KUALA LUMPUR, March 23 — Parties who do not agree with the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma) 2012 are those who want to make room for criminals and terrorists to dominate the country, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

The minister said this applied to those who did not support the motion to extend sub-section 4(5) in the Act.

"Those who do not agree with Sosma 2012 nor support the motion to extend sub-section 4(5) are groups who want to make room for criminals and terrorists to dominate the country. 

"But individuals who love the country and security will surely give adequate space for the police to fulfil their role,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today when tabling a motion to extend the effective period of sub-section 4 (5) of the Sosma Act 2012.

The motion proposes to extend enforcement of the 28-day detention period under Section 4(5) of Sosma for another five years from July 31, 2022.

Sub-section 4(5), the 28-day detention period, must be reviewed every five years and will cease to have an effect unless both Houses of Parliament agree to extend the period.

Sub-section 4(5) was first enforced on July 31, 2012, and renewed for the first time in 2017.

According to Hamzah, the extension would enable the police to extend the detention period of individuals arrested and detained under Sosma to 28 days.

"The provisions of sub-section 4(5) of Sosma should be extended and the detention period of 28 days maintained to give sufficient time to the police to complete the investigation of security offence cases which are complex.

"Furthermore, the investigation of cases involving security offences, especially terrorism and organised crime, is complex and time consuming to obtain evidence from detainees during the collection of relevant evidence for prosecution purposes, including tracking down accomplices who are still at large,” he said.

He added that although in reality, the police have 28 days to conduct an investigation, what is not made known is that the police only have 21 days to file an investigation.

"Seven days before the expiration of the 28-day period, the police need to submit the completed inquiry paper to the Attorney General’s Chambers for further instructions. 

"If an evaluation by the Attorney General’s Chambers determines there is evidence supporting the involvement of a person arrested for that offence, then a prosecution in court will be made,” he said.

During the investigation period as well, Hamzah said the police needed to study all information resulting from the investigation or obtaining information from other enforcement agencies such as Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Malaysian Immigration Department (JIM) and the Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC). 

"This period is very critical where the referred agency needs to supply the information required by the police within the prescribed period, that is before the end of the 21-day investigation.

"In addition, there are also cases of cross-border violence offences that need mutual assistance from a foreign country for the purpose of collecting information available abroad and this mutual aid takes a long time,” he said.

He stressed that without the extension of sub-section 4(5) and the total detention of 28 days retained, the quality of police investigations would likely be affected because they would be done in a hurry.

"In addition, advances in communication and transportation technology allow released offenders the opportunity to hide or escape overseas. 

"Not to mention the suspect may have a relationship with organised crime groups or terrorist groups with wide network,” he said.

Last October, Hamzah said the federal government had no intention of amending the controversial Sosma 2012, claiming the law is still relevant and crucial to ensuring public order and national security.

At the same time, he noted the police still need such laws so that immediate action can be taken to prevent any public intimidation, interracial strife and threats to public welfare.