PETALING JAYA: Pakatan Harapan (PH) should repeal the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) to honour its pledge to abolish all repressive laws, Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) said today.
Its director, Melissa Sasidaran, said failure to do away with the legislation would be at the expense of the Malaysia Baru vow to uphold justice and human rights.
She pointed out that the government’s excuse to not abolish Sosma was the same as that of the previous administration under Barisan Nasional (BN).
She said in a statement that the current government need not be reminded that Sosma had been abused in the past to target dissidents and the opposition then.
“Oppressive laws cannot magically transform into just and acceptable laws simply because PH is in power now,” she added.
Melissa said there was no justification in using laws such as Sosma, which promoted oppression and torture, to secure convictions at all cost.
“Sosma is a procedural law that excludes fundamental safeguards found in the Criminal Procedure Code, Evidence Act and other laws. It allows for a show trial that almost inevitably leads to a conviction,” she said.
“This makes a mockery of the rule of law and our criminal justice system. Sosma falls short of international standards of fair trial, which is a fundamental right for anyone facing a criminal charge,” she added.
Melissa explained that under Sosma, evidence obtained by oppression, torture or even fabrication, which was normally inadmissible, was admissible under the legislation, rendering it unfair to the person on trial.
She said the accused person would not be able to challenge the evidence as it allowed witnesses to testify anonymously.
Sosma was thrust into the limelight again in recent days after it was used to arrest a total of 12 individuals for allegedly supporting Sri Lankan terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, also known as the Tamil Tigers.
The 12 included DAP assemblymen G. Saminathan and P. Gunasekaren.
On Wednesday, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin defended the use of Sosma, saying the law was still needed to fight terrorism on the local and international fronts.
He also said the PH manifesto did not single out Sosma for repeal, but that it could be reviewed.
“We still feel that Sosma is needed. We see current issues on terrorism are worrying,” he said.
“If we don’t have these legal instruments, they (terrorists) will escape the law and pose a threat to national security,” he added.
