[UPDATED] Dewan Rakyat votes to extend Sosma’s 28-day detention provision

KUALA LUMPUR – The Dewan Rakyat today passed the motion to extend Section 4(5) of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) – which grants police the power to detain individuals for up to 28 days – for another five years.

The extension will come into effect from July 31, 2022.

The motion was passed via bloc voting where 105 voted in the affirmative compared to 83 who voted no, while 32 were absent.

During the debate of the motion, a fierce commotion erupted numerous times as lawmakers interjected and argued with each other over the justification of the 28-day detention

The government and government-friendly lawmakers largely posited that the extension was necessary to empower the police to investigate complicated and organised crimes.

However, the opposition lawmakers have largely rubbished this argument, stating the danger of the law being misused for political reasons including detainees having a lack of access to justice.

Before the start of the debate, Gobind Singh Deo (Puchong-PH) suggested that if Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun were to be detained under Sosma, he too would demand justice and appropriate treatment under the law.

Azhar then retorted in jest that he would never commit any crime to be detained under Sosma.

This drew a massive response from the opposition lawmakers including the leader of the bloc, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

“Speaker, please don’t be arrogant, if there is any political decision that is made against you speaker...if you know the history of this country since independence, I believe you understand.

“You are simplifying the matter,” said Anwar, alluding to his personal experience in detention under the now defunct Internal Security Act (ISA).

Gobind also argued that Sosma detainees have complained of police brutality during their detention and they were not made known of their alleged crime throughout the period and were barred from meeting their families or even legal representatives.

“Yes, the law is there to help with investigations but we must not forget that those detained also have rights as prescribed under the federal constitution,” he said.

During his debate, Hanipa Maidin (Sepang-PH) also argued why the need for Dewan Rakyat to vote on the move again after it was rejected.

“It was already rejected and mind you the motion was largely defeated because government lawmakers had failed to show up back then.

“So why are we trying to rectify their mistake?” he said.

He also pointed out that the police have numerous other provisions under the law to carry out their duty effectively.

During his winding-up speech, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin strongly objected to the notion that Sosma detainees were prevented from seeing their legal representatives or facing abuse by the police.

Hamzah was also vexed by Gobind’s suggestion for further debates to improve procedures under Sosma.

“I have even informed in the previous (Parliament) session, that is what we need, we passed the law first then we discuss further so that we can amend the law,” he said.

Previously on March 23, the motion was defeated via bloc vote, with 86 voting against while 84 voted to renew the tenure for the provision.

On the said day, 49 lawmakers were absent during the bloc vote, some of whom were seen actively debating the motion prior to the vote. – The Vibes, July 20, 2022