Failure of Sosma motion doesn’t affect support for govt, say analysts

 

The MoU signed between the government and Pakatan Harapan will not be affected by the Sosma motion defeat, unlike the non-tabling of an anti-hopping bill or a bill to limit the prime minister’s term, two analysts say.

PETALING JAYA: The government’s failure to extend a provision under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) will have no adverse effect on the prime minister and his administration, according to two political analysts.

James Chin.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute told FMT he believed it would “not add any further pressure on Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to dissolve Parliament”.

He was referring to a push from Umno for an early general election following Barisan Nasional’s victory in the recent Johor polls.

Azmi Hassan of the Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research said the failure of the government motion was not representative of the support the prime minister currently had.

On Wednesday, home minister Hamzah Zainudin’s motion to extend subsection 4(5) of Sosma for another five years was voted down in the Dewan Rakyat. Eighty-six MPs voted against it and 85 for it. Forty-nine MPs were absent.

The subsection enables police to detain a suspect for a maximum of 28 days without trial.

Critics have described Sosma as draconian, and Chin noted its wide unpopularity.

“The reality is the government does not actually need Sosma because there are plenty of other laws the police can use,” he said.

Azmi Hassan.

Azmi told FMT the failure of the motion was indicative of displeasure with the home minister rather than the prime minister.

He also said the failure of 49 MPs to attend the voting reflected poorly on elected representatives in general.

Bagan Datuk MP and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and former prime minister Najib Razak, who is the Pekan MP, were among the absentees.

Following the vote, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan urged the government to review its reform pact with Pakatan Harapan, labelling the opposition coalition as “untrustworthy”.

Communications and multimedia minister Annuar Musa said PH’s action of rejecting the motion had essentially nullified its MoU with Ismail’s administration.

But Chin and Azmi said Sosma had nothing to do with the MoU. They both said what would make or break the agreement would be the tabling of the anti-hopping law and a bill to limit the prime minister’s term.

Draconian, but a good law to fight security offences, says lawyer

A lawyer said Sosma is still a good law to combat security offences although it is draconian.

S Selvam said police could still use the law to commence investigations but on limited grounds, despite the defeat of the motion in the Dewan Rakyat.

He said a police officer could detain any person believed to be involved in security offences for 24 hours for investigations as provided for under section 4(4) of Sosma.

“Police could record statements from suspects during the brief detention period and charge them the following day,” he said.

This meant the police would have to collect other evidence first before making an arrest as the final phase of the investigation process, he said.

However, lawyer T Harpal Singh said accused persons could also be denied bail pending the outcome of their appeals in the Federal Court.

“A suspect’s statement recorded during investigation can be admitted as evidence during trial,” he said.

Further, he said, Sosma gave protection to the identity of prosecution witnesses when they gave evidence.

Harpal said the presentation of evidence under Sosma had made it much easier for the prosecution to secure a conviction against the accused.

“Sosma procedures are an affront to the rule of law and fair trial to the accused persons,” he added. - FMT