DAP's Gobind speaks out against minister's defence of Sosma

Damansara MP Gobind Singh Deo today urged his Pakatan Harapan (PH) colleague, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution, to reconsider his position on the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, describing it as at odds with the stance of PH as a whole acknowledging the law as "problematic". 

In a statement, Gobind said PH had been consistent in its call for change. 

"When faced with legislation oppressive in nature, discussions must be held and points of view taken moving ahead in line with our push for reforms," he said. 

Saifuddin had said at a press conference on Dec 13 that the government had no intention of reviewing the act, known by its abbreviation of Sosma.

He said Sosma allowed the court process to take place, and compared it to its predecessor, the Internal Security Act, saying that under Sosma, the period is "only 28 days". 

He also said that arrests under Sosma were only done on "reliable intelligence and evidence". 

Gobind said while laws are needed to deal with national security, there was no denying the fact that Sosma was "oppressive in nature". 

He also cited remarks in 2019 by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim himself that Sosma should be amended and improved for the benefit of all parties as it had been deemed "too harsh".

He referred to Section 4 of the act which permits a person to be detained for a period of up to 28 days and for detention without access to court. 

"There is therefore no check and balance on the powers of the investigating authorities during this period of time. This allows for abuse not only in point of wrongful arrests but also during the course of investigations which must not be allowed.

"There ought to be that process which allows a person detained access to court during that time. This is why we in PH voted against the motion brought by the previous home minister to extend Section 4(5) of Sosma in Parliament on March 23," he said. 

Even after an accused is charged, he said, there remained other problems which, taken together, could mean "years in court". 

"The trial and appeals process is lengthy, which means that an accused in a case like this would be held in custody for indefinite periods of time even after an acquittal which is certainly harsh and oppressive.

"There is certainly much to be done in order to remove these draconian aspects of Sosma," he said.