PETALING JAYA: The Attorney General has been urged not to appeal the High Court decision which granted Gadek assemblyman G. Saminathan's application for an order to compel the Sessions Court to hear his application for bail.
In welcoming the High Court's decision, the Malaysian Bar said that the provision in Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) denying bail is unconstitutional.
Its president, Datuk Abdul Fareed Abdul Gafoor (pic) said Section 13 of Sosma, which denies bail to a person who has been charged with a security offence goes against Article 8 (on equality) and Article 121 (on judicial power of the federation) of the Federal Constitution is "repugnant" and "antithetical".
"The decision of the High Court is historic as it recognises that Section 13 of Sosma is ultra vires to Articles 8 and 121 of the Federal Constitution.
"Malaysia's experience with laws that undermine and detract from the doctrine of separation of powers, as well as from inherent judicial power of the courts have been a bane on our legislative landscape," he said in a press statement on Tuesday (December 3).
"In a new Malaysia, we expect the Executive to take a more nuanced and circumspect approach to court decisions, instead of just adopting a knee-jerk, mechanical approach, when decisions do not go in its favour," said Abdul Fareed.
In his decision, Justice Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali ruled that Section 13 of Sosma goes against Articles 8 and 121 of the Federal Constitution.
G. Saminathan was one of the 12 men currently detained for alleged links to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
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