Dr M and Sosma - Lawyer tells 'overzealous' DAP leaders not to mislead public

In their overzealousness to defend colleagues who were arrested, DAP leaders must not behave in an insolent manner, said lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla.

Cautioning them against making misleading statements which could confuse the public, he said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has been consistent in his stand on the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma).

Haniff, who has represented Mahathir in the past, said Sosma was enacted with the aim of combatting terrorism.

However, he added that the previous administration abused the law for political purposes such as arresting former Ummo leader Khairuddin Abu Hassan, lawyer Matthias Chang and ex-Bersih chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah.

Khairuddin and Chang, both of whom are close associates of Mahathir, were detained on the grounds of economic sabotage for lodging a slew of reports on the 1MDB scandal.

Whereas, Maria was detained on the eve of the Bersih 5 rally.

Due to this, Haniff pointed out that Pakatan Harapan had promised to repeal certain provisions to limit the risk of abuse.

Citing a Star Online report from April 2018, he said Mahathir was quoted as saying the government would “abolish certain provisions in Sosma, the Penal Code, Communications and Multimedia Act, Peaceful Assembly Act and Prevention of Terrorism Act."

“So what has been consistent since pre-GE14 is that the Harapan government would abolish certain provisions in Sosma which is an affront to justice and oppresses the people,” Haniff said in a statement.

“This does not mean there was a purported promise to repeal the entire law,” he added.

Training his guns on Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy (photo), the lawyer said the DAP leader had wrongfully accused Mahathir of being inconsistent in his stand regarding Sosma.

Ramasamy had expressed disappointment with the prime minister for defending the arrest of 12 individuals accused of having links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) under Sosma.

He said the police could have arrested the suspects, two of whom are DAP assemblypersons, under the Penal Code and charge them in court.

Sosma allows the police to detain an individual for 28 days without trial.

Mahathir has since brushed aside Ramasamy's remarks, which Haniff described as the right thing to do, and reiterated that he was satisfied with the reasons given by the police for the crackdown.

Earlier today, Deputy Home Minister Azis Jamman said Harapan never promised to abolish Sosma and that amendments to the law might not be tabled in this Parliament sitting.

“It only said we would review draconian laws, so we will see.

“The ministry is reviewing, studying and laying out the details of matters that we feel are draconian in Sosma, or matters that we feel are extreme,” he was quoted as saying.