Satisfied with dragnet briefing, Dr M says cops had no choice but to use Sosma

Amid criticism from within Pakatan Harapan, Dr Mahathir Mohamad defended the police's move to use the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) to detain those accused of having links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The prime minister said the police had no choice but to use Sosma, which allows for suspects to be detained without trial for 28 days, in the absence of other laws.

Mahathir was asked if he agreed with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim who argued that certain provisions in Sosma were harsh.

"Well..the Sosma Act is still there.

"So, in the absence of other laws that could be applied, they used the Sosma Act," he told reporters in Petaling Jaya this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Mahathir also said he was satisfied with the police's explanation in connection with the arrest of 12 individuals, including two DAP assemblypersons, in the LTTE crackdown.

“I was briefed by the police.

"They stated the reasons behind their actions. I am satisfied with their explanation on why they needed to take such action," he added.

Sosma was enacted by the previous administration to deal with security matters following the repeal of the Internal Security Act, which allowed for detention without trial for two years.

The ISA had ganied notoriety when it was used against political opponents and to silent dissent, especially in the infamous Operasi Lalang during 1987 during Mahathir's first tenure as premier.

Meanwhile, during the time of former premier Najib Abdul Razak, Sosma was also used against critics.

The Pakatan Harapan coalition had pleged to dismantle draconian legislation, including Sosma.

For the record, Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said that the bill to amend Sosma is still being reviewed by the Attorney-General's Chambers.

However, it was not tabled in the parliament session in July, and does not appear in the curent session's schedule of government business in the Dewan Rakyat.

So far, Bukit Aman's counter-terrorism division has detained 12 individuals over their alleged links to LTTE. - Mkini