The Special Select Committee on Defence and Home Affairs has summoned the police to explain their continued use of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), despite Pakatan Harapan’s pledge to abolish draconian provisions in the Act.
According to committee member Lim Lip Eng, who is also the Kepong MP, representatives from Bukit Aman, the Home Ministry and Attorney-General's Chambers attended a closed-door meeting yesterday.
“We summoned the police to explain why they used Sosma to arrest 12 people with suspected ties to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
“Since the Pakatan Harapan government has promised to abolish (Sosma), today (Wednesday) the Bukit Aman Special Branch's Counter-Terrorism Division chief Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, the Home Ministry, and the AGC came to report to us,” Lim told Malaysiakini yesterday.
He declined to elaborate on the meeting, except to say that it lasted about an hour.
Lim (photo) said the committee could not reveal more about yesterday’s proceedings and whether it is satisfied with the explanation given.
Asked what the committee’s next course of action would be, committee member Chang Lih Kang said the committee would monitor whether the AGC would press charges against the suspects after the 28-day detention period.
It is understood that apart from Ayob Khan, others who testified before the committee yesterday were Home Ministry Security Division secretary Yusran Shah Mohd Yusof and AGC deputy commissioner for Law Revision and Law Reform II Farhana Rabidin.
As for the select committee, those in attendance were its chairperson Mansor Othman (PKR), Labis MP Pang Hok Liong (DAP), Papar MP Ahmad Hassan (Warisan), Chang (PKR) who is the Tanjong Malim MP, and Lim (DAP).
Bersatu’s Kudat MP Abd Rahim Bakri had left the meeting midway through its proceedings to rejoin debates in the main parliamentary chamber.
On Oct 10, police have detained seven suspects for up to 28 days under Sosma, including two DAP assemblypersons P Gunasekaran and G Saminathan, over suspected LTTE links.
Police detained another five people on Oct 12, bringing the total to 12 people.
PKR president Anwar Ibrahim had urged the special select committee not to put pressure on police investigations but said using Sosma against the suspects is “too harsh”. - Mkini
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