Abolish, or at least amend SOSMA by Feb 2026, says DAP leader

DAP legal bureau chief Ramkarpal Singh has called for the abolishment of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA). If that is impossible it has to be amended as the act is contrary to the Madani government’s reformists agenda.

“The Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (SOSMA) ought to be abolished or at the very least, amended to remove various draconian features in it which are clearly contrary to the government’s reformists agenda,” he said in a statement.

He also supported calls by Suaram to have SOSMA at least amended by February next year.

“As the matter has been raised on numerous occasions in the past, I am in full agreement with the statement by Suaram yesterday that the amendments should be tabled in Parliament at the latest by February, 2026.”

Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail had said in February this year that SOSMA would be reviewed but there has been no developments since.

Ramkarpal who is also Bukit Gelugor MP pointed out that two particularly disturbing sections – section 13 and 30. Section 13 restricts those who can obtain bail and section 30 makes remand mandatory for those who have been acquitted.

He also reminded that this is a feature that also makes many accused plead guilty.

“It is obvious that the said provisions are draconian as they completely remove the discretion of the courts in the granting of bail and the remand of persons acquitted of security offences, which also offends the principle of separation of powers.

“In the circumstances, I had proposed for section 13 to be amended to give the courts the discretion to allow bail in all security offences depending on the facts and circumstances of a given case and also for section 30 to be amended to give the courts the discretion to remand acquitted persons pending appeal, again, based on the facts and circumstances of a given case, which is similar to the powers of the court in other cases under sections 56A and 88 of the Courts of Judicature Act, 1964.

“The government cannot ignore the reality that security offences can take up to a few years to conclude which have resulted in many accused persons opting to plead guilty as most of them are denied bail pending trial.

“From our stakeholder engagements back then, we found that many of these accused persons chose to plead guilty for the sake of expediency as trial dates were often fixed months, if not years later.

“I am also in agreement with Suaram’s proposal that section 4(5) of SOSMA be repealed to allow the courts the power to allow remands of those being investigated for security offences beyond 24 hours as is provided for under the Criminal Procedure Code which allows for greater court oversight that can prevent torture and ill-treatment in custody.

“Since stakeholder engagements have already been held since at least 2023, there is no reason to further delay these amendments which can easily be done in the next Parliamentary sitting in February, 2026,” said Ramkarpal who was a deputy minister of law and institutional reforms.