PUTRAJAYA: The decision by the Attorney General's Chambers (AGC) to drop all charges against 12 individuals accused of supporting the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) will be “revisited”.
Newly-minted Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said the matter would be discussed with ministry officials and top officers from various agencies including the police.
"We will see what we should do about this matter. Terrorism is not just a problem in our country, it is a problem for the rest of the world, too.
"If we have to take appropriate action, then I prefer to take stern action. Such actions will be in accordance with our country's laws and the Federal Constitution,"" he told reporters after presenting excellent performance awards to the ministry's officers and personnel, here, today.
Hamzah was asked on whether cases involving the 12 former detainees allegedly linked to LTTE would be reviewed, following pressure from political groups.
Attorney General (AG) Tan Sri Tommy Thomas had announced last month on the decision to drop the case against the 12, basing it on his constitutional discretionary powers after finding insufficient evidence that it would lead to a “no realistic prospect of conviction”.
The 12, including two DAP state assemblymen, Melaka state exco member G. Saminathan and Negri Sembilan assemblyman P. Gunasekaran, were detained under Sosma and charged under Section 130 of the Penal Code for allegedly supporting terrorism and having links to LTTE.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was the Home Minister at the time, had said that the AG had no power under the law to interfere in the matters of the Home Ministry.
He said the inclusion of the LTTE in the list of terrorist groups was under the purview of the Home Minister, as stated in the laws of the country.
“For the record, besides Malaysia, other countries have also declared and maintained LTTE as a terror group in their list of terrorist groups.
“This includes India, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom,” he had said in a statement.
The 12 were detained by the police's Counter Terrorism Division on Oct 10 and 12 last year in various parts of the country.
On another matter, Hamzah said, the ministry would take a more serious approach on forming a single border agency to strengthen border security nationwide.