PETALING JAYA: The night before the Bersih 5 rally in 2016, Maria Chin Abdullah, then chairman of Bersih 2.0, was arrested under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012, known as Sosma.
For 11 days, she was held without bail, accused of plotting a “colour revolution” to undermine parliamentary democracy, charges of which she denied.
She said she was held without evidence and denied a fair trial.
“It was a stark reminder of how Sosma can be weaponised to silence dissent,” she said.
Maria was also detained under Section 124C of the Criminal Procedure Code for allegedly engaging in activity “detrimental to parliamentary democracy”.
“As someone who was arrested and charged under Sosma, I strongly condemn any attempt to defend or amend this cruel legislation,” she added.
In the report by the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC), it cited her case, alongside the detentions of activists Lim Kian Aik and R. Nathan in 2020, Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan in 2015, and an unnamed teenager held for two years starting in 2019.
In 2020, Lim and Nathan were detained under Sosma over alleged sabotage of Selangor’s water services. Both were held without bail. The Court of Appeal later found the charges fell outside Sosma’s remit and ordered them dropped.
In 2015, Khairuddin, a vocal critic of the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, was detained under Sosma.
In the case of an unnamed 18-year-old detained in Petaling Jaya in 2019, the PSSC report said the teenager remained in custody for two years, far exceeding normal limits under criminal law, with minimal court oversight.
The committee recommended tightening provisions that allow detention for up to 28 days without judicial oversight and restrict access to bail, emphasising the need to restore judicial discretion and prevent abuse of power.
It also highlighted the law’s human cost which included psychological strain, financial hardship and limited legal access for detainees and their families.
Maria said Sosma bypasses the courts, undermines the rule of law and inflicts harm on individuals and their families.
“When I became a Member of Parliament in 2018, I recalled the parliamentary debate in which Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is then in the opposition, defended the continuation of Sosma in the name of national security.
“Ironically, eight years later, PKR, the very party that once called for Sosma’s repeal, is now justifying and seeking amendments to this draconian law, claiming it is necessary to balance security concerns with efforts to combat terrorism and organised crime,” she added.
Maria said any law must comply with the Federal Constitution and goes in line with transparency, accountability and justice.
“Piecemeal amendments to Sosma are futile – like trying to make a rotten egg edible,” she said.
This, she added, echoed the challenge raised by Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim in Parliament that the government has yet to prove that existing laws are insufficient to address these threats.
