PM orders Home Ministry to review Sosma

Summary

• Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim orders the Home Ministry to review the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012

• Government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil says Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail will explain more in Parliament next week.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim ordered the Home Ministry to review the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), said government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil today.

According to Fahmi, the cabinet has agreed in principle that the law needs some improvement and that Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail will elaborate when he briefs the Parliament next week.

"The prime minister has asked for Sosma to be reviewed. InsyaAllah the minister in charge will explain more about this in the Parliament next week," said Fahmi (above), who is also the communications minister, in a press conference after a weekly cabinet meeting in Putrajaya earlier today.

He added that it was decided following yesterday's announcement where Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat that Putrajaya would table a bill to amend the Peaceful Assembly Act.

Yesterday, a group of former Pakatan Harapan MPs penned a statement urging the government to repeal Sosma, saying that the time has come for its abolishment.

The call followed a police arrest on Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy two days ago for allegedly trespassing the Home Ministry headquarters in Putrajaya during a protest on Monday.

In the statement signed by Ong Kian Ming, Khalid Samad, Kasthuri Patto, Amin Ahmad and Maria Chin Abdullah, the former MPs stressed the need to revisit the necessity of Sosma.

"It is time for the Home Ministry to take responsibility and be accountable for the treatment of the Sosma detainees.

"There had been too many reports and protests by detainees of poor treatment and long delays in their court hearings. Such abuse of the procedure must end," they said.

Recent issues

Also during the press conference, Fahmi did not dismiss that the calls for Sosma review had to do with several issues surrounding the law.

"Surely (it was connected to) what happened recently, among others, and the government will from time to time study if there is the need to improve any law," he said.

Recently, the family members of 32 Sosma detainees claimed that authorities beat up the men in the Sungai Buloh Prison.

The wife of one of the detainees lodged a police report alleging assault on her spouse.

Saifuddin has since denied this but said the police would continue to investigate the allegations made.

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