Legislative erosion of basic human rights is not uncommon in Southeast Asia. The Malaysian government’s recent detention of 12 people under Security Offenses (Special Measures) Act 2012 for their alleged links to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has renewed extensive calls from civil society groups for its total repealment. It targets security offenses by creating the powers of arrest without warrant followed by pre-charge detention for up to 28 days. It also removes the courts’ exclusive authority of adjudicating bail applications. To evaluate its value and relevance, this article reviews its fundamental operation and specifically looks at how the courts have attempted to interpret its most controversial provision. This article in the end suggests that while there is clearly the need for reforms, the main focus has to be on implementing safeguards that can help avert its misuse while also cautioning against its broad ambit.

中文翻译：

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马来西亚的任意拘留：2012 年安全犯罪（特别措施）法

法律对基本人权的侵蚀在东南亚并不少见。马来西亚政府最近根据 2012 年安全犯罪（特别措施）法拘留了 12 人，因为他们涉嫌与泰米尔伊拉姆猛虎解放组织有联系，这再次引起民间社会团体的广泛呼吁，要求彻底废除该法。它通过建立无逮捕令逮捕的权力，然后在指控前拘留长达 28 天，从而针对安全犯罪。它还取消了法院裁决保释申请的专属权力。为了评估其价值和相关性，本文回顾了其基本运作，并具体研究了法院如何试图解释其最具争议的条款。这篇文章最后表明，虽然显然需要改革，