This comes in the wake of a crackdown on 12 people accused of links with the militant Tamil Tigers group of Sri Lanka who have been charged with a host of terrorism-related offences.

PKR said while it was against terrorism, its stand on Sosma remains.

“PKR believes many provisions in Sosma must be amended so that the act conforms to the principles of universal human rights that PKR has fought for all this while,” the party said in a statement on behalf of its political bureau.

It also urged the police to announce the list of organisations labelled as terrorists in Malaysia, saying it would help prevent the public from getting involved in them.

Sosma is one of six laws that the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition promised to repeal or amend before the general election last year.

The others are the Sedition Act 1948, the Prevention of Crime Act 1959, the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015, the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 and the Peaceful Assembly Act.

But its continued use, especially in the recent arrests including that of DAP members, has seen renewed criticism from rights groups as well as ruling MPs on PH’s commitment to fulfilling its election manifesto.

Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Oct 14 said the law, seen as a replacement for the abolished Internal Security Act but which retains police powers to detain suspects without trial, was used as there was no other suitable law to fight terrorism.

“Well, Sosma is still there, so in the absence of other laws that can be applied, they used Sosma,” the prime minister said.