Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) is alarmed by the arrest of at least six children under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma) in February 2026.
Suaram was informed that a formal complaint was lodged with the office of the children’s commissioner by the Kedah state assembly member for Pengkalan Kundor on the case of a 17-year-old boy who was arrested under Sosma at his home on 15 February for alleged possession of prohibited security-related materials.
The child was taken to Bukit Aman on the same day and has been detained there since.
According to his family, the adolescent is a quiet homebound student with no history of behavioural issues at home or at school.
Correspondence with the family revealed that another 17-year-old boy was arrested in Langkawi on the same day for similar alleged offences under similar circumstances.
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Preliminary information provided to the families by the police suggests that at least four other children were also arrested on the same day, bringing the total number of children currently detained under Sosma to at least six.
As of the time of this statement, the boys from Alor Setar and Langkawi have been held in Bukit Aman under Sosma for 16 days.
For the boy arrested at Alor Setar, the only contact with his family permitted since his arrest was a brief, monitored phone call last week. The call was conducted without any privacy. During the conversation, the parents reported hearing a clear sense of fear in their son’s voice.
No further information is available regarding the identities, arrest and detention locations, or current wellbeing of the remaining four children.
When such a blatant disregard of child rights – both under domestic law and international standards – was already brought to light in January 2026 in the detention of a 16-year-old girl, it is deeply reprehensible that Bukit Aman and the Ministry of Home Affairs have chosen to repeat this violation on an even larger scale.
This recurring defiance makes a mockery of the government’s claims to balance national security with human rights, particularly in light of Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s commitment to table Sosma amendments in the upcoming June–July 2026 parliamentary sitting.
Suaram maintains, in the strongest and most unequivocal terms, that the police are bound by law to strictly comply with Sections 83 and 84 of the Child Act 2001 for any arrest or detention involving minors. The draconian provisions of Sosma cannot be used to supersede these statutory protections.
The state must recognise that children allegedly involved in security-related offences are primarily victims of exploitation who require specialised rehabilitation and social welfare intervention, rather than high-security incarceration.
By resorting to Sosma, the authorities contravene Article 37(b) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which mandates that the detention of a minor be a measure of last resort.
Arbitrarily detaining impressionable youths for 16 days undermines national security by prioritising punitive ‘quick fixes’ – which treat fundamental fair trial rights as negotiable whenever a ‘security’ label is invoked – over a holistic institutional response to the root causes of their vulnerability.
Suaram demands:
- The immediate release of the six children from Sosma detention. If the authorities intend to proceed with investigations, the children must be immediately transferred to the care of their parents or, where strictly necessary, a designated ‘place of detention’ under the Child Act 2001, such as a Social Welfare Department facility
- Immediate and private access by the detained children to their legal counsel and families, without the presence of police surveillance, to ensure their overall wellbeing and right to a fair trial are protected
- An unequivocal commitment from the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure that no child is to be arrested or detained under Sosma, with a directive for strict compliance with the Child Act.
– Suaram
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
