Press Release
Recent Arrests and Actions by the Authorities are a Closing of Democratic Space
The Malaysian Bar is appalled by the recent arrests of several
individuals pursuant to the Sedition Act 1948. The Sedition Act, as
with its predecessor the Sedition Ordinance, was conceived and designed
by a colonial government to stifle fundamental rights and liberties,
oppress the rakyat and deny them democratic space. Its sole purpose was
to suppress and persecute the citizenry. The Sedition Act has no place
in our modern democratic society and should have been discarded at
Merdeka. The time for it to be dumped into the dustbin of history is
long overdue.
It has been reported that Adam Adli, Tian Chua, Tamrin Ghafar and
Haris Ibrahim were arrested for purportedly making seditious statements
at a forum held on 13 May 2013. The continued use of the Sedition Act
by the authorities directly contradicts the promise made less than a
year ago by Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak in July
2012, that the 64-year-old law will be repealed and replaced in 2013 by a
National Harmony Act. This was a clear admission and recognition by
the Government that the Sedition Act was an anachronistic and repressive
colonial law. The Prime Minister further stated that the new law will
not prevent members of the public from criticising the government,
quoting John Locke who said, “…the end of law is not to abolish or
restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom.”
The decision to arrest Adam Adli, Tian Chua, Tamrin Ghafar and Haris
Ibrahim is therefore an unacceptable repudiation of the promise made by
the Prime Minister. It further raises questions over the Government’s
sincerity in pursuing transformation and greater civil liberties through
legislative reforms.
The test of a genuine democracy is to allow words to be said even
when we disagree with them. As much as one may not agree with the calls
for public demonstrations to oppose the Government and question its
electoral legitimacy, citizens nevertheless have a fundamental right to
express themselves in such manner so long as they do so peacefully and
there is no call for the use of violence. The authorities would be
wrong to assume that a call to overthrow the government must necessarily
be only by violent means. Time and again, the rakyat have shown that
they can gather in public assembly in large numbers, yet peacefully. It
is therefore unjustifiable and premature to preempt the exercise of
fundamental rights and freedoms with assumptions or postulations of the
use of violence. As much as dissent and opposition may be unpalatable,
these must not be criminalised and silenced, but countered with open and
healthy debate, reforms and concrete changes.
The Malaysian Bar is equally troubled by the arrest of 18 persons
holding a peaceful candlelight vigil outside the Jinjang Police
Detention Centre on 22 May 2013. The Malaysian Bar is disappointed that
the police have said that they can no longer tolerate such candlelight
vigils. It is not the role of the police to tolerate or otherwise, but
it is their duty to facilitate the exercise of democratic freedoms. The
police must bring themselves into the 21st century and cease
suppressing the rights of the rakyat. The Malaysian Bar is concerned
that these incidents may also signal a lurch towards greater
authoritarianism, fascism and persecution of those whose viewpoints
differ from those of the Government. It feeds an already widely held
belief that there is an unhealthy symbiotic relationship between the
police on the one hand, and Government on the other. In simple terms,
“You protect me, I defend you”.
This may be seen from the failure of the authorities to take similar
action in other obvious cases that more clearly evidence utterances and
publications exhibiting seditious tendencies. It is inexplicable that
there has been no similar prosecution against the likes of:
(a) Ibrahim Ali, for allegedly inciting the burning of Malay language bibles;
(b) Ridhuan Tee Abdullah and Zulkifli Noordin, for allegedly disparaging the Hindu religion and insulting adherents of the religion;
(c) The racial rhetoric of the Prime Minister in his allegation of a “Chinese tsunami”, followed by the Utusan Malaysia article entitled “Apa lagi orang Cina mahu?”; and
(d) Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah, a former Court of Appeal judge, for allegedly accusing a racial group of treason and warning of retribution by another racial group.
While
the Malaysian Bar is not advocating the use of the Sedition Act against
these individuals, we abhor the discrepancies in treatment and the
selective prosecution by the authorities in this regard. Further, the
police should not have made an application for the remand of Tian Chua,
Tamrin Ghafar and Haris Ibrahim, because it was an abuse of the process
of the law. Given that the alleged incident occurred 11 days ago, the
police should already have evidence of what was allegedly said. We
commend the Magistrate for having refused the application for remand.
The Malaysian Bar strongly urges the authorities to withdraw the
charge against Adam Adli, and not to prosecute Tian Chua, Tamrin Ghafar,
Haris Ibrahim and the 18 individuals arrested at the candlelight vigil.
We urge them to respect the freedom of speech and assembly as
enshrined in the Federal Constitution. The Malaysian Bar also urges the
Government to resist the temptation to quell dissenting voices by
resorting to archaic and oppressive legislation. Otherwise, the promise
of freedoms made by the Prime Minister will be nothing more than a mere
platitude.
The Malaysian Bar deplores the seizure of copies of Harakah, Suara Keadilan and The Rocket,
the newspapers of political parties PAS, PKR and DAP, respectively. We
reiterate that the Printing Presses and Publications Act 1984 should be
abolished. The condition imposed by the authorities on these three
publications — prohibiting their sale and distribution to members of the
public at large — is unconstitutional, as it breaches the right of the
publishers to the freedom of expression. It is also a breach of the
constitutional rights of the public to receive such information.
The recent arrests, prosecutions and confiscations by the authorities
are manifestations of regressive and undemocratic conduct. The current
environment is not reflective of a government aspiring to achieve
world-class democracy. Rather than bringing about a society that is at
ease with itself, it is instead creating an environment of grave
concern.
The Malaysian Bar calls upon the newly elected Government to
demonstrate its commitment to a continuing course of transformation and
democratic reforms, not by rhetoric alone but by sincere and genuine
action.
To promote greater democracy, the Government should welcome
diversity of opinion, not close democratic space.
Christopher Leong
President
Malaysian Bar
24 May 2013
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