PUTRAJAYA, Feb 14 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today directed Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution to review and “improve” the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, a law that human rights groups have described as draconian.
“PM had asked for Sosma to be reviewed and studied. God-willing, the home affairs minister will appear in Parliament to explain,” Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing here.
“But in principle there are a few issues that had been agreed upon for improvement or reviewed,” he added.
Today’s Cabinet decision came just a day after Anwar justified keeping the controversial law that was introduced to replace the colonial-era Internal Security Act, which allowed for arbitrary detention without trial.
The government at the time said a law like Sosma, which lets the authorities detain a person up to 28 days, was needed in the face of growing terrorism and organised crime.
In Parliament yesterday, Anwar used the same justification to keep the Act but said it should not be abused to silence political opposition.
Human rights groups in particular have continued to call for any laws that allow for prolonged detention to be repealed, including Sosma.
Many within Anwar’s Pakatan Harapan self-styled reformist coalition are also critical of the law.
Yesterday, DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng called for Sosma to be reviewed following some backlash over the recent police questioning of Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy in connection with a hunger strike by the families of Sosma detainees.
