The Malaysian Insight

THE high court will decide on January 23 a bail application by Seremban Jaya assemblyman P. Gunasekaran, who has been charged under and denied bail under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act (Sosma).

In the application before Justice Muhammad Jamil Hussin from the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Gunasekaran said in his application that his charges are vague, and that a provision in Sosma used to continually detain him is unconstitutional.

Judge Jamil fixed the date this morning after hearing submissions from Gunasekaran’s lead counsel Ramkarpal Singh, who argued that the high court has ruled on November 29 last year that those arrested under terrorism-related offences must be allowed to apply for bail.

The 60-year-old accused was among a dozen men detained last October under the security law and subsequently charged over alleged links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). 

Gunasekaran was dressed in a white shirt and cuffed as he sat in the dock. 

Present in the public gallery, along with relatives and other supporters, was DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang.

Gunasekaren claimed trial at the high court on December 18 last year to the charge of supporting the LTTE terrorist group on Facebook under the name of “DAP Guna Palanisamy”.

He was charged under Section 130J (1)(a) of the Penal Code, which provides for a life jail term or a maximum of 30 years, or fine, and forfeiture of any assets used or intended to be used in committing the offence, upon conviction.

He was additionally charged for distributing items related to terrorists under Section 130J (1)(b) of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of up to seven years or fine and the forfeiture of the items concerned.

Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Muhammad Saifuddin Hashim informed the court that Attorney-General Tommy Thomas was of the position that Section 13 of Sosma has been ruled as unconstitutional but the prosecution will appeal any decision based on merits other than the provision.

Ramkarpal argued that the high court’s declaration on November 29 remains so until it is set aside.

“Every section is deemed constitutional unless it is declared unconstitutional as has happened in this case. This honourable court cannot rely on the non-existent provision with regard to Section 13, as of this moment,” he said.

On November 29 last year, Kuala Lumpur High Court judge Mohd Nazlan Ghazali ruled that Section 13 of Sosma, which barred the courts from considering bail, to be unconstitutional as it allowed the executive to override the judiciary, violating the separation of powers.

Ramkarpal also argued that the charges against Gunasekaran were “vague and weak” and only described him as attending LTTE-related event.

“Is he a terrorist for attending a majlis? His attendance cannot in any way suggest he supports LTTE, otherwise everyone else should be similarly charged as well.

“There were a hundred to two hundred people attended. Why weren’t they charged as well?”

The Bukit Gelugor MP added that merely saying the accused has a Facebook account was not enough to show support of LTTE: “There must be something more, there must be a description of the (alleged crime) in the charge.” – January 16, 2020.