PETALING JAYA: The Attorney General has no power under the law to interfere in the matters of the Home Minister, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (pic).
He said the inclusion of the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) in the list of terrorist groups was under the purview of the Home Minister, as stated in the laws of the country.
“For the record, besides Malaysia, other countries have also declared and maintained LTTE as a terror group in their list of terrorist groups.
“This includes India, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Muhyiddin was responding to Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas who had dropped 34 charges against 12 Malaysian men who were accused of being involved with the now defunct LTTE.
Muhyiddin said the government had gazetted LTTE as a terrorist organisation in November 2014, and based on latest information from the authorities, he had sufficient proof to maintain it in the list.
“This group is believed to have an ideology that can cause a threat to the safety of the public and the country.
“Therefore, it is the duty of the authorities to take action according to the law to contain the spread of any ideology and activity related to the group,” he said.
Muhyiddin said the listing of LTTE was made under Section 66B (1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds From Illegal Activities Act 2001.
“The listing of the entity is based on the latest intelligence from the authorities such as the police and other agencies,” he said.
Thomas announced the decision to drop the case against the 12 on Friday, saying that this was based on his constitutional discretionary powers after finding insufficient evidence that it would lead to a “no realistic prospect of conviction”.
The 12, including two DAP state assemblymen – Melaka state exco member G. Saminathan and Negri Sembilan assemblyman P. Gunasekaran, were detained under Sosma and charged under Section 130 of the Penal Code for allegedly supporting terrorism and having links to LTTE.
They were detained by the Counter Terrorism Division on Oct 10 and 12, 2019 in various parts of the country.
He said the inclusion of the Liberation of Tamil Tigers Eelam (LTTE) in the list of terrorist groups was under the purview of the Home Minister, as stated in the laws of the country.
“For the record, besides Malaysia, other countries have also declared and maintained LTTE as a terror group in their list of terrorist groups.
“This includes India, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Muhyiddin was responding to Attorney General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas who had dropped 34 charges against 12 Malaysian men who were accused of being involved with the now defunct LTTE.
Muhyiddin said the government had gazetted LTTE as a terrorist organisation in November 2014, and based on latest information from the authorities, he had sufficient proof to maintain it in the list.
“This group is believed to have an ideology that can cause a threat to the safety of the public and the country.
“Therefore, it is the duty of the authorities to take action according to the law to contain the spread of any ideology and activity related to the group,” he said.
Muhyiddin said the listing of LTTE was made under Section 66B (1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds From Illegal Activities Act 2001.
“The listing of the entity is based on the latest intelligence from the authorities such as the police and other agencies,” he said.
Thomas announced the decision to drop the case against the 12 on Friday, saying that this was based on his constitutional discretionary powers after finding insufficient evidence that it would lead to a “no realistic prospect of conviction”.
The 12, including two DAP state assemblymen – Melaka state exco member G. Saminathan and Negri Sembilan assemblyman P. Gunasekaran, were detained under Sosma and charged under Section 130 of the Penal Code for allegedly supporting terrorism and having links to LTTE.
They were detained by the Counter Terrorism Division on Oct 10 and 12, 2019 in various parts of the country.
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