Govt to refine Sosma to address human rights concerns but retain it as a key law against terrorism, organised crime and national security threats.
PETALING JAYA: The government will refine the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) to address concerns over its provisions, while retaining it as a key law to tackle serious security threats, the Home Ministry said.
In a written reply to the Dewan Rakyat yesterday, the ministry acknowledged concerns raised by various parties regarding certain provisions that are perceived to affect human rights.
“As such, improvements to Sosma will be undertaken while ensuring the law remains relevant as a safeguard for national security, without neglecting the protection of individual human rights and the rule of law, which form the foundation of Malaysia’s democracy.
“Sosma remains a crucial legal instrument needed to address complex and structured security threats,” it added.
The ministry said this in response to Ramkarpal Singh (Bukit Gelugor–PH), who asked whether the Act would be repealed or at least amended for improvements.
“Sosma is necessary to tackle activities such as terrorism, organised crime syndicates, migrant smuggling and threats to national sovereignty that cannot be effectively addressed through ordinary criminal law procedures,” it stressed.
Previously, Ramkarpal had called on the government to repeal or amend Sosma, citing concerns over its misuse.
He highlighted the detention of a 16-year-old girl under Sosma on Jan 14 as an example of how the law could be wrongly applied, particularly against minors, who should instead be handled under the Child Act.
Ramkarpal questioned whether this case reflected a clear abuse of the legislation and called for greater transparency on Sosma detentions.
Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (Kubang Kerian–PN) also raised concerns about the lack of public and parliamentary knowledge regarding Sosma cases.
Ramkarpal urged the Home Ministry to act urgently, emphasising that even the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform), Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said, had acknowledged that the law may be unfair.
