JOHOR BARU – The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) continues to be classified as a terrorist organisation by the Malaysian government.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution told the parliamentary upper house on March 28 that Putrajaya reviews the classification of such organisations every six months.
“The minister at the time will receive and gather information from various agencies including intelligence and proceed to analyse the data to come to a decision.
“At this moment, LTTE remains a terror group in Malaysia following existing laws,” Saifuddin told the Dewan Negara.
On October 29, 2019, 12 Malaysian individuals including DAP lawmakers G Saminathan and P Gunasekaran, were detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 [Sosma] and charged with supporting the LTTE.
However, on February 21, 2020, then attorney-general Tan Sri Tommy Thomas exercised his constitutional powers to discontinue proceedings against the 12 accused.
Thomas said the common thread among the accused was that they simply had photos of slain LTTE leaders.
However, soon after the takeover of Putrajaya by Perikatan Nasional, former home minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said the government considered taking further action over the dropping of charges against the 12 individuals. – The Vibes, April 1, 2023
