Its Right to Trial coordinator Azura Nasron said there was a risk that individuals could be wrongly detained because of the ambiguity.

“Security laws that violate the right of fair trial continue to be abused throughout 2021,” she said in Suaram’s latest “Human Rights Overview” report on Malaysia. “Hence, there is a need to clarify the definition of the term ‘public security’ in order to safeguard everyone.”

Azura said a detainee should be provided legal counsel as a pre-trial measure to ensure a fair hearing.

Most of the time, she said, detainees were not given access to legal counsel when providing their statements, which was a clear violation of their rights.

She said there was also a need to revamp the remand order for 28 days under Sosma, adding that the right to extend the detention period should be given to the magistrates rather than the police.

“This should be supplemented by a justification of merits and reasonable grounds for doing so by the investigating officer.

“The court should also be given the power to review all administrative issues,” she said.

Separately, Suaram’s documentation and monitoring coordinator Kenneth Cheng lamented that the use of laws that allow for detention without trial showed no signs of abating.

He said Sosma was used as the go-to law for individuals issuing statements that allegedly incite others or cause public fear.

Cheng also said the Sedition Act and the Communications and Multimedia Act were regularly used against political activists.

“The number of investigations under the two repressive laws increased in 2021. The adoption of the fake news ordinance during the emergency period was also detrimental against free speech in Malaysia,” he said, adding that the freedom of the press was also not spared.

On capital punishment, Cheng said that as of September, the number of inmates on death row in Malaysia was 1,366, with those convicted of drug trafficking making up the majority.