“The decision whether to abolish or not must be made by the democratically elected government of the day, through debate and decision in Parliament. The security forces must not be dragged into such matters,” said Lawyers for Liberty in a statement.
Its adviser N Surendran said any move to seek approval from the security forces to repeal a law “creates a dangerous precedent”, adding that it amounted to “endorsing a police state”.
Yesterday, former prime minister Najib, under whose administration Sosma was approved, defended Sosma as a law that saves lives and properties, adding that any move to abolish it should be referred to the security authorities in advance.
Surendran said the question was whether Sosma was repugnant to the rule of law and democratic freedoms.
“It is not about the expediency of the moment, but about upholding the constitution. It is shocking that Najib and the Barisan Nasional fail to grasp this important principle,” he said.
Surendran said Sosma was in blatant contravention of the fundamental rights guaranteed in the constitution and that it deprived Malaysians of the right to a fair trial.
“It belongs in the trash heap of history. But it is not surprising that Najib and other BN leaders do not want Sosma to be repealed. Oppressive laws such as Sosma were used by the BN to persecute political opponents.”
He added that offences relating to terrorism could be dealt with using the penal code.
“The existing provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code which allows arrest and remand in police custody up to 14 days are more than adequate to deal with terrorism and other serious offences.”
Sosma, passed in 2016 amid protests from then opposition PH, is among laws that the coalition, now in power in Putrajaya, had promised to repeal.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently confirmed that the government would go ahead abolishing Sosma, widely seen as a replacement for the Internal Security Act (ISA).
The law allows police to detain a person for a maximum of 28 days, while delaying his access to family and legal counsel for up to 48 hours after being arrested.