Home Ministry: Inactive groups can be deemed 'terrorist' organisations
The law allows for inactive groups, such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), to be deemed a terrorist organisation, according to the Home Ministry.
In a parliamentary written reply to Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham, the Home Ministry said this conclusion was based on Section 66B(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
"The section does not state that...
The law allows for inactive groups, such as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), to be deemed a terrorist organisation, according to the Home Ministry.
In a parliamentary written reply to Beruas MP Ngeh Koo Ham, the Home Ministry said this conclusion was based on Section 66B(1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.
"The section does not state that only active entities can be listed as 'specified entities' (involved in terrorist acts).
"The listing of (the LTTE) was based on intelligence gathered by credible agencies such as the police," the ministry stated.
The Home Ministry added that it had, based on information received in 2014, a strong basis to list the LTTE as a "specified entity" according to Section 66B(1).
"Apart from Malaysia, several other countries had declared the LTTE as a terrorist organisation including India, Canada, the US, and the UK," it said.
The Home Ministry was responding to Ngeh's question on the justification for arresting three DAP figures - G Saminathan, P Gunasekaran, and Suresh Kumar - and others under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.
Specifically to this question, the Home Ministry said the suspects were investigated under Section 130J(1) which states that it is an offence to support a terrorist group or acts of terrorism.
The three DAP figures were among a group of around a dozen people who were charged in October last year for LTTE links.
Most were denied bail and were held in detention until late February after then attorney-general Tommy Thomas dropped the charges.
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