A COALITION of non-governmental organisations (NGO) urged the Government to repeal the colonial era Sedition Act 1948 and cease abusing the legal process to persecute those exercising their right to assemble peacefully.
“In the meantime, we call upon the Government to reinstate the moratorium on the use of Sedition Act and other repressive laws.
“And the authorities can start by dropping all investigations and stop acts of intimidation against #Lawan organisers, supporters and other human rights activists,” the CSO Platform for Reform said in a statement.
CSO Platform for Reform is a coalition of 90 civil rights movements focused on institutional reforms for a better Malaysia.
On July 31, hundreds of protesters marched to Dataran Merdeka to demand the resignation of then-Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Clad in black, they brought banners and placards reading “Kerajaan Gagal” (Failed Government) to address the failure of the Government to contain COVID-19 and rejuvenate the economy.
Subsequently, the police announced that they were investigating seven organisers of Sekretariat Solidarity Rakyat (SSR) for their involvement in the rally.
On that note, CSO Platform was appalled that the seven individuals were again called up for questioning at the Dang Wangi district police headquarters, this time under the Sedition Act.
It added that such investigation was unwarranted, disproportionate and only demonstrated that the Government was against any form of criticism.
“This creates a climate of fear hindering citizens from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed freedom of speech, signalling a Government’s downward spiral into an authoritarian state.
“Human rights defenders play an important role in a society, as they promote reform and good governance. In doing so, they create opportunities for debate and expression on shared values.
“Such a role should be defended as a vital part of public participation, enabling a robust civic discourse and healthy democracy through public scrutiny, criticism and exchange of opinions,” CSO Platform noted.
It added that this year alone between January to August, 17 cases involving 37 individuals, human rights activists and artists were investigated under the Sedition Act.
Since coming to power in March last year, the Government had weaponised the Sedition Act and other repressive laws to suppress critical debates and dissent in Malaysia.
“As repeatedly demanded, any restriction to freedom of expression as guaranteed by Article 10 of the Federal Constitution must be legitimate, necessary and proportionate.
“Criminalising an expression on the basis that it is critical of the Government of the day does not meet any of these criteria, and therefore contravenes the international human rights standards on freedom of expression.
“It bears repeating that Malaysia made a promise to repeal this law at the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in 2013 and the UN General Assembly in 2018,”it reminded.
Remember Peaceful Assembly Act?
On related matter, Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) executive director Watshlah Naidu said that the authorities seemed to have failed to understand the spirit of Peaceful Assembly Act (PCA).
“By international standards, peaceful assembly is a right and the Government should be facilitating such matters.
“By right, the Government should create policies and guidelines to highlight their role in facilitating, not suppressing peaceful assembly,” she told FocusM.
Watshlah added that since the beginning of this year, there were six cases probed under PCA but so far, no charges has been filed.
“It looks like they are just weaponising repressive laws to silence critics. Plus, they are using COVID-19 to fend off any criticism against the Government,” she claimed.
On the #Lawan rally, Watshlah said that the protesters were peaceful and had adhered strictly to COVID-19 standard operating procedure, (SOP) such as by maintaining social distancing.
“But what happened was, as the organisers were addressing the crowd, the police kept using their loud speakers to ask attendees to adhere to SOP and disperse immediately.
“Basically, they were just there to prevent and disrupt the assembly although the participants were following all regulations at hand,” she concluded.
CIJ is a coalition member of the CSO Platform. – Sept 4, 2021
