In its annual report launched today, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) said Sosma’s use has expanded to organised commercial crimes as well.

Suaram cited as an example the “Heist Syndicate” case in Sabah, where the group was believed to have been responsible for RM24.2 million in bank fraud losses in Kota Kinabalu.

It said there was no need to invoke Sosma as over 50 police officers were working on the case, especially since there was no public indication of the police exhausting remand orders.

Bukit Aman’s commercial crime investigation department director, Ramli Yoosuf, announced in July that Sosma would be applied in the case due to the substantial financial losses it caused.

Suaram documentation and monitoring coordinator Jernell Tan said its annual report also showed amendments to Sosma made this year failed to address key violations of the right to a fair trial, such as detainees’ lack of access to bail.

Section 13(1) of Sosma states that bail shall not be granted to a person who has been charged with a security offence, with exceptions for those below 18 years old, women or sick individuals.

The report noted that the number of shooting incidents involving the police doubled this year, with fatalities more than triple the number last year.

Suaram said it also found a pattern of continued restriction on freedom of expression, citing the case of an activist who exposed the Bajau Laut eviction incident in Sabah and was later investigated under the Sedition Act 1948.

The group reiterated its call for the government to abolish Sosma and the Sedition Act, which it said many other countries have already done away with.

Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy later told reporters there is a lack of effort by the current government to implement further reforms.

“The current government promised reforms (when they were on the opposition bench). (Now) it is mostly ‘no further action’ after bringing (cases) to the Cabinet,” Sevan said.