Twelve detainees accused of supporting the LTTE including Gadek assemblyman, G. Saminathan and Seremban Jaya assemblyman P. Gunasekaren, will be released after the Attorney-General Tan Sri Tommy ThomasIn his 11-page media statement, Thomas ruled that there was no realistic prospect of conviction for any of the 12 men on any of the 34 charges brought against them.
All of them were detained under the Security Offences Act 2012 at Sungai Buloh prison pending their trials in the coming months. Under Sosma they were denied bail.Thomas said LTTE was declared a terrorist group by the Minister of Home Affairs by an Order gazetted on Nov 12 2014. Thomas clarified that a “terrorist act” was defined in Section 130B of the Penal Code to mean an act or threat of action in Malaysia or elsewhere which meets one or more criteria in Section 130B and which expressly did not fall within the exclusion provided in Section 130B.
The dividing line between acts which are considered terrorist acts and acts which are not is the gravity of the act: if it causes or intends to cause death of another, it is a terrorist act. However, if it is merely a statement or protest, whether on the social media or otherwise, without threatening violence, it is not a terrorist act,” he said.
“Just because each of these leaders used terror or violence to achieve their political goals does not mean that an ardent supporter online should be regarded as a terrorist or is planning a terrorist act,” he said. Thomas said as Public Prosecutor, he must conduct himself in a manner which would maintain, promote and defend the interest of justice.
I must be satisfied that there is sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction against each suspect on each charge. In reaching that judgment, I must exercise discretion responsibly and impartially,” he said. However, Thomas said by this time, even if LTTE was still gazetted under the law as a terrorist group, the defence would contend that LTTE had not been responsible for violence even in its home country, Sri Lanka in 2019, let alone having any impact on the ordinary affairs of ordinary people in Malaysia.
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