The government has tabled a motion in the Dewan Rakyat to extend the controversial 28 days of detention without trial under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) to another five years.

The motion is listed as the eighth item in the Order Paper for this session of Parliament.

"That this House resolves that pursuant to sub-section 4(11) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 to extend the enforcement sub-section 4(5) of this Act for another 5 years beginning from July 31,2017," the Order Paper states.

Section 4(11) of Sosma stipulates that Section 4(5) of the same Act, to be reviewed every five years, and shall cease to have effect unless a resolution is passed in Parliament to extend the period of operation of the provision.

Section 4(5) of the Act allows a police officer of or above the rank of superintendent to extend the period of detention against a person for a period of not more than 28 days, for the purpose of investigation.

Sosma was passed by the Dewan Rakyat on April 17, 2012, to replace the Internal Security Act 1960 (ISA), after longstanding complaints that the ISA is a draconian law and prone to abuse.

The opposition and civil society have raised concerns of Sosma being misused for political purposes and to quell dissidents, particularly the detention of Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah, former Batu Kawan Umno division vice-chief Khairuddin Abu Hassan and his lawyer Matthias Chang.

Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed has said that the 28-day detention is enough for police to conduct an in-depth investigation on high-risk suspects who may be planning dangerous plots and pose to be serious security threats.

"There had been some issues raised in the past regarding the Act where some disputed that the 28 days of detention for suspects detained for investigation under the Act is too long.

"The 28 days are adequate for police to conduct in-depth investigations on the suspects detained, inclusive of local and international checks,” Nur Jazlan was quoted as saying in a March 25 New Straits Times report.