LETTER | Sosma - give it another serious look

LETTER | I expected our new home minister to incline towards a review of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) as an indicative part of the overall reformation towards professional transparency in enforcing the law.

The intention to improve and enhance the checks and balances within the criminal justice system was evident throughout their campaign as it always has been their intention.

So it comes as quite a surprise when he defended the use of this law although there have been many examples of abuse in the past.

It would be prudent for him to give it another serious look so as to allow the judiciary to be the prime factor in overseeing all detentions more than 24 hours as stipulated in the criminal procedure code and enshrined in our constitution.

The police too have their arguments in wanting to maintain the status quo as this law comes in purposeful when there is a threat to national security whereby immediate action is required to save lives or property, more so when time is of the essence.

The imperative point here is the great urgency to reduce the discretionary role played by the executive and the police during the initial stages of such detentions and the overwhelming influence of the executive over the police.

The discretion here has to be reduced by increasing the role of the judiciary.

Thus in the pursuit of finding and creating a new and effective check and balance for this law, we must be mindful that we do not significantly weaken the police and their discretion in using all the tools of investigation available to them.

If police morale and confidence are affected it will inevitably result in emboldening the criminal mind.

A good model to look at is the way the British have evolved in creating effective checks and balances for similar laws.

All pre-charge detentions are still subject to judicial scrutiny without exception.

The judiciary will be the appropriate arm in the criminal justice system to not only preserve the rights of such suspects but also that of the men in blue in carrying out their duties and responsibilities in good faith, maintaining the required level of police morale and confidence.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.