Press Release | Malaysia Must Not Become an Authoritarian State |
| Tuesday, 02 September 2014 07:32pm | |||
 The
Malaysian Bar is heavily critical of the recent spate of arrests under
the Societies Act 1966 and prosecutions under the Sedition Act 1948 and
Penal Code. The raft of arrests and prosecutions of individuals lately
shows that we are undergoing an intense period of oppression against
citizenry and regression in the rule of law marked by the aggressive
curtailment of rights and fundamental liberties under our Federal
Constitution.
These
individuals are being charged for allegedly criticising or insulting
political parties and critiquing or making comments, albeit adverse
ones, with respect to court judgments. These are clearly not offences
that are envisaged by, and that are within the ambit of, either the
Sedition Act 1948 or the Penal Code.
In
order for legal decisions to stand the test of time, they must survive
the test of public scrutiny. Only then can they be seen as sound
judgments that will serve to govern our conduct and direct our actions.
In no way should criticism of court decisions, or how they came to be
made, be viewed as seditious by virtue of being an affront to the
administration of justice.
The
Malaysian Bar is particularly appalled with the charges that have been
brought today against Associate Professor Azmi Sharom of Universiti
Malaya. His comments about the Perak constitutional crisis of 2009 are
wholly within the purview of academic freedom and public discourse.
This cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, constitute sedition.
Likewise,
we reiterate that questioning the exercise of discretion should not be
seen as being disrespectful to those to whom that discretion has been
given, but a legitimate examination of the proper exercise of that
discretion as permitted by law.
Secondly,
our Federal Constitution gives to the state government jurisdiction
over the administration of local government, which conceivably includes
the creation of volunteer groups to assist with local administration.
The members of the Pasukan Petugas Sukarela (“PPS”) are volunteers
recruited from the community by the state government. Any question over
the legality of such groups should be settled by way of federal-state
government discussion, and not by the arrest and detention, and the
threat of arrest and detention, of members of such volunteer groups.
Even
if there is a dispute as to the legitimacy of the PPS, whether under
the Societies Act 1966 or otherwise, there appeared to be no imminent
threat to national security, public safety or order that necessitated
the police and Federal Reserve Unit to descend upon them in the manner
that they did. The arrest of members of the PPS immediately after their
participation, at the invitation of the Penang State Government, in the
Merdeka Day parade in Penang was therefore an unnecessary, unreasonable
and disproportionate use of police powers and discretion.
Power
and discretion are conferred by legislation on the premise or
presumption that they are to be exercised properly based on intelligence
and common sense. It appears that neither of these criteria was
present. It gives rise to the impression that the police are
arbitrarily exercising their powers merely because they believe they can
do so with impunity. This is an abuse of power and process.
In
that light, the threat by the Inspector General of Police to
investigate and possibly to charge people who criticise or allegedly
disrespect him on Twitter is seen as an intimidation of members of the
public, and is another example of a wholly inappropriate response.
The
Prime Minister once famously declared that the days of “government
knows best” are over. Yet the actions by the authorities in recent days
to detain, arrest and/or prosecute individuals who have been perceived
to have challenged or questioned the authorities, deny the very humility
that that declaration presupposes.
The
Malaysian Bar calls upon the authorities to cease acting in a
repressive and oppressive manner. These recent events have made a
mockery of the 57 years of independence that we have just celebrated.
Malaysia must not become an authoritarian state.
Christopher Leong
President
Malaysian Bar
2 September 2014
See also:-
SEDITION ACT - an draconian legislation that has no place in a true democracy?Background about the PPS arrest250 PPS members rounded up during Merdeka march in Penang |
The PPS members were stopped by the police immediately after they had participated in the official march-past, as part of the annual parade for the celebrations at the Padang Kota Lama about 10.15am.
They were taken to the nearby Lebuh Pantai police station for questioning. Police had the station cordoned off and guarded by the Federal Reserve Unit.
In his tweet today, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar urged PPS leaders to surrender or risk having their homes raided by police. "Elok lah mrk yg bertanggungjawap keatas PPS ini segera menyerah diri sebelum kami serbu kediaman. (It is better if those responsible for PPS to surrender before we start raiding their homes)," he said.
Zahid, who is the home minister, yesterday said as stated by the Registrar of Societies and Khalid, PPS was not a legal organisation as it had not been registered.
"We welcome initiatives to look after community safety but not by challenging the authorities.
"If there are parties wanting to assist and cooperate with police, put in the proper proposal and not by challenging the competence of parties responsibility for safety."
Ayer Itam assemblyman Wong Hon Wai said the police team waited for the PPS members at the tail end of the parade. He said the arrests went on without any untoward incident.
Khalid was on Friday quoted by Bernama as saying that PPS had appeared to stray from its objective when it was established four years ago, that is to serve the community.
Lim yesterday insisted that the unit had only helped the public during emergencies and disasters. He maintained that PPS was legal and legitimate as it was a state body instituted under the Penang government.
He had also said the state would accord full legal support to anyone who was arrested, and provide financial support for their families during their period in captivity.
By 11.15am, police had begun escorting the members in batches into police cars and trucks, to be taken to the George Town District police headquarters at Jalan Patani.
The PPS members mostly seemed unfazed, and were seen raising their arms to supporters and relatives who had gathered outside the station.
At about 11.50am, two yellow school buses were driven and left waiting in front of the station. More PPS members were then led out to be driven away in the buses.
Some supporters were heard shouting in Hokkien "mein kia" (be not afraid) as some of the members waved the Malaysian flag and showed the "thumbs-up" sign.
George Town district police chief ACP Mior Faridalatrash Wahid was present but was tight-lipped and gave no comments to reporters.
State executive councillor in charge of the PPS, Phee Boon Poh, expressed disappointment with the police action.
He said there were only two misdemeanour allegations against a small number of PPS members. The first saw a member apologising and pleading guilty to assaulting a reporter, while investigations are still ongoing for the second incident.
"Just because of two incidents you want to disband (PPS)," he said, adding that the unit has by and large contributed by helping with much-needed community policing, and during emergencies and disasters like floods, fires and road accidents.
A crowd of supporters and relatives had by noon also begun to converge outside the district headquarters.
Lim is expected to arrive and give a press statement. – August 31, 2014.
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