed.

The Ops Lalang saw the arrest and detention of 106 persons under the now abolished Internal Security Act for allegedly being a threat to national security.

"I am only a minister of tourism and culture.

"I have no part at all in that decision to arrest Maria Chin under Sosma," he stressed.

In cautioning Mahathir to stop confusing the people, Nazri also reiterated inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar's stand yesterday that Sosma is not a law only to prevent terrorists.

"The key word here is security.

"If the IGP believes she (Maria) is a threat to security, then the IGP has to explain and he did yesterday," he said.

Khalid said yesterday that Maria was arrested under Section 124C of the Penal Code after police had discovered "documents" which pointed to possible involvement in alleged activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.