MIC not against Sosma, but should be used with discretion

 

MIC president SA Vigneswaran firmly believes the party is not against the highly controversial Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

However, he urged the government and authorities to use the Act specifically to combat violence or terrorism.

“MIC respects the rule of law and understands the constraints faced by the police.

“However, Sosma should only be used for cases such as terrorism and not arbitrarily on individuals suspected of a crime,” he said during his speech at the “Madani Government: Educational Development and Future of Indians” programme in Shah Alam today.

Vigneswaran added that there were other legal provisions, apart from Sosma, that could be used to nab suspected criminals.

He stressed that MIC's stance on the matter was not political but premised on protecting human rights as enshrined under the Federal Constitution.

"The due process must be respected," he said.

Sosma is a controversial law which allows up to 28 days of detention.

The law also allowed for a police officer not below the rank of the superintendent to deny a detainee access to their next of kin or lawyer for up to 48 hours if there were reasonable grounds to do so.

Detainee rights under the Criminal Procedure Code - including the right to immediate access to a lawyer - do not apply under Sosma.

Furthermore, the constitutional requirement for a magistrate's remand order to be sought if a detainee had to be detained for more than 24 hours does not apply if Sosma was invoked.

It was reported in March that there were 624 arrests made under Sosma in 2022, of which, 401 individuals were convicted.

Another 71 were charged and awaiting trial, while another 12 are currently undergoing trial. There were 140 detainees who got freed later. - Mkini