Most Read
Most Commented
Read more like this
mk-logo
News
Release Khairuddin, stop abusing Sosma, Bar tells police
Published:  Oct 2, 2015 7:36 PM
Updated: 11:09 PM

The police must release Umno man Khairuddin Abu Hassan immediately and cease misusing of Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), said Malaysian Bar president Steven Thiru.

“The Malaysian Bar is perturbed by the arrest and detention of Khairuddin, a politician and vocal critic of 1MDB,” he added in a statement today.

He pointed out that the police also appeared to be prevaricating between allegations of offences under Section 124C of the Penal Code and then under Sections 124K and 124L.

“This raises serious concerns over the credibility of the investigations. Police investigations cannot be based on surmise or conjecture,” he stressed.

Khairuddin was re-arrested under Sosma on Sept 23. Prior to that, he was remanded for six days to facilitate investigations under Section 124C of the Penal Code for allegedly attempting to commit activities detrimental to a parliamentary democracy.

The Umno member had lodged complaints against 1MDB in Switzerland, France, the UK, Singapore and Hong Kong.

‘Viewed as an attempt to silent dissent’

Meanwhile, Thiru said an accused person cannot be arrested and held in remand under the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) or for investigative detention under Sosma for the police to begin investigations to discover what, if any, offence has been committed.

“This would be a misuse of the investigative powers of the police, and would be akin to punishment of the accused person prior to a finding of guilt for any offence.

“Moreover, Sosma should not be misused as an extension to remand after the remand has been terminated by the court. This would be oppressive and unjust.

“Indeed, it harks back to the dark days of the Internal Security Act when detainees were subjected to immediate arrest upon succeeding in their habeas corpus applications and being released by the court.

“Sosma should not be abused in any manner, including the manner that the ISA was abused,” he added.

Thiru also noted how Khairuddin had lodged a report with the police over the alleged mismanagement of 1MDB finances in June.

He was then sacked as Batu Kawan Umno division vice-chairperson two months later.

“In this regard, Section 4(3) of Sosma prohibits detention for any political belief or political acts. It would appear that this provision has been inexplicably ignored in this case.

“The lodging of reports with foreign enforcement agencies against a Malaysian corporate entity is not prohibited by our laws and cannot be regarded as being ‘activity detrimental to parliamentary democracy’ or ‘sabotage’ or ‘attempt to commit sabotage’,” he said.

As for Sections 124C, 124K and 124L, Thiru said they dealt with offences against the state.

“Lodging reports against a corporate entity cannot be regarded as an act against the state, even if the company is owned by the state.

“It would therefore appear that the grounds for the arrest and detention of Khairuddin cannot be justified.

“The action taken against Khairuddin is widely perceived as the latest attempt to silence dissent and harass critics who seek answers to the allegations of financial impropriety relating to 1MDB,” he said.

He added that the apparent misuse of Sosma in a case that did not concern “security offences” has a chilling effect, as it discourages witnesses or whistleblowers from providing information or lodging reports against 1MDB.

“It also gives the perception that the mere act of raising questions on 1MDB would be viewed as an attack against the government, and that the government would not hesitate to use legislation, including those intended for ‘security offences’, against critics of 1MDB,” he said.

ADS