KUALA LUMPUR: The setting up of a court to hear cases under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012 is among the improvements being looked into following a review of the law, says the Home Minister.
Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pic) said by having a special court for Sosma would help to expedite the legal process for such cases.
“We will study the need and suitability of setting up a special court (for Sosma), similar to special criminal courts set up for cases involving corruption, undocumented migrants, sexual crimes against children, human trafficking, environment and cyber crime.
“There is a need for us to consider having this special court so that the offenders don’t face delays as this will then lead to issue of bail,” he said during the ministerial explanation.
Another matter that would be discussed for the proposed amendments to Sosma, said Saifuddin Nasution, is a review of the list of unbailable offences under the Act.
“The government will review the classification of offences under Sosma, in particular strictly non-bailable offences and non-bailable offences where bail may be granted at the court’s discretion, based on the severity of the offence.
“Under the current provisions, bail is not allowed for offences, with the exception of those under Section 13 (2) involving women, those aged below 18 and the elderly or sick.
“The Act currently covers 73 offences. We will reassess which should remain strictly non-bailable and which should allow courts the discretion to grant bail,” he said.
The government, said Saifuddin Nasution, would also study the need to amend Section 30 of the Act to allow detainees to be granted bail while awaiting the legal proceedings of their cases, including trials and appeals
“Following this, a special committee will be formed to review and scrutinise the proposed improvements before tabling any amendment in Parliament.
“The faster that this committee comes up with conclusions, the faster we can table these (amendments),” he said.
The proposals were part of the key directions outlined by the ministry to improve the Act, which has come under criticism for delays in bail hearings and long detention period.
The amendments, he added, were to be tabled in Parliament meeting in July.
Introduced in 2012 as a replacement for the Internal Security Act (ISA), Sosma is aimed at providing special measures relating to security offences for the purpose of maintaining public order and security and related matters.
Like the ISA, it allows preventive detention or security offences.
However, it does not allow for indefinite detention without trial at the Home Minister’s discretion.
Instead, it permits detention in blocks of 28 days at a time, renewable by court order.
Earlier, the MPs were shown a video on violent crime during the special briefing by Saifuddin Nasution.
Before the airing of the video, Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul warned that owing to the graphic nature, it would only be shown to the MPs and was not for public viewing.
“I disallow the video from being shared in public. It would only be shown to MPs,” he said.
He then ordered for the one-minute clip to be shown in Dewan Rakyat with the live feed cut off.
Saifuddin Nasution said during the operations against the criminal group shown in the video, police had seized firearms including rifles, machetes and drugs.
He said ministry’s engagements during the review of the law showed that there were opportunities to ensure a balance between national security and basic human rights.
Earlier this month, around 50 family members of Sosma detainees had staged a hunger strike outside the Sungai Buloh Prison complex after their visitation requests were denied.
On Feb 13, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in Dewan Rakyat that Sosma remains necessary for addressing serious threats such as terrorism.
