‘Maria Chin not detained due to terror links’

KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih 2.0 chairman Maria Chin Abdullah was not detained under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) due to links to terrorism activities.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the scope of Sosma is wide and is not only restricted to detaining suspects linked to terrorism.

“Sosma is actually an enabling act to the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC). She was charged under CPC, but Sosma was used as an enabler to assist police to investigate her,” he said.

“Sosma is not only restricted to terrorism activities. It also includes activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy,” he told reporters at the Parliament lobby here.

Maria Chin was detained under Sosma following her arrest last Friday, a day before the Bersih 5 rally took place.

Under Sosma, she can be detained for 28 days.

Nur Jazlan, however, remained mum when asked which party was responsible in calling for Maria Chin to be detained under Sosma.

Not wanting to go into details, Nur Jazlan said the police had followed the proper procedures before taking any action against Maria Chin.

“The Home Ministry only handles issues involving policy, while police are responsible for the operational issues,” he added.

Earlier in the House, Nur Jazlan said the ministry could not respond to comments on Maria Chin’s detention as the matter has been taken to court.

“The deputy minister (Nur Jazlan) was purposely trying to avoid a difficult question ... We want a response so that we can ask supplementary questions regarding the matter,” Tian Chua (PKR-Batu) said. – by Haikal Jalil