Dr M: Police wants Sosma but govt will review it
KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Police is adamant on retaining the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) to safeguard national security, said Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.
However, he assured the public that the government would evaluate the preventive law, to determine whether amend or abolish it altogether, in order to prevent its abuse.
“Sosma (Section 747) is supposed to safeguard the people from terrorists and criminals with subversive intentions. It is up to the police to decide who falls in the category based on their investigations. It is also up to the police to decide who commits a serious offence or misdemeanour.
“But I have also received a lot of criticism pertaining to the law. So, I suggest that we study the implications carefully as I don’t want innocent people charged wrongfully,” he said, during the Ministerial Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat
The query came about in relation to the arrest of 12 individuals allegedly linked to the defunct Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militant group recently.
On that note, PKR MP S Kesavan asked Mahathir if knew that the previous Barisan Nasional government had provided donations worth US$1 million to the war victims in Sri Lanka, who are predominantly Tamils.
“If the YB (Sungai Siput) has clear evidence, I ask him to lodge a police report so that action can be taken,” said Mahathir.
By Hema Subramaniam
