Malaysia to review laws under home ministry including detention act

PUTRAJAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin said on Thursday (Jan 13) that the country will review this year several Acts under his ministry including the controversial security law Sosma.

Datuk Seri Hamzah said the move to review these laws would ensure that issues falling under these Acts remained relevant and may be tackled efficiently and systematically.

The Security Offences (Special Measures) Act, or Sosma, was introduced in 2012 to replace the Internal Security Act (ISA), a British era law that allowed for indefinite detention without trial.

Sosma has been used to fight security and extremist threats, allowing for detentions without trial for up to 28 days.

But critics have said that Sosma has also been used to detain political opponents of the government including activists and opposition lawmakers.

Mr Hamzah said other Acts that will be reviewed include the Printing Presses and Publications Act, Prisons Act, Private Agency Act and Printing of Quranic Text Act.

"The revision of these Acts will further strengthen security and public order as our focus for this year is to, among others, improve legislation and enforcement," he said when presenting the ministry's plan for 2022.

Mr Hamzah said his ministry also plans to find creative and innovative ways to ensure the nation's security remains intact, under control and stable.

This, he said, was important to attract investors and businesses to Malaysia as it makes its way towards economic recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The ministry will also look at how its agencies, particularly the Immigration Department, can play their role to help ease doing business in Malaysia," he said.

Mr Hamzah said that Malaysia plans to improve its position in the US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report.

In June 2021, Malaysia was downgraded to Tier 3 from the previous Tier 2 position. Tier 3 is the lowest ranking in the State Department's closely watched annual report on human trafficking.

The report stated that Malaysia was downgraded because it did not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and was not making significant efforts to do so.

Mr Hamzah also said the ad hoc National Task Force (NTF) will be disbanded after June 30 and its duties of protecting the borders during the Covid-19 pandemic will be handed back to agencies under the Home Ministry.

The NTF was set up at the onset of the pandemic as the ministry needed extra support, he said. Prior to this, the ministry’s agencies such as the police and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency were involved in border protection.