MUHYIDDIN: LTTE STILL ON TERROR LIST
‘A-G has no power to interfere in affairs under purview of home minister’
THE attorney-general (A-G) has no power under the law to interfere in matters under the home minister’s jurisdiction, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
The home minister said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) group remained on the country’s terror list.
“The A-G does not have the power to interfere in affairs under the purview of the home minister.
“Under Section 66B (1) of the Anti-Money Laundering, AntiTerrorism Financing and Proceeds from Illegal Activities 2001, the home minister has the power to name individuals or groups involved in terrorist activities as a specified entity.
“The entity’s description is based on the latest intelligence and security information received from the authorities, such as police, regulatory agencies or related surveillance.”
He said the Home Ministry had a solid basis to keep LTTE on the terror list.
“The group is believed to possess ideologies that could threaten public order and national security.
“It is, therefore, the authorities’ responsibility to take action according to the law to stop any propaganda, the spread of (threatening) ideologies and activities associated with the group.
“LTTE has been listed as a terrorist group since Nov 12, 2014. Based on the latest information received from the authorities, I, as the home minister, feel there is a strong basis to maintain LTTE on the terror list.”
Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy Thomas, on Friday, dropped criminal proceedings against 12 men charged with allegedly supporting the now-defunct LTTE.
He said there were reasons not to pursue charges against the accused, foremost of which was that “there is no realistic prospect of conviction” against any of them for the 34 charges they were facing.
He said it was commonplace for people to have idols, which were the subject of hero-worship.
PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged the government to consider reviewing sentences meted out to individuals associated with Daesh (the Islamic State) militants as their offences were deemed minor.
“I hope similar consideration should be given to them as that given to detainees allegedly linked to LTTE .”
He said some of the cases he came across when he was at Sungai Buloh Prison involved possessing shirts linked to terrorist groups or a donation to a neighbour linked to such groups.
“I feel the punishment is enough for the offence committed,” he said after attending the National Muslim Students Association gathering here.
Non-governmental-organisation Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture questioned if there were “political” considerations in the decision to discontinue proceedings against the 12 men.
“Was the decision from the main legal adviser to the government taken independently or was it based on the instruction by the government?”
It said it would have been better if the A-GC discontinued proceedings against all others (or some others) and not just the 12, some of whom were linked to a Pakatan Harapan component party.
“There might be a need for new laws to clarify the A-G’s powers to ensure that any A-G will not exercise these powers for wrong reasons, be it for political expediency or otherwise.
“New laws should give others, not just the victims but also any other concerned Malaysian, the power to challenge the A-G’s decision.”
Muslim Lawyers Association of Malaysia president Datuk Zainul Rijal Abu Bakar said the A-G’s decision on the LTTE issue would set a dangerous precedent for the handling of criminal trials.
He said the decision was made without due diligence.
Zainul alleged that the decision overstepped executive powers as LTTE was listed as a terrorist organisation in the country and the decision raised questions.