The former Iskandar Puteri MP said the unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should make the legal reforms a top priority to end abuses of Sosma.

Lim said the previous administration, under then prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, started consultations with stakeholders but needed more time to execute a Cabinet decision made during Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s tenure as prime minister in 2019.

“Anwar’s government should complete the consultations started by Ismail’s administration on the repeal of the draconian provisions in Sosma, and table the amendments to the Act in the February session of the Dewan Rakyat,” he said in a statement.

He added that he was one of 99 Pakatan Harapan MPs who voted against the extension of Section 4(5) of Sosma for another five years in the Dewan Rakyat session last July.

Section 4(5) of Sosma allows the police to detain a person suspected of being involved in terrorist activities for a period not exceeding 28 days for investigations, without a court order.

This sub-section is to be reviewed every five years and will cease to have effect unless, upon the review, a resolution is passed by both the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara to extend the provision’s period of operation.

Last week, home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail indicated that the government will not be reviewing Sosma. This led to a backlash from several quarters, including members of the PH-led unity government, PH MPs, human rights NGOs, and activists. They accused PH of backtracking on reforming the law.

However, repealing Sosma was not among the pledges listed in the PH manifesto for the recent general election (GE15).

Saifuddin later acknowledged that certain provisions in Sosma will need to be reviewed “from time to time”, though the minister reiterated there will not be any amendments to the Act for now.